Some people are going to cringe when they read about what I put on my face, so be forewarned! I don't in any way profess to be a skin care expert; far from it! First off, know that I was not good to my skin in my youth. A 'Boomer' born in '53, in the late sixties through the mid-seventies, we didn't know that baking ourselves in the sun would ravage our skin by the time we hit our mid-forties. I didn't start hearing cautions against the dangers of sunning until my mid- to late twenties. So here I am now with rough, bumpy skin, flakey around the nose, spotted here and there from sun damage, and emerging crinkles. It's horrifying really. Especially, when in my youth, I constantly heard what beautiful skin I had. Way to throw away a God-given gift from lack of proper care! So please, please, please stay out of the sun or at least use a strong sunscreen. NOTHING wreaks havoc on skin like good ol' sunshine and tanning beds! In fact, tanning beds are now well know to be deadly. But this article is about damage control. Unless you have the cash to employ a plastic surgeon and a really good dermatologist, there is not much you can do to return to your former youth. However, I have found a few things that do help. And if you are young and happen to be reading here, please take some advice from an 'old lady' who learned too late: start using these products now--or at least do something daily to nurture, protect and sustain the beautiful skin you have.
Throughout my adult life I've tried many skincare products--some fairly expensive and some not so much. Prior to age 40, all I ever used was a simple moisturizer and soap and water...soap meaning Pears, Neutrogena or something along those lines. After 40, I used alpha hydroxy acid cream and fancier moisturizers. The expensive stuff never worked any better than the less pricy ones. And some things I really liked and enjoyed and would still be using were discontinued. Wish 'they' wouldn't do that! One of those products was the original Avon Anew alpha hydroxy acid cream that launched in the early 80s, I believe. I really miss that product! It kept my skin nicely exfoliated and my pores seemed so much smaller when I used it. Avon carries quite a variety of skincare products under the Anew label now; I've tried a few but none seem to do much; certainly none held a candle to that old original Anew in the aqua-green jar. As well, they are not completely inexpensive.
In my quest to find what would be best for my 'mature' (OLD) skin, I did quite a bit of research on the best anti-aging products. So many websites and articles named the following products over and over---I got the message!
Beta Hydroxy Acid (for exfoliation)
Retinol or Retin A
Hyaluronic Acid
Vitamin C
(By the way, the best website with information on skincare is Paula's Choice, in my opinion.)
Armed with that information, I began searching out these products. The well-known cosmetic lines are very proud of their offerings and don't mind asking a pretty penny, let me tell you! But in general, I'm a cheapskate when it comes to some things. Luckily, in my exhaustive search, I discovered my favorite nutritional supplement company, Puritan's Pride, has a nice selection of everything I was looking for. Inexpensive, too! The customer reviews were excellent, so I thought I'd give them a chance. What the heck; it wouldn't cost much to try!
I started out with their Puritan Pride Retinol cream (100,000 IU per ounce), White Egret Hyaluronic Acid Day Serum and Puritan Pride Vitamin C serum.
I found a good Beta Hydroxy Lotion/Toner from Neutrogena that met the Paula's Choice criteria. However, I eventually stopped using the beta hydroxy, as I felt it was a little too drying. I exfoliate now a couple times a week, either with some type of gritty facial scrub, my Neutrogena Microdermabrasion System or a little silicone facial scrubber I found at Rite Aid. I use the latter with Shea Moisture African Black Soap. Some days I even wash my face with Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile liquid soap, which takes makeup off like magic. Do not get that in your eyes though! (Toldja you might cringe!)
The retinol cream has a strong perfume-y scent, so if you're sensitive to fragrance, you may not like it. However, this is one of the richest creams I've ever used. The Vitamin C serum has an odd nutty, vitamin tablet scent. The hyaluronic acid serum has a beautiful, light scent--very nice! The performance of all three has been extremely good. Currently, I mix the three together in a small one-ounce jar, measuring about 1/2 a jarful of retinol and a quarter-ounce each of the other two to make up the other half a jar. I make small batches like this as the Vitamin C can be unstable and will go bad if not used up quickly. I store my larger bottles of Vitamin C in the fridge.
I've been using this mixture at night for my night cream. Sometimes I'll use it under my eyes before makeup in the morning, as it makes a nice, rich base and is extremely moisturizing. Of course you can apply the items separately; I'm just lazy and want to get them all in one go! The mixture holds up nicely, not separating or going bad before it's used up. The scent of the retinol cream and hyaluronic acid serum covers up the odd Vitamin C scent very well. I've been using this about six months and have seen a noticeable difference. I still have issues with large pores but for the most part my skin has smoothed out and most of the crinkles are diminished. I even had a very large age spot on one cheek that was bumpy and unsightly, but after using my mixture, six months later the little bumps are gone. The spot is still there, but at least it's smooth; I can cover it up with concealer.
Speaking of age spots, there is one product I've used that works well if you are patient and use it daily. That's the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. I bought a big bottle one day when I was feeling splurgy. It's cost prohibitive for me, so I have not re-purchased. But I digress...
Of course, cosmetic junkie that I am, I always want more. My hairdresser is close to my age, but she has really nice skin. When asked, she told me her secret was an expensive department store brand of collagen and retinol. Retinol I have, but never tried collagen. Off to Puritan Pride (online) I went. I really hit them up on the right day! 'PP' runs lots of $-saving specials; this particular day I was able to get 5 two-ounce jars of their collagen & placenta (yuck) cream for--are you ready?--less than $7.00! Ten ounces of product! It smells great and smooths out my skin nicely. Makes a fabulous base for foundation, too. I haven't used it long enough yet to see any great difference yet, but I like using it along with some Co-Q10 serum I purchased at the same time, as a day treatment.
I won't say that I think these products are miracles in a jar, but I will say my skin looks much better than before I started using them. And does anyone truly believe that any $100, $300 or $750 product works any better? I simply refuse to shell out big bucks for a fancy jar and a well advertised name. So if you're looking for decent skincare on a budget, give my method a try. Explore your own favorite nutritional supplement source; they may carry some great skincare products at a reasonable price. You won't have lost much if you don't like them!
Till next time,
"I wanted to see my name in lights, but I was willing to settle for my name on a jar." ~ Estee Lauder
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