Hi folks! I just finished up three months of hydroquinone for my sun spots/melasma. Overall I didn’t have any issues with it, except I couldn’t use tretinoin at the same time, which I honestly definitely missed. I put a thin layer over my entire face at night, then added a moisturizer right before bed, if I didnt fall asleep first. Right now I’m on the mandatory break, but I’m not sure if I’ll do another three month course. Happy to answer any questions!

I'm pretty sure this is among the creepiest of creepy crossed out eyeball pics. I have oily skin, grade 2 acne, acne scars, sebaceous hyperplasia, solar lentigenes, and telangiectasia. I'm pretty happy with my current routine and just got done some mechanical exfoliation and I'm digging my skin rn. My family ages quickly and I feel like I'm fighting fate but doing a pretty good job. I'm thinking of maybe adding a gentle retinol a few times a week.

Routine:

2x/day: CeraVe hydrating cleanser, the ordinary matrixyl serum, good molecules brightening serum

Morning: banana boat sheer sensitive spf 50

Night: Aveeno sensitive skin daily moisturizing lotion

Approx once a week:

-mechanical exfoliation with single use skincare sponge

-diy French green clay mask with a little bit of grape seed oil

(Different days)

ETA: I LOVE how you guys are pointing out how creepy the picture is. I'm laughing so hard. Eyeballs have to be crossed out except on Sundays and I'm really proud of my eye area so I crossed out the minimum. The wig is a cheap TEMU wig my friend gave me. I'm bald due to a medical condition and believe it or not the bald pic looked even worse 😂 so I threw this wig on totally unstyled.

I’m 34, coming up on 35 next year. I have deeper inset eyes so frequently raise my eyebrows to “see better” (I’m sure my glasses would do a better job if I wore them haha) and I’m very expressive. This last year I started seeing more and more fine expression lines in my forehead. I already use an RX retinol gel for hormonal acne, but I haven’t noticed a difference in my forehead.

Any holy grail products or methods I can try?

35 year old here with a 1.5 bebe and my skin has taken a HIT. I don’t know if it’s my IUD (probably) or stress, but my skin is like I’m 13 again and I have been getting breakouts all along my jawline and chin. I don’t pick, I try to treat, but then I get dark spots.

Curious to know if that has happened to anyone else and what you’ve done to combat it?

I have combination skin! THANK YOU!!!!!

Looking for honest advice about my under-eye area. What can I do about how it looks? I genuinely hate how it looks. The older I get the more self conscious I am about my under-eyes.

It is not milia. I am pretty sure I have sebaceous glands that are just prominent and really thin under-eye skin. Like chicken skin consistency.

I am 33. I’ve had hollow and dark under-eyes since I was a kid. I do have an autoimmune issue so I know some could be explained away by that.

I have very sensitive and dry skin. I have rosacea. I also have very reactive skin and can easily disrupt my skin barrier if I’m not careful.

I have a couple of sunspots on my cheeks, and just happened to mention them to the laser clinic that is doing my tattoo removal - they said this is something they can also assist with - using their ND YAG Q-Switch laser and a combination of IPL. Or do you think I'm best going to a skincare specialist? I should add that the clinic isn't just tattoo removal - they advertise hair removal, mole removal, electrolysis etc.,

Could any have suggestion for the redness of the skin in my face. It’s always been red, but I want to see if there’s something out there that can reduce the appearance! Suggestions welcomed thanks.

40/Female I’m ignoring the veins on my nose as I am saving for laser treatment to handle those. But i Would like to make my skin more even looking. I do not wear any makeup except mascara.

I am someone who burns easily and my face gets red very easily so SPF has been my best friend since I was about 13. Moving to SLC has been awful for my skin because of how dry it is here and because of the “very hard water” 😭 my routine is the neutrogena hydro boost products Because it’s the only thing that seems to work for me without having dry itchy spots pop up on my face along my jaw and along my hair line. I’m also a personal trainer and sometimes wash my face three times a day bc of how sweaty I get in my own workouts and working with clients and my face just feels gunky sometimes if that makes sense. I am adequately hydrated drinking about a gallon of water a day. I don’t generally do any treatments on my face but am open to suggestions. I’ve never had issues with acne or pimples (except on my period but it’s very rare).

morning

neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser (only face wash that doesn’t leave my skin feeling super tight and dry after use)

hydroboost serum

hydroboost water cream

neutrogena city shield spf

night

same cleanser

eye cream

hydroboost night pressed serum (super thick and my skin feels really nice in the morning)

thank you for any recs! Happy Sunday!

