Skincare for women in late 40's

[adgreene]

I would love to hear what women around my age (48) are using for skin care. Looking for something for fine lines. wrinkles, brightening and firming. I even have those smoker lines around my lips and I don't smoke. I have tried Drunk Elephant whichs feels great but I have not noticed any real change and its been over 5 months. Any advice and import would be great. 

[ThinkSOS]

I just turned 50 and am also always on the hunt for the best Anti-aging products. I think the most important thing is having a strict daily regiment to follow from a good cleanser, toner, serum Etc. and including a weekly peel (Ren or Biossance have good ones) will help. I agree with most of the comments about the need for retinol but I would only use that at night. You dont want to use retinol and go out in the sun. I also aim for "clean" products and am not on a huge budget so the biossance serum is what I use at night and the Youth to the People works great in the morning. Try the Ren toner with AHA's too to help with renewing the skin. And don't forget sunscreen! I use Origins day cream with 40 SPF. My best advise though is to book a free skin fit facial if it is available in your area. The service is free but you have to spend $75 in skincare products which is easy to do! You get an hour long service, free samples to try and recommendations specific for you. Good luck!

[creamcrow]

I agree that a prescription of retinol is the most effective way to treat wrinkles, I use tretinonin. I also like perricone md's cold plasma cream. Also I always wear sunblock during the day. I like P:rem's. I hope this helps🙂

[meganlisa]

I am wedded to the Korean 10 step process for aging skin.  I mostly avoid harsher products and my skin has responded well (I do load up on serums and oils).

Oil cleanse, water based foam cleanse, toner, essence, serum, eye and face cream, sunscreen, masks and gentle exfoliants once a week.  Totally changed my skin, and I was always in to skin care.

[Naomiela]

Retin A in some form is going to be your best bet. Not sure about Canada, but in in the US prescriptions like Tretinoin are going to be the only research-backed ingredient that increases cell turn-over, correct photodamage, and help with fine lines and wrinkles. Even with all the hype about peptides and neuropeptides, there are no clear studies proving their efficacy. I do use Peter Thomas Roth Unwrinkle Lotion just in case. Per unit, it’s cheaper than The Ordinary’s Buffet!

Im 45 - my routine is focused on sun protection and hydration. Not a fan of lines like Drunk Elephant or Sunday Riley (but def will use samples they send with other orders!) when you can get the exact same ingredients (actually, better formulations in my opinion) in other lines - especially Asian ones. As far as products from Sephora, I use or will use Fresh Soy Cleanser, Tatcha The Oil Cleanser (it’s a huge splurge for me but I like the texture better than other Camellia oil cleansers), Farmacy Green Clean, Pharmacy Green Screen, Supergoop CC Mineral Sunscreen, Supergoop powder sunscreen, Origins masks (the CBD one is my favorite), Caudalie Grape Water and Youth to the People oil and sleeping mask. I follow a thin to thick routine and usually finish with a sleeping pack. My skin has never looked or felt better but I’ve also stopped paying prices like $48 for a tube of Dr. Jart Cicapair (which I love) when you can order it half price from Korea. 

[Traybird12]

I agree with you! I"m 41 and traded my otc retinols for prescription Retin - A or Trention. The only proven ingredient to reverse the signs of aging. I also use vitamin c serum for brightening and protection. I also do weekly glycolic and lactic acid at home peels. Always wear SPF and focus on hydration.

[WinglessOne]

Have you tried a retinol product? Retinol can address those issues—though I suppose “brightening” in retinol’s case would really be lightening dark spots. You won’t see immediate results, so be prepared for a patient 2-3 months of use before deciding if retinol’s working for you. Oh, and deeper wrinkles require a dermal filler to remove. Retinol can work well for finer lines, though. 

I’ll be 48 later this year. I currently use sunscreen (the best preventative anti-aging product there is) daily. I added a vitamin C serum, Youth To The People Superfood Firm and Brighten Vitamin C Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL , to my morning skincare routine. It seems to be brightening the duller parts of my face, but I need to use it at least through the rest of June to really know if it’s beneficial for me. 

