Alright. I admit that in the past I haven't taken the best care of myself. I rarely wear sunblock even though I'm fair-skinned (it's frickin expensive). I don't really know what kind of face exfoliate cream, toner, moisturizer to use, so I just don't buy any. I grew up being tomboyish, so I'm a bit lost on beauty products, but at almost 24 years old I already have fine lines under my eyes, dark circles (my mom has them too), a fine line on my forehead, and since my face is so fat I have those slight parenthesis around my mouth and nose. I also have a lot of round scars from having a bad case of chicken pox when I was in sixth grade, and having acne in high school, and blackheads on my nose that I can never get rid of. I also have this reddish pinkish hue on my cheeks that don't seem to go away.
Can anyone give me some advice on how to get rid of them and prevent new ones from coming? BTW, I know my pillow cases are bad, so I am planning on buying satin or silk ones next month. Also, I can't afford to go to a doctor and get botox of anything like that. It has to be affordable. If anyone can help, please give me a small list of vitamins, morsterizers ect and prices that I should be using, because I have never had a routine...
I guess the only thing I do use now is I wash my face with Dr. Bronner's eucalyptus magic soap.
Last edited by 3FCer344892; 10-03-2010 at 07:46 AM.
That reddish hue sounds like Rosacea ,you should get that checked out.If left untreated, over time Rosecea can result in the appearance of red lines which result from swollen or damaged veins.
I am 44 and have not used any creams until now.I used Ivory soap on my face. Now I am using oil of Olay facewash and then Oil Of Olay Regenerist.I am lazy about the whole cream thing.I know there are a lot of creams out there and it sure is confusing.Which is why I am lazy
no botox! You do not need to inject poison into your face.
Here is my advice, from an almost 29 year old who frequently passes for 21 and under (teehee): wear a moisturizer with SPF in it every.single.day. Even if you're not going out, even if it's not sunny. I like Neutrogena healthy skin. When I was in high school, i used oil of olay. If you want to do a tinted moisturizer, get one with SPF.
To wash your face... I like St. Ives Apricot Scrub or Pond's exfoliating towelettes which will cleanse and exfoliate. All of the above products are drugstore and not too expensive. Good luck!
no botox! You do not need to inject poison into your face.
Here is my advice, from an almost 29 year old who frequently passes for 21 and under (teehee): wear a moisturizer with SPF in it every.single.day. Even if you're not going out, even if it's not sunny. I like Neutrogena healthy skin. When I was in high school, i used oil of olay. If you want to do a tinted moisturizer, get one with SPF.
To wash your face... I like St. Ives Apricot Scrub or Pond's exfoliating towelettes which will cleanse and exfoliate. All of the above products are drugstore and not too expensive. Good luck!
Yes, the spf moisturizer is a MUST. It takes 3 seconds to slap on after a shower and makes a world of difference. I'm 27 and still get carded at rated R movies .
Don't stress too much about the scars. You are young enough that they will still fade. I had terrible chickenpox at about the same age as you, with similar scars, and only one or two are still noticeable at all, even though I know where to look. If you have raised scars (keloid scars) a dermatologist can inject a small amount of cortisone which can shrink them, although it may take more than one injection. Keloid scars are sort of "stuck" in their healing process and the cortisone restarts that. I believe there are also fillers for depressed scars. Really, it is worth checking in with a good dermatologist, even for one visit if you are not covered by insurance. You can call and ask what their fee is without insurance, they may reduce it if they know. If you have rosacea, that can be progressive, so you want to take measures now.
I never really used any products or makeup either, but I battled pore problems and red skin for years. So I tell you this now: if you have trouble with pores and reddening skin, do NOT use a "scrubbing" or "deep cleaning" product, despite what instinct and marketing tells you. That can irritate pores, swell skin and make blackheads worse. It will also make your skin worse over the long run. I would not use anything harsher than a washcloth. Eucalyptus is also an irritant and could be contributing to the reddening.
What I do now: I use a product with lactic acid twice a week during the night to open up the pores, and at the end of my morning shower wash with a washcloth with Cetaphil. Any blackheads pretty much disappear naturally after a week or so of this: your pores want to empty themselves and will if you give them a chance. The two most common drugstore lactic acid creams I have seen are Amlactin moisturizing lotion and Walgreens Nature's Finest AlphaHydroxy Skin Treatment 8% AHA. The best part of these two is that they are ridiculously cheap and come in big dorky-looking plastic bottles compared to the L'Oreal type products in tiny jars with 5% AHA or whatever. Don't know what the Walgreen's one is called now that a lot of Walgreens are CVS or Eckerds, but they probably have something similar.
If you don't find them on the shelves -- they tend to be on the very bottom shelves with the other no-name brands and generic vitamin E creams -- ask the pharmacist for a lactic acid body cream (so they don't try to give you the L'Oreal powdered pearls etc in a jar). They sometimes also stock it behind the pharmacy counter in Target and Walmart even though it's not prescription, because it's used for skin problems where people don't exfoliate properly naturally, that's how I found out about it from a dermatologist. (Lactic acid/AHA is a mild exfoliant. Don't use it every day, and if you really do have rosacea I don't know if it's recommended.) If you can't find lactic, look for products with salicylic acid in the ingredients. A lot of popular acne products have this, and it has a similar effect. If you use too much of either, they can irritate and cause reddening.
I learned a lot about reading ingredients labels from the web site and books by Paula Begoun, The Cosmetics Cop. She is also about seeing through the marketing and saving money. She does have a line of her own products now which seems to me a little like conflict of interest, but they tend to be much cheaper than the big companies, more like drugstore generics.
