Here is my routine. I have not been into skincare but I want to now-

1. Face wash- oil control face wash by vaseline
2. Moisturiser - either Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel or Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion For Dry to Normal, Sensitive Skin

I bought a Beauty of Joseon Revive Serum (Ginseng + Snail Mucin) recently and didnt notice any difference within my first week and honestly, forgot about it. Should I continue?

1. sun screen - SPF 50+ because I live in a hot country

I know the basics that I need to cleanse, use a scrub once in a week or two weeks.

But now I want to pay a bit more attention to my routine. I went down the rabbit hole when I started researching with the retinol, terinonin, niacin amide, vitamin c, salicylic acid, snail mucin, PRDN, hyaluronic acid, AHAs/BHAs etc and I am LOST.

As you can understand from my current routine, I want to use the minimal most number of products that I can remember and a routine I can follow without getting exhausted, in a way hassle free. If I can get a product that can perform multipurpose, then that would be amazing.

*When I go out in the sun, I usually get bumpy skin on my entire face that becomes red and itchy. However when im indoors I only have constant apple cheeks as you can see in the photo. I'm worried about triggering this with harsh skincare products.

If you can share brands and product names I will be all the more grateful so I know where to start, and can get quality products instead of trying multiple brands. Skincare gurus, I need your help!

I'm new to this group, and some of these questions may already have been addressed. //I've been vigilant about sunscreen and retin-A for decades. My skincare regimen is all CeraVe products, including the Vitamin C serum, the sunscreen, and the moisturizer. //My goal is to build more collagen and have an even skin tone. What in-office treatments would you suggest?

I started using The Ordinary with some Ceravae moisturizer about 2 weeks ago for the 1st time in my life. I was excited but I don't think I've seen much disappearance in the lines yet. I don't know if I need to be more patient or if it's not a good sign that I haven't seen much improvement .

I'm experiencing really bad peeling ever since I started using tretinoin and azelaic acid, and it's been really bothersome. My skin is peeling all day, feels dry and tight, and sometimes looks worse than it did before I began using the product, and the moisturizer isn’t really helping much. I'm really struggling to figure out if I'm just going through a regular adjustment period, or if I'm using too much. Has anyone else had this problem and what steps did you take to calm your skin, even while continuing to take the medication?

48F How can I make this look better? My left eye has a small bag under it and my right eye is more on the hollow side. How can I get rid of that bag? If they were both hollow I wouldn’t mind but it bugs me and I’ve noticed it more recently.

I’m 44, and recently (past 3-4 years) been struggling with all kind of eczema and dermatitis on my face and eyelids. Typically this shows as redness, flaking, bumps. This past week I’ve got a new issue that the internet tells me could be dermatitis related but looks very different—my eyelids on both sides look a bit gray. I’m a fair-medium neutral toned white woman, and haven’t used any new products before this started. I did have an iron transfusion last week and I see that perhaps anemia could cause this but I’ve been anemic for ages and in theory that should be starting to improve. I’ve had a stressful month with my dad passing and his funeral and all the things that come with that, but tbh I haven’t cried more than I did in the few months before that when he was in the hospital.

I don’t want to post a pic bc I am concerned about anonymity here but it looks like I have a very sheer gray or periwinkle eyeshadow all over both lids. Ironically this is a look I wore in the 2000s 🤣

I'm a 48-year-old man, and I've noticed that the skin on my neck is getting looser as I lose weight. I take a GLP-1 medication, have no thyroid due to thyroid cancer, and I have type 2 diabetes. As I continue to lose weight, my neck seems to be losing firmness. Do you have any advice on how to tighten the skin or prevent it from getting worse with skincare?

I I was at Blue Mercury yesterday looking for a serum and I ended up purchasing the IS youth complex. The salesman suggested that I use it in the evening because it is expensive and to stick mainly to hyaluronic acid or vitamin C in my a.m. routine. Any suggestions for a good hyaluronic acid/vitamin c?

I think I've posted about this product before but I really can't sing its praises enough. SPF BB cream and I just love the glow. It's only like 12 bucks andI love this stuff, I now have 3 shades for different times of the year. I'm 46 and it makes my skin look so youthful, it's totally replaced all my expensive foundations. To be fair I've focused a tonne on tret, azelaic acid and a good underlying barrier, so any product I use is sitting nicely these days but I just love this stuff.

So tripped while running and other than scraped knee hands and elbow, it turns out I also scratched my face. Boo. I'm old. Should I put anything on it after showering etc? Bandaid? Its that red smidge in pic

I wanted to share this because the August 2025 photo was taken several months before I really started taking better care of my skin. I wasn’t doing anything particularly consistent or focused at that point.

Things really started to change after I got a red light therapy mask for Christmas.

In January 2026, I started tretinoin 0.025%.

In February, I added prescription azelaic acid 15%.

In March, I added estradiol cream. This is vaginal estrogen, but I use a very small amount topically around the orbital rim/under-eye area, on my “tech neck” lines and on my hands.

In June, I increased tretinoin from 0.025% to 0.05%, which I now use six nights a week. I also added lactic acid once a week using the blue-label AmLactin.

My current routine is:

AM:
Wash with water only.
Red light therapy mask, including neck and chest.
Azelaic acid 15%.
Vanicream Vitamin C serum.
Vanicream moisturizer.
Sunscreen.

