Hi Sal --
First, I feel your pain on which to prioritize in the budget -- in my ideal world there'd be room for plenty of clinical facials/skincare products and deep tissue massages!
Because 40s/50s is where any and all of our lifestyle habits seem to show up on our face, even we low-intervention types seem to consider action!
I have some pigmentation and broken blood vessels/rosacea issues, and as an expressive no-Botox-thanks person still have my "11s," upper lip crinkles, and forehead furrows. In addition to lighting(!) I find lifestyle + skincare minimize their prominence.
Louder than 1000 words: I've attached a photo that includes a rather too-close-for-comfort shot of my ~ 50 y.o. skin with no makeup in indoor natural light (minimal makeup in outdoors + artificial indoors there too). Issues mentioned above on display + dark circles added bonus haha.
FWIW:
- Sensitive skin and mild rosacea here, so I do have to be careful re products. However, I have changed from "do no harm" skincare to "do no harm + add benefits" skincare and am pleased. That includes a pro treatment ~ 1-2 year (budget depending).
- Spending more on skincare means I spend relatively little on makeup for my faux-natural look -- a little "shoe math" there, perhaps!
- Worth mentioning I've spent most of my adult years in a rainy climate, though I didn't start daily sunscreen use til my mid-40s (bad Vix!).
***** begin novel! ****
Anyway...I certainly agree SPF, hydration, and exercise matter for skin health and appearance. Sadly IMO, skin (collagen) prefers a low-sugar (including low-alcohol) lifestyle. WHY O WHY haha.
Going back in time here -- I hit my mid-30s having done nothing but Cetaphil cleanser and sunscreen/hats during prolonged outdoor time for skincare. For a bunch of reasons I'll skip over for semi-brevity I started having *very* regular facials that included extractions. This lasted a few years. I had great pros, so nothing irritated my skin but I think the only real benefit was sloughing off layers to let daily products work more effectively. Which *is* a benefit!
From then on I did use a moisturizer and various bits and bobs but really shied away from products due to aforementioned rosacea.
In my mid-40s I stopped using "does no harm" stuff frequently rec'd *by* derms like Cetaphil, CeraVe, etc. Instead, I started using of of the less-expensive derm-created-and-controlled lines. I've mentioned it here frequently but it's Epionce, and they have shelled out for some clinical studies on their products.
- The "do no harm + benefits" products have a lot of ingredients deemed effective by various anti-aging and/or anti-acne gurus and Reddit skincare threads.
- The way the raw ingredients get buffered matters a lot re irritation -- or in my case, lack thereof.
Ok -- back to pros / facials whatever.
I found a pro who uses Epionce's fairly high-octane BHA/AHA peels, said to boost collagen production after ~ 6 weeks. Pretty much the same price as all the "spa" facials in town, no extractions, zero downtime. The first year I did 3/year, now I do 1 and if the budget permits I'll squeeze in another. [These are not "months-long recovery time" peels...but I do need to be super-super vigilant re sun protection for a period and there's some flaking a few days in.]
Also -- I know there are a fair amount of intense peels sold for DIY, but I prefer to be under supervision with controlled products.
Novel wrapping up...if you can find a "med-spa" type of skincare pro with a great track record, good products, and a vibe you like then I think a facial or 2 a year can enhance daily efforts!
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