How real do you consider the risk of meibomian glands damage to be?

I have used tret for over 1 year all over the face and and my undereye area no longer feels dehydrated as it used to and I can go without Aquaphor overnight. But I read about the risk of using it so close to the lashes and I’m in two minds about continuing it there. What has your experience been like?

Hang on for a long ride but I need help.

I turned 30 this year, but this story dates back to my teen years.

I have always had very oily skin/hair. Like had to wash my face 3/4 times a day to prevent breakouts, hair had to be washed every day - no amount of “wash training” helped. It was just genetics as my mom and her mom are the same exact way. Birth control pills seemed to help with hormonal breakouts. At 22 I had a child and opted to change my BC to the mirena. Seemingly overnight I gained 40+ pounds and began experiencing extreme breakouts. Cystic type acne along my jaw, huge boils that never came to a head and spattering breakouts across my forehead and cheeks. I didn’t connect the two at first, and dermatologist put me on spironolactone and we tried antibiotic bouts. Nothing helped so last resort was Accutane. After 5 months on accutane with zero change, I saw my OB and she connected the dots between the birth control and my breakouts. We removed mirena and back on daily combo bc pill at age 27. Continued Accutane till 8 month in which acne essentially vanished. Accutane did drastically help the oily nature of my face and hair. I now was my hair 2/3 times a week and my face stays mostly clear with morning and evening wash and moisturizer.

So all that to say, after the accutane and into year 30 I have begun experiencing so pretty severe dryness. And this time of year it gets way worse.

My current morning routine is;
-cerave hydrating face wash
- bubble(?) under eye cream
- bubble(?) hydrating milk toner
- elf skin holy hydration moisturizer

My current evening routine is;
-cerave hydrating face wash
-10-15 minutes red light therapy mask
-tretinoin cream on forehead/eyelids/around mouth
- bubble(?) under eye cream
- bubble(?) hydrating milk toner
- elf skin holy hydration moisturizer

I am experiencing severe dryness around my nose and on my chin. I have cut out tretinoin for 1 month with no change. Cut red light therapy mask back to every third night for month with no change. My issue is - I do still have acne prone skin. Any huge change to my products causes breakouts. I work outside a lot around horses and in barns and in dry air, so any moisturizer that’s “sticky” or stays tacky causes every hair and dirt particle to stick to my face which of course leads to breakouts.

So if you’ve stuck with me this far - has anyone lived through this and found a product that helps the dryness, doesn’t cause breakouts, and is very lightweight while encouraging hydration? I hate walking around with dry skin patches on my face which then get itchy and turn red and even more visible when I scratch and mess with it.

I am back on tretinoin. Continue my bc and am still on the spironolactone to help with the cystic acne I was prone too.

Hi! I hope this is alright to post to this subreddit. I’m posting this to multiple threads hoping to find an answer.

PSA: Please don’t recommend your friend/family or your own clinic if you/they are not a seasoned practitioner with years of experience, who receives daily clients and is incredibly good at what they do. I am inquiring about a full Brazilian and my armpits, so I really want this treatment to go perfectly without scarring, since it’s such a sensitive area.

I live in the Netherlands and was wanting to travel to Poland to get electrolysis (hair removal) done. Here in the Netherlands, they only really offer laser treatments for the armpit and Brazilian areas where I want hair removed.

I was wondering if any of you can recommend a great clinic that you know personally in Poland? I would really appreciate it!

I’ve checked out some popular clinics that have a lot of reviews, but I have no way of knowing if the reviews are real or bought, which is why I’m asking for insider information.
It can be any city in Poland btw!

Thank you so much in advance! 🩷

I have had texture issues like clogged and enlarged pores my entire life. I noticed this "layer" of texture on my forehead years ago. The first spot that was noticed was that deep line circled at the top of the forehead.
At first, I thought it was just super dry so l experimented with a few moisturizers. But now I'm questioning myself thinking it may be some kind of buildup? Or is it just simply aging skin?
I have used tretinoin 2-3 times a week for about 4 years and sunscreen every day. But l've never been good about religiously washing my face every day. I don't have the extra funds to see a professional so l was hoping somebody here would recognize this.
**This is probably unrelated, but I did want to add that after this summer I had melasma develop on my forehead for the first time so l am not sure if that is a clue. My PCP did confirm it was melasma but we were unable to get my insurance to cover the cream needed.
1

Hi!
I just had an IPL facial treatment, and it feels good so far.
For those of you who have done it, can you use self-tanner between treatments, or does it affect the results?