Definitely YES on the sunscreen. Oh God, if there was one thing I could go back and tell my younger self that would be it. Sunscreen every day. Don't forget your neck and any chest area that is exposed by your shirt. Also don't wear the AHA products during the day, they make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.
And really, although this may hard to accept at your age and in the youth culture of the US, lines are not a bad thing. Google a few pictures of Georgia O'Keefe. In many cultures, lines are a sign of character, strength, and experience, and it used to be people with wrinkles were admired in our culture too, not the ones with plastic skin and fake beach ball boobs. People that love you will love your lines also. One of my friends told me my eye crinkles were "hot" because they reminded him of strong pioneer women and cowboys squinting into the sun.
Plus, everyone gets them eventually.
Sorry for the dissertation. But I have SO been where you are.
Last edited by bronzeager; 10-04-2010 at 12:46 AM.
Oh, and I just read again and saw about the pillowcases. Probably more important than what they are made of, is washing them often. They pick up a lot of oils during the night, and also some bacteria that can perpetuate acne. At least once a week, better twice, as hot a temperature as they can take. (That's why cotton is actually better.)
vitamin a creams are supposed to help... retin-a or over the counter retional creams (RoC, Neutrogena's healthy skin). and AHAs are nice, Alpha Hydrox has a nice one that's pretty cheap and 10% glycolic acid, and of course the sunblock.
I'm not sure the pillow case really matters, if your face is on the pillow case you are still putting some pressure...sleeping on your back is probably the best solution.
Hmm. I don't think I have rosacea. I've noticed that most of my skin has an ugly reddish pinkish hue (even my arms and legs) and it is brought out in certain lights more than others. I was thinking that it might also be from sun damage. Thanks so much for the product info. I will definitely look them up! I just wish sunblock wasn't so expensive. What spf moisturizer would you suggest? But I've been trying to take care of myself more.
Oh, and about the eucalyptus oil soap. The bottle actually said it opens the pores, and my face looks and feels nice after wards. It makes my skin soft and it feels clean.
Yes, I do have a bit of a stress problem. It's something I'm trying to work on. I mostly avoid makeup now too, though I never really wore foundation.
Last edited by 3FCer344892; 10-04-2010 at 08:32 AM.
Sure! The important thing is the SPF. So a good generic is just as good in many cases as the latest thing from France, as long as you don't have any reaction to whatever particular formula it is. Consumer Reports rated some really cheap brands among the best: Consumer Reports on sunscreen.
I use a combination of generic ones, and little tubes of expensive ones that a friend of mine gives me when she decides she doesn't like how they smell. And I wear a big floppy hat, because I live in the desert.
I've had some really (and I mean REALLY) bad sunburns as a child (one time my parents took me fishing on a boat and forgot sunblock.... so they opted for using BABY OIL!!!! And i would have several sunburns nearly every summer through elementary school), so I hope to avoid getting any more lines (for a while) and maybe even getting rid of the crease on my forehead.
I recommend joining the forum over at Essential Day Spa. The ladies there are a WEALTH of information on beauty, skincare, and anti-aging with lots of do-it-yourself potions and recommendations for inexpensive product sources. It's an amazing forum.
To boil it down, you'll be recommended to start using a retinol (Retin-A, Tazorac), a Vitamin C, and most critically, a sunscreen. I'm 29 and I use all of the above as well as dry brushing on the face and facial exercises and I don't have a single true wrinkle--just minimal fine lines under my eyes that are responding to Retin-A (and yes, it's safe to use Retin-A on the eye area, you just need to build up a tolerance).
Last edited by thewronggirl; 10-04-2010 at 03:12 PM.
Thanks, thewronggirl, I'll check that out. I just purchased a bottle of sunblock on ebay (WAY cheaper), and used some today when I went to town (spf 15, but better than nothing I guess).
I use SPF 100+ on my face. LOL! You can never be too safe.
I'd be surprised if anything made the crease on your forehead go away other than perhaps Botox (and that is temporary). Wrinkles like that are a result of animated faces: you react to things, you make expressions, you get wrinkles. Everyone has them. It's part of life.
That said, I'm 37 and get carded and mistaken by strangers for 21 all the time. I've used sunblock and wrinkle creams since I was 21 for real, and I have no doubt that that, in addition to genetics, is why I look so young. (Well, that, and twenty years of exercise.) In fact, when I see a new wrinkle starting, I make sure I target it with wrinkle cream and it fades away soon enough. Even my forehead wrinkles are minimal, though, as I say, they are there. You can pretty much see them only under the harsh fluorescence of public restrooms.
It's absolutely true that beauty products can be expensive. But at the very least do continue to use SPF. And, should you ever have the budget for it, I know for a fact that there are wrinkle creams that do make a difference. I swear by them.
I'm not a fan of facial lines. I will keep them at bay for as long as I possibly can. I'm willing to accept them when they are here to stay—willing to age gracefully—but until that day I'm willing to fight dirty, too. I even use a home microdermabrasion system twice a week. I'm not interested in Botox or plastic surgery or any such thing, but I absolutely do battle with my wrinkles via over-the-counter products. And so far I'm still winning.
As for keeping the skin clean, I swear by Neutrogena. When I started using that I stopped getting even the occasional pimple.
And, finally, as has been said, if you have problems with red skin, do not use anything harsh on your face and do not scrub. I used to have mild rosacea years ago, and when I treated it harshly it got worse. For me just ignoring it and being gentle with my face did wonders. It's long gone (which is why I can do the home microdermabrasion).
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 10-19-2010 at 12:15 PM.
Getting wrinkles at 23! Help!
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