Help Please - I'd really appreciate your advice.
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Sat Oct 02, 2004 10:45 pm

Hi, I'm a 33 yr old stay at home Mommy (3yr old & 8 yr old). My hubby is in the military and he's been gone alot so this past year has been VERY stressful and I seem to have developed lots of wrinkles under and around my eyes. I've never really had a skin regime. Generally, I use soap and water to clean my face and Olay Regenerist to moisturize.
I've finally realized that this is not helping me, so I'm looking for some advice on a skin care regime to follow. I've looked on this forum and its all really overwhelming, especially since I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I did notice a lot about Relaxaline (which I'm hoping will help my lines/wrinkles - but not sure). So, please help if you can. I'd like to know if I should use a cleaner, toner, spf, vitamin c, moisturizer, etc., etc.??? Also, what should I use around my eye area (that's my biggest concern). Do I need Relaxaline, Vit C, Moisturizer, SPF, and is there an all in one product or do I have to buy all separate products.
Sorry for such a long email, but I'm really confused and would greatly appreciate any advice you guys can offer.
Thanks.
Kim

Sun Oct 03, 2004 2:54 am

chuck the soap away...!!! unless its a face soap? Embarassed

always good to start cleansing, toning and moisturising regularly and a good eye cream is essential i say. cant help u with all that vitamin c, relaxaline etc cos im just as confused as u are Very Happy

i use an anti-aging eye cream by Almay Kinetin. Anti-aging anything is good enough for me anyway! hope the other girls are more helpful.....

free skin care · Sun Oct 03, 2004 4:21 am

Hi and welcome to forum. I know it can be overwhelming with all the advice and products. I am still slightly confused and I have been on here for quite a while now.

I will say that for me vit c and relaxaline are my two most important products. Although I am also using esthers secret masque now which is another wonderful product, but its not an everyday product. Very Happy

I buy my vit c from same place as relaxaline and it seems pretty stable[you will need to read other posts about that,its too complex for me]. The site iswww.cellurarskinrx.com and the stuff is cheap compared with other products. I hope this helps a bit. Laughing

free skin care · Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:21 am

Hi Kim and welcome! Very Happy

...all 3 of cellularskins products are good, The relaxaline is fantastic, the eyebright actually works, though I'm personally not too keen on the C serum...don't like the texture. I prefere skinceuticals 20% but I'm going to try dianayvonnes 25% one as it is in a hyaluronic base.

In your shoes, I'd use a soap free cleanser followed by a C serum of your choice (to suit your pocket!). I think that regenerist is a good product, but you need a moisturiser as well, so after using relaxaline which has a lot of hyaluronic acid you could use olay on top of that followed by something like Dr Haushka rose cream. Finally wear sunblock and exfoliate once or twice a week.
You may need to look at your diet as well. Up intake of fresh fruits &veg & water, cut down on fags, coffee and booze (so easy to over do if you are stressed).
Hope that helps, Liz Cool

free skin care · Sun Oct 03, 2004 6:32 pm

Hello cktjdavis
I understand your situation - it is confusing initially.

I suggest getting a basic skin care kit to start with so that you can take care of your cleansing, moisturing needs. Then you can add on specific items to address your areas of concern.

I personally like a Vit C regime as I used to be like you - doing nothing much about my skin till some one gave me a bottle of Vit C serum. The improvement was quite drastic that I did researched on Vit C and found EDS. Of course, now I am one of those skin care addicts.

You may want to look at Skinceuticals Sytem 3. It is one of the cheapest of their kits and its Vit C strength is the lowest. This way, you can make sure your skin has sometime to get used to the Vit C. Add on relaxaline, etc at a later stage. Otherwise, a major overhaul with too many treatment products will not only cause a significant dent on the wallet but also cause disruptions to your skin.

HTH
Jenny

Thu Oct 07, 2004 5:08 am

Just to add my Au$0.02, I would also say that you should ditch the soap, unless you are using a special facial soap. If not, then I would suggest getting a cleanser. The choice would depend on what type of skin you have; dry, combo, oily?

I would also suggest that you use a vitamin C serum and a moisturiser with SPF or a moisturiser with sunblock over the top. In terms of the eye area, there is quite a number of good eye creams/gels around and again the choice here will be influenced by your skin type and sensitivity.