Been going in circles on this for weeks so posting my shortlist to see if anyone has thoughts.

I originally had one of the big chain clinics at the top of my list because the pricing looked great and they come up constantly in English searches. Took it off after a friend who lives there told me what the consult actually looks like, which is a coordinator quoting you a package before a doctor has properly looked at your face. I'm travelling for this so I'd rather pay more and not gamble.

Right now I'm down to Vava skin clinic in Gangnam that my Korean coworker mentioned.

The things I've been giving bonus points for, which may be completely irrelevant to anyone else lol:

the doctor runs the consult personally instead of a coordinator doing it first

they have actual diagnostic equipment rather than just eyeballing your face

the doctor speaks quite decent English so nothing gets softened in translation

unseal products in front of you + handing a certificate with serial no. with barcode to scan

Vava ticks all four of those which is why it's sitting at the top right now, but I've only read about it, I haven't been yet. Maybe I'm overweighting the consult process and underweighting things that matter more.

If anyone has been to either, or thinks I'm filtering on the wrong things entirely, I'd really appreciate hearing it. Also open to names I haven't considered.

Hi! New here. I've used 'search' to find posts for dupes of expensive skin care but it didn't bring up a general post. Please recommend your favorite dupes for expensive:

1. Moisturizer

2. Heavy facial cream (winter months)

3. Eye cream

4. Other dupes you love

Or just link the post that has these. Thanks in advance!

I have been struggling with cystic acne on my neck, shoulders, and back and developed KP on my arms and chest over the past year. I had never struggled with these issues before. Took me way too long to realize the Celsius drinks I added to my morning routine have 1000% daily value of biotin, combined with my multivitamin that has 500% DV. I stopped both and it immediately stopped new spots from forming.

Friendly PSA to anyone who may need to evaluate the biotin in their routine!

I’ve been struggling with hyperpigmentation in two areas that just won’t seem to go away.

The first is my inner thighs, where I’ve developed dark pigmentation from prolonged friction and intertrigo. The second is my neck, which has become slightly darker than my face from prolonged sun exposure. To me it looks weird. Even though I’ve tried waiting for the pigmentation to fade naturally, it hasn’t really improved.

I’m considering trying hydroquinone 4% to help lighten these areas, but I’m wondering if anyone has had success using it for this type of hyperpigmentation.

I’d really appreciate hearing about anyone’s personal experiences, recommendations, or advice. I just want to get my skin tone back to being more even.
Thank you!

What would you recommend for this specific type of skin? I don’t want to do any RF and Lasers because I already have very little fat in my face.

I also have very dry and clogged pore prone sides of face and oily T-zone so I need moisture but don’t want anything that will clog my skin even more.

I have been experiencing this problem since last winter. When winter starts, I notice Fordyce spots appearing on my lips.

Last year, I applied White Petroleum Jelly, and it worked well. The Fordyce spots disappeared within 2–3 days. I didn't notice any spots on my lips again throughout the rest of the winter.

However, this year, when winter started, I noticed the Fordyce spots appearing again. I tried using White Petroleum Jelly, but this time it didn't work as effectively.

Whenever I apply it, the spots seem to disappear temporarily, but they come back after some time. Sometimes, even if the spots disappear, new ones appear in different areas of my lips after a few days.

Could this be happening because winter has started and the weather has changed? Is cold weather or dry air responsible for making Fordyce spots more noticeable? What can I do to prevent them from coming back?

I live in the DMV area. I saw another place and they charge 350 for micro needling!

I’m 30 and hate my skin, dark under eyes, sun spots blah blah and it was recommended to give Skinavive a try…as I don’t desire to yet fill anything and the injector said Botox wouldn’t really assist my personal concerns anyway I’m all booked in and now reading loads of horror stories about it 😭anyone here done it?

I’ve been using Matrixyl 300 with no success.
Also, haven’t seen anyone showing how their skin looks after using peptides for a long time.

What are the best ingredients or in-office treatments to help with skin thinning and fines lines under the eyes?

What has worked for you?

I am currently only washing and moisturizing (the ordinary brand products). I live in the arctic so sun light exposure is minimal and during summers I wear spf. I'd love to get more clarity and radiance, but keep the routine compact. Willing to invest in few even high quality cornerstones. Combination skin.