sudden rapid-aging of skin :(

[Anonymous]

I always heard that Retin A is not a good thing for women of child bearing age. But maybe that's not the case?

[Anonymous]

I feel like something similar happened to me after my Dad passed away. I was looking very young for my age but when he died I gained then lost and gained 20ish pounds - which is not great for the elasticity of the skin, had terrible sleep patterns and have been eating too much sugar. I feel like I don't recognize myself in the mirror now.

I agree with one of the previous posters about getting yourself healthy from the inside out so that you feel better about yourself in general. That is something I am working on myself!

Is there anyway you could do a facial once a month? That has been helpful for me. Also Vit C serum. You can get the homemade stuff on Etsy which is all natural and has a high concentration of Vit C and other anti aging ingredients and is way cheaper then the stuff they sell at Sephora. I've tried making it at home and frankly it's easier to buy it. It helps with elasticity of the skin.

Also, omega 3's especially in salmon is supposed to be good as well. And definitely be diligent about the sun screen!!

[Anonymous]

Take a look at this site - great skin care research

http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/best-products/

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sure you're right about the biggest culprits (diet, sleep). The sleep might be hard to fix, but hopefully you and your husband can figure something out. Personally, I would be cautious with Retin-A. It can be very harsh and drying for some people and that's the last thing you want.

I have had problem skin for years and actually did notice a significant improvement when I cut out alcohol and sugar. I know it's hard, but to the extent you can, I'd try to improve your diet--particularly by adding "good fats" through foods like salmon, nuts, avocados, etc.

The vitamin C recommendation is spot on. A dermatologist told me the only products that do any good are vitamin C serums and a particular product by Skinceuticals (retexturizing something).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Retin-A sounds great, but I've read that it's really hard on dry skin, which mine tends towards. Can anyone with dry skin speak to how it was for you? I'm also wondering about the cost - I don't have acne, so presumably would be paying the uninsured cost. Probably would not be an option right now, but maybe in a year or so when I'm back working full time.

I don't know why it never occurred to me that aging occurs in spurts. I always imagined it to be a somewhat linear process. This has been a pretty major spurt though. :/

I do agree about acceptance of aging. I really don't mind looking my age, and genetics are probably not on my side (neither of my parents looks at all young for their age), but it just seems like so much so fast. I don't think anyone wants to look older than they are. I have no interest in botox, but I'm definitely up for topical treatments and dietary changes or supplements to optimize what I've got.

My diet and sleep have both been pretty rough since having a baby, and to me those seem like the biggest culprits. I'm actually a good bit slimmer than before I had a baby, so it's not the quantity of food, but probably the quality. Exercise has also been on the back burner. I guess just taking care of myself generally needs to be reprioritized. I'm wearing all of these bad habits on my face.

My moisturizer does contain sunscreen, but I only apply it once in the morning, so I doubt it's doing much good during the day. How exactly does one apply sunscreen over makeup, though?

i have very dry skin and the retin is ok, start at the lower dose-may need to use it every other day or every few days at first-I let it absorb and then put on a moisturizer-heavier at night.

[Anonymous]

I am 48. I have very good skin. No wrinkles, spots, very faint crows feet (when I laugh). I do not have large pores and I look much-much younger than my age. I have had periods of bad skin (after childbirth) and have used retin-A, to rapidly exfoliate some of the skin. I used it for 10-15 days only. It will mess up yr skin if it is dry, but it does speed up exfoliation. I stopped, because the way the skin was peeling, looked as if I was diseased. I do not use makeup - using a bit of Olay CC cream for parties as it makes my skin look very good.

Here is what I do -
1) No smoking, No sun exposure. Showering with tepid water. No baths.
2) No washing face with soap at all. If I need to take any stuff off of my face, I put coconut oil, and wipe with a damp cloth.
3) Put coconut or olive oil all over body and face before I shower. Very limited use of soap on areas that need soap.
4) I put a mixture of 1 part glycerine : 1 part water : 1/4 part lemon juice in a bottle. I put it all over my skin and face after my shower. Let it dry for 5 minutes. This is DA BOMB. If you have to do 1 thing for your skin. This is it. Cover skin with body butter/lotion and face and neck with Oil of Olay with SPF 15 lotion.

If you are in a very bad state and want some rapid change in your skin - try these remedies for 3 days. You should see significant changes in your skin.

