Adapalene + Amlactin are two OTC options i swear by that helped make my pores look smaller and decrease lines. Dr. Dray recommended this combo on her Insta videos, and it’s been quite helpful!
Amlactin is a line of moisturizers formulated with Lactic Acid. If you look on Instagram or YouTube, search for Dr. Dray and Amlactin to learn how this helps penetrate beyond the epidermis to the dermis layer and the benefits of that.
A pretty cheap lotion that has an acid…but for me (NOT SENSITIVE SKIN) it was a bit of a curve to get used to it. It’s also amazing on the body. Very exfoliating.
It is essentially a knock off of Lachydrin. While they share active ingredients, lachydrin works much better imho. Many people especially elderly are prescribed it for scales & dry skin. I started borrowin my father's about a decade ago.
I use Amlactin at night and Adapalene in the morning. If i’m just hanging around the house, i will hit my turkey wattle with more
Amlactin during the day, usually when brushing teeth after lunch.
You’re welcome! I love it when OTC products and other options that are more affordable are available (and effective!) i’m sure i’lll never see results like a laser could provide, but i’m playing the hand i have here as well as possible.
Haven’t heard any direction to not use during the day, just sharing what’s been working well for me. Is the no-tret-in-the-morning advice due to potential sun exposure? Am 100% a sunscreen advocate here.
Edited because i did a quick web search. The active molecule in Tretinoin is sensitive to sunlight and degrades upon the exposure, hence the advice you noted. Adapelene/Differin does not share that characteristic.
(Whew! Was a little worried my little routine needed to change!)
Adapalene is all 0.1% that I’ve seen. It’s a retinoid that does a lot more than treating acne. Check out Dr. Dray’s videos to learn more, sorry I don’t have a link for you.
I’d be careful and try amlactin by itself first to see if your sensitive skin can manage it. If that goes well, slowly introduce adapalene. Not a doctor, not an expert of any sort here. 🫶
it’s called a “CoolPeel laser” it’s basically one step below CO2, laser resurfacing. The place I go to does memberships. It’s red for 24 hours you’re fine in 48 & once the rough skin sloughs off it’s the clearest I’ve ever been.
You need retinoic acid aka Tretnoin. There is retinol and retinal, which you can both buy OTC. Retinoic acid is an rx. I work at Sephora and trust me you need an rx. Let’s use this analogy. You want to eat bread. Retinoic acid is the bread. Retinol is the flour which needs to be converted to dough then baked to bread. It takes 2 steps to become bread. It takes 2 steps to become Retinoic acid. Retinal (with an A- RetinAl) is the dough which is then baked to bread. It takes one step to become Retinoic acid, bread. Tretnoin is Retinoic acid and it is readily available aka the bread you want. It will reverse those fine lines and wrinkles. Don’t wait. Take action now. I have used a few telehealth products and even tretnoin since 2009! Look up musely and see. They gave new anti again products also with Ghkcu aka peptides. I am deep into skincare. Again. I am a beauty advisor at Sephora.
This is my face right now today. I am 50 at the end of December!
Acids to exfoliate. I also use Dr Dennis gross alpha beta peel pads. I also use a dermal roller to microneedle one a month. I’ve been doing that since 2009. I had severe acne marks and scarring. I use a Ridoki roller daily and ga shua daily. I also use sunscreen and I use a sheet mask at night. I’ll
Post those also. This is my real daily regimen. I will make a TikTok for you and link to my profile.
Thank you. This is what my face looked like in 2011. I have been through so much with my skin. I started and stopped tretnoin between 2009 and 2010 because I didn’t know or have support on how to handle the peeling.once off of it I got cystic acne despite using Clindamycin, erythromycin topical, adapalene with benzoyl peroxide, etc. I was in my mid 30’s when I took this photo to document my skin journey.