HTH
Mabsy

free skin care · Thu Oct 07, 2004 7:40 am

Hi cktjdavis,

I'm relatively new too and was looking for a completely new skincare regime like you. I think the best advice I received was to go slowly, maybe just one product at a time. Otherwise, you won't know which product your skin is reacting to - in a positive or negative way Confused

Dr. Hauschka's line was recommended to me for a cleansing routine. Its very gentle and I love the day moisturizer too. Good luck and always come back with questions, comments and you'll surely get great feedback. Very Happy

free skin care · Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:18 am

I have to say I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the Eve Lom cleanser. It is the most wonderful cleanser to use around the eyes as well. Nothing cleans my face like it.

As for eye cream, I have been on a spiritual search for one this year after I too discovered the skin around my eyes was so dry.

Here is what I found so far.

1. Suzanne Somers eye cream/gel YUK!
2. Thalgo eye cream. Nice texture but the perfume level was way too much for me.
3. Origins perfect world for eyes. Hmm.. nope! No moisturizing effect
4. La Mer .. ee gad, I hate to say it but I liked this best. $$$$$

Recently, I have just been using a tiny dob of my Epiderm moisturizer around my eyes (as it said it was OK for eye use).. when I was using Creme de la Mer is used that on my eyes too - I am soo lazy.. moisturizer and eye cream in one is great LOL

I am keen to try Cellcosmet, but am not keen to outlay that much money in case I dont like it.

free skin care · Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:23 am

A great cleansing bar is Epiderm's oatmeal. It contains NO soap! cleans all makeup and never leaves my face dry/taunt. I sometimes use the Porcelain for ocassional breakouts.

I am a distributor for Epiderm, but in all honestly I still test other lines/skincare. I have been testing/reviewing cosmetics for years now. (I saw I am done but then another line comes along....LOL)

The one product I have no desire to test is cleansers as I really love the oatmeal bar and if I weren't selling it I might have never tried it! Very Happy

Everything, even Paula's choice was leaving me dry/taunt. Cetaphil left a film so I was becoming very frustrated with cleansers! Rosehips stung my eyes!

I am not plugging to buy from me, you can buy from any of the distributors Very Happy

but it is a good/inexpensive cleanser.

free skin care · Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:39 am

First, I have to say I really feel for you caring for your little ones by yourself. That's stressful enough. But then to have to worry about your husband as well....That's enough to age anyone overnight. I think you have gotten many good suggestions. I am a C+ Firming,Eye Bright, Relax-A-Line user as well. But I think for you, what is most important is the C. When you are stressed, you produce more free radicals which damage your collagen layer and make skin look more crepey and wrinkled. The C is a "free radical quencher"...it will soak them up and you should see a nice result within just a few weeks. If you also feel that your lines are due to expressions you make each day, the Relax-A-Line will help very much in fading these out due to the acetyl hexapeptide in it. AH relaxes muscles that cause wrinkles - not paralytic like botox - more from blocking the cell receptors so your muscles can't contract so intensely. All that said, if you are not using a daily sunscreen, I would add this to your regimen. I use mine as my moisturizer. A good basic moisturizer you can use if not to high on sunscreen as a replacement, is Cetaphil.

Good luck! Hope your hubby returns safe and sound.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:37 pm

Thank you for your kind words and opinions. I do appreciate all the advice. I've decided to try the Relax-A-Line & The RosaYFrutas Ambrosia moisturizer. Can anyone recomend a good Vitamin C Serum? Thanks again, you help is truly appreciated.
Kim

free skin care · Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:49 pm

since it seems to be stress related

give yourself 10 minutes every morning just to sit on the floor and do absolutely nothing in a quiet room, preferbly in the sunlight.

or take up a yoga course or tai chi!

Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:44 pm

Kim,

I found that both Skinceuticals and Vivier C serums are good. Skinceuticals serums tend to be more watery and feel like nothing on your skin and the Vivier ones are a little bit more substantial and feel a tiny bit oilier than the watery SC ones. My personal experience with them is that, while they are both effective, I would say that Vivier would be better for drier skins and SC would be better for oilier skins. That's just my assessment of it though.

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