1) Before bath - Take 1/2 cup milk + 1 teaspoon table salt (I also add a few drops of rose water or vanilla essence). Warm it up a bit in the microwave. Dab generously on your face and entire body. Let it dry some (5 - 10 minutes). Do not talk or smile/laugh when you put any mask or mixture on your face. This is gentle enough to put in your eye area. When mixture has dried a bit, smooth over coconut oil and rub off the milk mixture. Take a shower with tepid water. Wipe down and put the glycerine mixture and moisturizer. Use a good eye cream for your eye area after putting the Glycerine mixture.

2) Take a teaspoon of raw egg white and apply on your face avoiding the eye area. (In the kitchen, when you make eggs for your family, take the egg white that sticks to the egg shell and apply over your face, avoiding around the eye. I do this everyday) Rinse and pat dry. Moisturize with the glycerine mixture. Use eye cream and moisturizer. This makes your skin shiny and bright - just brimming with good health. Maybe do this once at night and once in the morning.

Do this for 2-3 days and let us know if this has made any difference?

Lemon juice has vit c and milk provides lactic acid. They are as good as anything expensive in the market.

I only use glycerine soap on my body, and very little of it. And shower with tepid water. I also always use different towels for my hair and skin and face.

All the other inputs about sleep, multi vitamins, good fats, hydration, avoiding soda etc is spot on as well.

Try this remedy for 3 days. Let us know if it worked for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 48. I have very good skin. No wrinkles, spots, very faint crows feet (when I laugh). I do not have large pores and I look much-much younger than my age. I have had periods of bad skin (after childbirth) and have used retin-A, to rapidly exfoliate some of the skin. I used it for 10-15 days only. It will mess up yr skin if it is dry, but it does speed up exfoliation. I stopped, because the way the skin was peeling, looked as if I was diseased. I do not use makeup - using a bit of Olay CC cream for parties as it makes my skin look very good.

Here is what I do -
1) No smoking, No sun exposure. Showering with tepid water. No baths.
2) No washing face with soap at all. If I need to take any stuff off of my face, I put coconut oil, and wipe with a damp cloth.
3) Put coconut or olive oil all over body and face before I shower. Very limited use of soap on areas that need soap.
4) I put a mixture of 1 part glycerine : 1 part water : 1/4 part lemon juice in a bottle. I put it all over my skin and face after my shower. Let it dry for 5 minutes. This is DA BOMB. If you have to do 1 thing for your skin. This is it. Cover skin with body butter/lotion and face and neck with Oil of Olay with SPF 15 lotion.

If you are in a very bad state and want some rapid change in your skin - try these remedies for 3 days. You should see significant changes in your skin.

1) Before bath - Take 1/2 cup milk + 1 teaspoon table salt (I also add a few drops of rose water or vanilla essence). Warm it up a bit in the microwave. Dab generously on your face and entire body. Let it dry some (5 - 10 minutes). Do not talk or smile/laugh when you put any mask or mixture on your face. This is gentle enough to put in your eye area. When mixture has dried a bit, smooth over coconut oil and rub off the milk mixture. Take a shower with tepid water. Wipe down and put the glycerine mixture and moisturizer. Use a good eye cream for your eye area after putting the Glycerine mixture.

2) Take a teaspoon of raw egg white and apply on your face avoiding the eye area. (In the kitchen, when you make eggs for your family, take the egg white that sticks to the egg shell and apply over your face, avoiding around the eye. I do this everyday) Rinse and pat dry. Moisturize with the glycerine mixture. Use eye cream and moisturizer. This makes your skin shiny and bright - just brimming with good health. Maybe do this once at night and once in the morning.

Do this for 2-3 days and let us know if this has made any difference?

Lemon juice has vit c and milk provides lactic acid. They are as good as anything expensive in the market.

I only use glycerine soap on my body, and very little of it. And shower with tepid water. I also always use different towels for my hair and skin and face.

All the other inputs about sleep, multi vitamins, good fats, hydration, avoiding soda etc is spot on as well.

Try this remedy for 3 days. Let us know if it worked for you.

Wow, thanks for posting this. Do you wash your face at night (with coconut oil)?

[Anonymous]

The 48 year old is very sweet and has also failed to share the real reasons for her no spots, no crows feet and no wrinkles.

Genes
Melanin (I guarantee pp is not Irish or British)
No smoking no or ever, probably
Sun avoidance in youth (unless she's black or v dark skinned)


All the egg whites and coconuts in the world can't correct or even improve damage done by sunscreen-free lifeguarding as a teen; a college spent smoking marlboro lights; and being 100% Irish.