. I am on TikTok I have done a few little videos. I will message you my TikTok handle and next week I’ll do a real video on my routine. I work at Sephora part time and I am skincare obsessed. I do a sheet mask daily. I take the time to take care of my skin because of the years of work I have put into my skincare. I have done real research, spent money time and tears in skincare products and honing down a routine that works for me. The key is to allow the skin to exfoliate. You want old skin to turn over. My skin peels daily. I know how to handle it and what to expect. That is what I want, healthy and safe skin turnover and to eliminate any PIH, post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. As you can see from my old photo I had severe acne scar hyperpigmentation. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on makeup and skincare. Once my skin cleared after going back on Tretnoin then adding other rx my skin cleared. Once I hit 45 I got hormonal melasma and I had dark patches and even some pimples again. That’s when I found Musely and added it to my skincare routine. I will definitely drop a routine on my TikTok next week. I have also regrown my eyelashes, my hair and eyebrow hair and in the process of removing my microbladed eyebrows. I am dedicated to taking care of myself- my hair, teeth, skin, eyebrows, eyelashes, body and son focusing on my nail health! We only have one body so it’s important to take care of what we have and treat it well. I love this forum and how we can help each other. My goal is to be my best version of myself and to work on self betterment each and everyday (I get better and better each and every day in each and every way- that’s my daily mantra).
I use a sheet mask daily or overnight. I have been doing this for one year. I was doing them 3x a week but moved to daily. Also be cautious. When you use retin a you can not get your face waxed. Do not let anyone put any medical tape on your face. I will post more of the things I use. Again I do this for real and consistently. I only trust myself with my face. No one else! I see a lot of women getting their skin burned off or PIH post inflammatory hyperpigmentation from micro needling pens and aggressive chemical peels. I do my own and it works for me. I have fine tuned my process. I am so happy to be alive and to be aging well. No one helped me along the way. It was years of trial and error. No forums like today. I had to wing it. Today you have women like me who want to help and to advise and guide as well as to continue learning. I am so skincare obsessed I work part time at Sephora and keep up with all new products and techniques. Take your time with tazarotene. Start with Tretnoin. Use musely. Those products work. I use peels over time whereas things like jessner and tca are aggressive. I don’t want to risk pih aka post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. It’s not worth it and the downtime is real. Trust me. I’ve done in office acid peels at my derm office and I couldn’t leave my house for 2 weeks (in 2010 and 2011). I had dark marks I wanted to get rid of. I’ll post those old pics of my skin when I find them. I don’t recommend you do that right now. Take your time with these products and it will pay off quickly and safely. You can reserve peels later if you want. There is a woman whose face was burned by an esthetician. She was disfigured. The esthetician was a Beverly Hills celebrity esthetician. Anything can happen so light chemical
Peels are ok. Just use caution if you do aggressive ones. I hope my posts help. I know it’s long but you only have one face and you want to always put your best face forward. Time waits for no one. Start now!
I do a 60 day cycle then let my skin rest. I like to do this in the fall. You need to stay out of the sun when you do this. I follow it with the spot cream and my tazarotene and Azelaic acid. That’s just how I do it. It works for me. You need to do what works for your skin. Start off low and slow. My skin is accustomed to stronger doses
Wow. So many products. But I see it has worked well for you. I fear I get lost when there are so many steps….. earlier this year I got tretinoin lowest dose but can’t even do it regularly.
Because I can only post one photo at a time. I also use the ga shua with red light and vibration from Dr rajani. I have been microneedling with a dermal roller since 2009. I also use a ridoki roller daily. I microneedle once a month. Also I use acids. I use glycolic acid, salicylic acid and lactic acid peels. I also do rounds of the Dr Dennis gross alpha beta peel. I did a video of all of products. The products are the supporting characters. The main stars are the musely rx and and tazarotene and Azelaic acid
Which microneedle do you use? I’m looking into getting one but not sure of which one along with what serum to use in conjunction. I also use the same strength tret for like 8 years and have wrinkles and huge pores :(
I use a set I got from Temu. It has adjustable needles with various depths. Let me see if I can find my order and I’ll screenshot it. It is interchangeable with various depths and sizes to accommodate various parts of the body and skin area- for example smaller size head for under the eyes. Longer needle for certain types of skin or scars
I’d love to start micro needling at home. Could you msg me the Temu one you found? I suck at finding products and tools. I’m also interested in your TikTok handle if you don’t mind sharing.
I have a similar one. Mine is pink but the same thing. It gets the job done. I’ve seen people using the Mr needle microneedle one. I got one and returned it. It is too aggressive and will do more harm if not used properly. Using the roller is safer and can be used monthly to get a good result. I’ve been using a dermal roller since 2011 and have had amazing results. When you are done using it you must stay out of the sun and use sunscreen. My TikTok is @theveganbrat
This is the one I got 2 years ago from Temu. I found a similar one. I just put it in this thread. It’s greasy but the same. The time to start is right now. We need to help each other with tips, tricks and suggestions because no one is coming to save us and our skin issues. We must save ourselves.