PM — six nights a week:
Double cleanse with Prequel Oil Cleanser followed by Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser.
Let my face dry completely.
Tretinoin 0.05%.
A very small amount of estradiol cream around the orbital rim, neck and hands.

PM — one night a week:
Cleanse and use lactic acid instead of tretinoin.

I’ve also had Botox/Jeuveau during this period, so I want to be completely transparent about that. I haven’t had filler.

The August photo is really my “before I started trying” baseline. The February photo was very early in the process, only about a month into tretinoin and around the time I added azelaic acid. The July photo is after roughly six months of consistent prescription skincare, red light therapy and a more intentional routine.

For me, the changes I notice most are in overall texture, firmness, forehead lines, the skin around my eyes and the smoothness of my neck. I also feel like my nasolabial folds are less noticeable. My skin just looks healthier to me.

I’m 54, and I’m also losing a significant amount of weight, so I’m particularly interested in maintaining collagen and skin quality as I continue to lose. I know no topical is going to completely prevent facial volume loss or reverse aging, but I’m genuinely surprised by how much improvement I’ve seen from being consistent.

I’m planning IPL next for redness, pigmentation and sun damage, so I’m curious to see where my skin is another six months from now.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I wish I had taken prescription-strength skincare seriously sooner. I spent years looking at OTC anti-aging products when, for me, the combination of tretinoin, azelaic acid, red light therapy, sunscreen and consistency has made a much more noticeable difference.

Still very much a work in progress, but I’m pretty happy with the direction things are going.

I am really getting tired of the sagging and the marionette lines, but dont know if I should the plunge to botox this area( I have had my forehead done 2x and liked results). Or should I jump straight to Sculptra or filler? Have an appointment this Thursday. I use tret 4x a week, Estradiol 2x and sunscreen everyday. This is natural light, but I have a tinted sunscreen on. I am 57 btw.

TLDR botox or Sculptra for the lip lines and sagging jowls

ETA: Thanks for all the advice. I will speak to my doc on Thursday. ☺️

Google said 20 minutes and that's frankly untenable for me after waiting 15 minutes after I wash my face.

Has anyone used either to prevent under eye wrinkles from frowning during sleep?

The wrinkles under my eyes have gotten much worse over the past year and all the eye retinol I’m using has had zero effect.

The 3M tape doesn’t seem rigid enough to keep my face in place overnight. But I’ve read that silicone scar tape can prevent collagen forming?? Unsure if that’s true.

Any advice or recommendations?

I’ve been seeing ads for virtual derms/skincare doctors (I.e. Jupiter Health, Maple). And have become interested in trying one to see if I can get prescription skincare like hydroquinone, tret, estriol cream, etc.

Does anyone have experience with using these? Is there a specific company you would recommend? Is the cost reasonable?

I used to use the blue tin Nivea a lot, just because it felt good when I put it on my face after I had already sprayed my face with water, so that the Nivea would seal in all the hydration from the water.

I had no idea why this worked - it just felt good.

And then I had a phase where I wanted to try something new and was persuaded to use more "modern" skin care options. I thought I just had dry skin and that was why the Nivea worked, so I got on a regimen with active ingredients and expensive creams - all of which ruined my skin barrier. I got terrible break outs and red inflammation...

The dermatologist explained to me the detrimental effects of using too many active ingredients and how it harms our natural skin barrier.

And she told me I have dehydrated skin - so the solution to that is to give the skin hydration (= water) but in order for the water to not just evaporate and dry the skin out even more, I need to put an occlusive barrier on top of the moisture to seal it into the skin.

And what did she recommend as an occlusive?

Blue tin Nivea - apparently our skin works very well with the petroleum based lipids and eucerit.

I should only use it on hydrated skin (so water sprayed liberally on face beforehand).

And then I only take as much Nivea as needed - it's quite thick so sometimes only a little is enough - and I rub it between my fingers until it becomes like a lotion and then I press it onto my wet face, one area at a time (rubbing doesn't work because the oils don't mix with the water). Due to the water it takes a while to soak in, but the pressing on the different areas really makes the moisture sink deeper into the skin- it feels amazing.

And the moisture can't escape the occlusive layer of nivea.

And I find it works wonderfully under makeup - although I don't wear a lot of make up - just cover a few redder areas and under the eyes - sort of a no make up look.

So it turns out that earlier, before using all the fancy "modern" products, I was taking care of my skin correctly for my skin type all along and didn't know it...strange how this all came about.

And I must say, trying to age gracefully was my only motivation to try the active ingredients and "modern" expensive creams, and the only effect they had was my skin look old, wrinkled and inflamed.

But with my Nivea method I've gotten comments that I look 10 years younger than I am!

I was hoping this might help someone with dehydrated skin.

Hi. I just bumped up to using 0.05 Tret every night about a month ago. Also got some Botox near Crow feet area. These finer wrinkles when I smile just started to show up! Is it from the tret?

Has anybody found that miracle cream or treatment that really works. I’m starting to see the loose skin but I also have melasma that has got me so self conscious. I can deal with the melasma but really would like to have my neck looking smooth… tired of spending money chasing that miracle

\*\*not opposed to laser treatments or something more expensive but need it to be effective and truly work.