[Anonymous]

Well, I've spent most of my life staying out of the sun (always in hat, long sleeves, etc.). I'm very fair and burn easily -- even with sunscreen. I too have noticed that my skin has really aged in the last few years (like OP, following breastfeeding, lack of sleep, too much sugar).

I recently went on a totally sugar free diet. I only get sugar from fruits. It's been 12 weeks and there has been absolutely ZERO change in the skin. Zero. Pimples (didn't get those until my mid 20s, now in mid 30s) are still there and otherwise skin is dull and awful.

So, sugar may be a culprit, but you'd think that 3 months without would show a slight difference. Guess I need to do a lot more.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Thanks so much for all of the great info!

@48 year old with amazing skin - I am jealous! I'm sure my skin already looks about 20 years older than yours. I'll give your recommendations a shot. Why not? Thanks for all of the tips. You mentioned soda and oops, I do drink diet coke, and didn't even think about that as a factor.

@19:24 - oh man, so depressing that 3 months without sugar has made no difference. I admire the willpower, though, and I bet over time you will start to see a difference. My mother in law cut out sugar and white flour a year ago and her skin has literally reverse-aged, and at 58 her skin is as good or better than mine. I've wondered if pregnancy and breastfeeding stripped a lot of nutrients from my body that I haven't been diligent about reintroducing - the dullness in my skin almost seems like a nutrient deficit or something. I'm going to cut waaay back on sugar and get serious about my diet and see if there's any difference after 6 months. Maybe in combination it will help? I sometimes felt like breastfeeding was sucking the life out of me, and then my face totally started looking like that was the case.

@17:15 - Thanks for the advice on the Retin-A and Vit C. Maybe I'll try the retinoid slowly and cautiously at first and see how it goes. I'm a little nervous about it, as I don't want my skin to look even worse. But a Vit C serum seems easy and could be relatively inexpensive.

@16:10 - So sorry about your dad. I've wondered how much weight gain and loss have impacted my skin ... I don't know. I gained 40-50 pounds when pregnant, and lost 20 more than that after I had the baby, so it was a lot of change in a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always heard that Retin A is not a good thing for women of child bearing age. But maybe that's not the case?

Yes! Don't use if you're planning on getting pregnant or breastfeeding:
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-1192-Retin-A+Top.aspx

(You only need to apply a tiny amount of Retin A at a time if the above doesn't apply to you.)

Also, OP, you need a sunscreen with moisturizer not the other way around. Make up/moisturizers with sunscreen added usually are sufficient as a sunscreen b/c they're not in high enough concentrations.

Most of the damage had been done b/c sun exposure is cumulative. And yes, we all get wrinkles forehead lines, crows feet. You'd look worse if you smoked. True melasma has more of a mask look. You just have sun spots. You're probably feeling more wrinkly if you're sleep deprived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 48. I have very good skin. No wrinkles, spots, very faint crows feet (when I laugh). I do not have large pores and I look much-much younger than my age. I have had periods of bad skin (after childbirth) and have used retin-A, to rapidly exfoliate some of the skin. I used it for 10-15 days only. It will mess up yr skin if it is dry, but it does speed up exfoliation. I stopped, because the way the skin was peeling, looked as if I was diseased. I do not use makeup - using a bit of Olay CC cream for parties as it makes my skin look very good.

Here is what I do -
1) No smoking, No sun exposure. Showering with tepid water. No baths.
2) No washing face with soap at all. If I need to take any stuff off of my face, I put coconut oil, and wipe with a damp cloth.
3) Put coconut or olive oil all over body and face before I shower. Very limited use of soap on areas that need soap.
4) I put a mixture of 1 part glycerine : 1 part water : 1/4 part lemon juice in a bottle. I put it all over my skin and face after my shower. Let it dry for 5 minutes. This is DA BOMB. If you have to do 1 thing for your skin. This is it. Cover skin with body butter/lotion and face and neck with Oil of Olay with SPF 15 lotion.

If you are in a very bad state and want some rapid change in your skin - try these remedies for 3 days. You should see significant changes in your skin.

1) Before bath - Take 1/2 cup milk + 1 teaspoon table salt (I also add a few drops of rose water or vanilla essence). Warm it up a bit in the microwave. Dab generously on your face and entire body. Let it dry some (5 - 10 minutes). Do not talk or smile/laugh when you put any mask or mixture on your face. This is gentle enough to put in your eye area. When mixture has dried a bit, smooth over coconut oil and rub off the milk mixture. Take a shower with tepid water. Wipe down and put the glycerine mixture and moisturizer. Use a good eye cream for your eye area after putting the Glycerine mixture.