DR. DENNIS GROSS SKINCARE - Ferulic + Retinol Triple Correction Eye Serum has firmed my undereye skin and removed darkness caused by sun damage (from my teens and 20s, when I rarely wore sunscreen). It’s also affecting my fine lines, very very gradually. It can’t do anything about my deeper lines—again, only an injectable can do that—and fine line results will take even more time. But honestly, I’m not super hung up on lines around my eyes. I earned those lines, man. 😄 

I was inconsistently using a very low dosage retinol serum by FAB, just to see how my skin would tolerate that ingredient. Last week I started The INKEY List Retinol Fine Lines and Wrinkles Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL  and plan to use it just one night a week for at least 2 weeks, then move up to twice a week, and continue working up from there—unless my skin has a terrible reaction to it. So far, so good. Again, results take time. 🙂 

[l8totheparty]

The Inky list is not on Sephora Canada.  Retinol is something I haven't dipped my toes into,  despite wanting to help the things it's meant to help.  Soon, not-so-young grasshopper ( speaking of myself),  soon. @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

@l8totheparty 

Honestly I’m not 100% convinced I need retinol in my life, but curiosity drove me to try it. The low dose product I started with is FIRST AID BEAUTY - FAB Skin Lab Retinol Serum 0.25% Pure Concentrate. I had no bad reaction to it, so I was going to try THE ORDINARY - Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane (or one of the other Ordinary retinol products) next, but the jump from 0.25% to 2% scared me. The Ordinary makes less potent retinol serums not sold at Sephora, so I considered ordering direct from them. Enter The Inkey List: 1% retinol, inexpensive, and packaged in a tube that protects the product from light and air. Sorry this brand’s not available in Canada yet; maybe it will be soon? It’s definitely more cost effective than, say, Drunk Elephant’s A-Passioni which is also 1% retinol, but DE’s another option. 🙂 

[l8totheparty]

Thanks for the info, @WinglessOne 

I have a sample of the DE, but with all the talk of retinols drying skin and peeling skin I'm a little apprehensive. 

[ZTWD]

I have experienced pretty severe peeling (skin peeling off in sheets for weeks) with retinol products in the past-  which has left me pretty apprehensive of trying others. Bakuchiol products seem to be a gentler alternative for me which have not left my skin dry or peeling.  My results weren't dramatic overnight but over time, it has helped with the fine lines, wrinkles and over all smoothness of my skin. (And, I far prefer that to my "dramatic" results with the retinol product where I ended up looking like a sunburnt reptile shedding its skin and literally made a MUA at Sephora wince.)   And, it seems to play well with other skincare I use, unlike retinol. So far I've been pleased with Herbivore's Bakuchiol Retinol Alternative Smoothing Serum.  (The Biossance Squalane + Phyto-retinol Serum has also been highly recommended to me  as another alternative and that's next on my list to try, but I haven't yet.)

[WinglessOne]

@ZTWD  Your severe peeling reaction is exactly why I feared retinol/retinoid in the first place. 😬 I’m glad bakuchiol is working well for you! Back in April, my dermatologist and I agreed that I don’t need (and shouldn’t use) a prescription-strength retinoid: something like Retin-A would be too damaging for my skin. He also advised me to stay away from Differin, at least for now. (He didn’t say Differin and Rx retinoid are bad for everyone; his advice was specifically for my skin.) An OTC retinol like The Inkey List’s is much gentler, so that’s the way I went. 

Thankfully, I’ve had no bad reactions to The Inkey List Retinol. I’ve used it consistently since June. I started with just one night a week for 2 or 3 weeks and my skin tolerated it like a champ, so I increased usage to 2 nights a week. Did that for a few weeks, then increased again to 3 nights a week. Now I’m at 4 nights a week and will probably stick with that frequency. I can layer my AHA or BHA leave-on exfoliant under this retinol with no trouble. I’m just now getting near the end of my first tube of this stuff, and I already have a second one ready to open when this one’s empty. 

The biggest, most immediate result of this retinol has been an extreme boost in my skin’s radiance. I used to need facial oils to get this glow-from-within look. Not anymore! 😂 This retinol has also partnered well with my AHA to lift my large hyperpigmentation areas; that change has been gradual, which I expected, but I can definitely see a difference. I didn’t have many lines to start with, aside from a few on my forehead and several under my eyes—and I don’t use this retinol under my eyes. (I still use the DDG retinol eye serum for that.) Now that I’m at 4 nights a week usage, I’ll wait another couple months to determine how effective this serum is on fine lines.