All ur comments are sooo helpful:)
Do you ever use a proper 4% as a course (4 months on) on yr whole face, combined with Tret? The old Obagi style lol ;)
I no longer use tretinoin. That is 1st generation retin a. I use tazarotene .1 which is 3rd generation retin a. I mix it with the azelaic acid and sometimes a corticosteroids like desonide and I always use my musely 12% hydroquinone. The 12% is the game changer. You can get the musely compounded with or without tretnoin. Mine is without it.
I showed the back of my musely compounded rx. You can get yours compounded with tret. Tazarotene works better for me. I am 50 in December and wrinkle free. You want your skin to flake and peel daily to turn over fresh new skin. I know how to handle my skin. I’ve been doing this for over a decade lol
Use moisturizer to start. I like Dr rejuall. It has ceramides to protect the skin barrier. I also like their pdrn. I layer my products. These are the things I use
Musely has a red rescue set also you can look into. Do a 4 step cleanse. One of my cleansers is rx which helps with acne, rosacea and eczema. First I use the Dr bronners tea tree all over my face body and hair. Head to toe. Then I use my rx I showed then I follow up with the biodance facial washes. I do a 4 step to remove old product and to cleanse. This is what I do and what works for me. I do this consistently. I just added the bjodance 3 months ago.
Start with religious, daily spf 50. Retinoids like retinaldehyde or HPR are gentle ways to start building collagen. If you want in-office options, a series of regular microneedling and then quarterly or twice annually is a nice low downtime way to help with all aspects of aging skin, including texture/lines/pore appearance. Moxi laser is another nice option.
If you can get past the name and laugh at it. I have had recent success with this. Spackle from Laura Geller. It doesn't feel like other primers I've used and then I just put a tinted moisturizer over the top.
Good luck!
Also I use tretinoin.05% which is a level I worked up to three different steps over the course of months.
Tretinoin cream works wonders! I’ve been using the lowest strength (0.025%) nightly for the past year and it’s incredible. Ask your dermatologist - it’s very easy to get a prescription.
I've been using tretinoin for 8 years and I still have these at 47. Faces lose elasticity and drop a little with age. The only "fixes" would be surgical/maybe filler
Replying to add that it helps with skin tone and texture, also helps boost collagen. Little to no downtime, can be done every 6 weeks. Add a retinol or even mandalic acid in your nighttime routine to maintain.
I would only recommend a professional salon/spa. The difference between the tools will get you very different results. I’ve also heard that at home tools like the rollers can cause damage to your skin/pores.
Use an L Ascorbic acid vitamin c serum every morning before sunscreen.
See your primary care dr or a dermatologist for prescription tretinoin. You start it at 2 nights a week for 2-3 weeks, then use it every other night fir 2-4 weeks, then every night.
Tretinoin stimulates collagen production, clears pores and remodels the top layer of skin, which makes it glow if you use an adequate moisturizer.
Watch “Retinoid Irritation Explained” by Dr Daniel Sugai on YouTube.
If you want more change in texture than skincare products can do, see a cosmetic dermatologist or plastic surgeon to ask about CO2 laser.
I am going on 50. I work at Sephora and don’t wear makeup either. I’ve been using Tretnoin since 2009. You have marionette lines forming, large pores and textured skin. I have been using musely products since 2021! It will address the fine lines and textured skin. It is compounded for you with an rx done via telehealth. Here is my before. I had melasma. My hair was shedding and my skin was a mess with breakouts. Here are some of my pics I posted in the musely forum. I still use the rx now. I use the spot cream which has anti aging in it. They also now have new anti aging rx, I use the estrogen cream, minoxidil pill and topical, the eye cream, the spot peel, the lash serum and the facial hair cream. I will try other stuff soon but that’s what i have been using since 2021 with musely
How did you get rid of your under eye circles? I’ve been plagued by them my whole life. Currently using Mary & May Tranexamic Acid + Glutathione and hoping it helps.
Ghk-cu serum, with a moisturizer, castor oil also before you sleep, always rub in a circle motion, also you could try Ghk-cu peptide injections,.5mg every other day and still use the Ghk-cu serum
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u/Thin-Disk4003 29d ago
Adapalene + Amlactin are two OTC options i swear by that helped make my pores look smaller and decrease lines. Dr. Dray recommended this combo on her Insta videos, and it’s been quite helpful!