2) Take a teaspoon of raw egg white and apply on your face avoiding the eye area. (In the kitchen, when you make eggs for your family, take the egg white that sticks to the egg shell and apply over your face, avoiding around the eye. I do this everyday) Rinse and pat dry. Moisturize with the glycerine mixture. Use eye cream and moisturizer. This makes your skin shiny and bright - just brimming with good health. Maybe do this once at night and once in the morning.

Do this for 2-3 days and let us know if this has made any difference?

Lemon juice has vit c and milk provides lactic acid. They are as good as anything expensive in the market.

I only use glycerine soap on my body, and very little of it. And shower with tepid water. I also always use different towels for my hair and skin and face.

All the other inputs about sleep, multi vitamins, good fats, hydration, avoiding soda etc is spot on as well.

Try this remedy for 3 days. Let us know if it worked for you.

Wow, thanks for posting this. Do you wash your face at night (with coconut oil)?

Yes. I put coconut oil all over my face. Wipe out eye make up with wash cloth. Rinse with tepid water and pat dry. If your face feels dry, please put the glycerine mixture and then whatever eye cream and moisturizer you want, or more coconut oil. REMEMBER - DO NOT USE GLYCERINE WITHOUT DILUTING WITH EQUAL PARTS WATER, ELSE, YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR SKIN BADLY. It keeps very well in a bottle.

If you can avoid sun damage, bathing with hot water, smoking - your skin will look younger, longer. Keep your showers short and make sure that your water is as tepid. Hot showers will age your skin.

Please try these remedies for at least a few days and see if it makes any difference? The most potent weapon here is the glycerine:water:lemon juice mixture. It feels a bit yucky using it so I always use another layer of moisturizer/lotion/oil on top. All these remedies are very effective and cheap. At one time I was using olive oil in place of coconut oil, because it is available in my pantry. But I found that the coconut oil is a real miracle. And I have also used Oil of Olay forever.

I actually suffer from Thyroid disorder. That makes keeping my skin healthy and moisturized at my age a challenge, and I have managed to do that without expensive spas and treatments till now. I am not averse to using expensive products or treatments etc. - it is just that till now, the glycerine mixture, milk baths, egg mask have actually helped me a lot more than any expensive skin care product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 48 year old is very sweet and has also failed to share the real reasons for her no spots, no crows feet and no wrinkles.

Genes
Melanin (I guarantee pp is not Irish or British)
No smoking no or ever, probably
Sun avoidance in youth (unless she's black or v dark skinned)


All the egg whites and coconuts in the world can't correct or even improve damage done by sunscreen-free lifeguarding as a teen; a college spent smoking marlboro lights; and being 100% Irish.

LOL. I am not sure about the genes. No smoking. Sun avoidance. Always wore sunglasses. No long hot showers,. Oil of Olay - spf 15 - every single day. I do not use sun-screen though apart from what is in the Olay. Not Irish, not British. Not black and not v dark skinned. Some melanin, however, even within my family...I have really good skin as compared to my relatives.

The egg trick? Been doing that since my 20s. It's second nature. And it takes minutes while I am in the kitchen. It is a protein mask. I hated soap on my face as a kid and that has continues to date. Well, try what I have suggested. See if things improve for you in a few days. Nothing is expensive that I have suggested. You can always come back here and flame me, if it does not do you any good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always heard that Retin A is not a good thing for women of child bearing age. But maybe that's not the case?

Yes! Don't use if you're planning on getting pregnant or breastfeeding:
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-1192-Retin-A+Top.aspx

(You only need to apply a tiny amount of Retin A at a time if the above doesn't apply to you.)

Also, OP, you need a sunscreen with moisturizer not the other way around. Make up/moisturizers with sunscreen added usually are sufficient as a sunscreen b/c they're not in high enough concentrations.

Most of the damage had been done b/c sun exposure is cumulative. And yes, we all get wrinkles forehead lines, crows feet. You'd look worse if you smoked. True melasma has more of a mask look. You just have sun spots. You're probably feeling more wrinkly if you're sleep deprived.

As in, don't use if you ever plan on getting pregnant, or just not if you're planning to in the near future?

[Anonymous]

Near future. I would stop using it a month-a few months before TTC. It is absorbed through your skin in small amounts anyway.