u/DangerousCattle7399

okay so i decided about six months ago to build a routine using only the ordinary products partly bc of the price point and partly bc i wanted to understand the range properly, and i want to share an honest review of how that went.

my complete the ordinary routine:

morning: squalane cleanser, gentle enough for my sensitive skin and the oil based formula is genuinley effective at removing overnight products without stripping hyaluronic acid 2% + b5 on damp skin, the foundation of my hydration routine and genuinley one of the best products in the range natural moisturising factors + ha, lightweight moisturiser that absorbs quickly and does not pill under spf (third party spf as the ordinary does not make one)

evening: same cleanser hyaluronic acid 2% + b5 on damp skin niacinamide 10% + zinc, used this before the moisturiser after letting the ha absorb retinol 0.2% in squalane three nights per week natural moisturising factors + ha to seal everything in

six month honest review:

what worked really well: the ha + retinol combination genuinley delivered visible texture improvement by month four, the niacinamide genuinley reduced my pore appearance and skin tone evenness improved significantly

what i would change: the natural moisturising factors moisturiser is a bit too light for my skin in winter and i supplement with a richer third party cream on cold nights, i would also consider the buffet serum as an addition for additional peptide support

overall verdict: genuinley impressive for the price, the routine cost me under forty pounds for six months of products and delivered results i had not achieved with more expensive routines.

what is ur experience building a routine purely from the ordinary?

okay so laxity and loss of firmness is genuinley the thing i get asked about most by people my age and i want to share what i have actually found helpful bc most of what is marketed for this does not genuinley work and i think it is important to be honest about that.

things that genuinley helped with skin firmness for me:

consistent retinoid use for at least eighteen months this is genuinley the most evidence backed non procedure option for skin quality changes including some improvement in laxity over time, the results are slow and modest but they are real and cumulative, i use the ordinary retinol 0.2% in squalane and after two years the difference in my skin quality is genuinley significant

spf every single day for the past three years i know this sounds like a maintenance strategy rather than a treatment but preventing further uv damage while other things work genuinley matters and i think consistent spf has contributed to the improvement i have seen as much as any active ingredient

actually getting enough protein this one is less glamorous but genuinley important, skin structure requires adequate protein and most women in their fifties are genuinley not eating enough of it, i increased my protein intake deliberately about a year ago and my skin looks noticeably different

facial massage done consistently not occasionally ten minutes of proper facial massage every evening for about six months genuinley changed the appearance of my jawline and cheeks, not dramatically but noticeably, the keyword is consistently rather than occasionally

things that did not help despite promising everything:

• most firming creams at any price point
• jade rollers and gua sha tools used occasionally
• collagen supplements taken for a year
• various electrical devices purchased and abandoned

what has genuinley made a difference to ur skin firmness without procedures?

okay so i have been on a mission over the past year to find the best performing affordable products available in uk pharmacies and chemists and want to share what genuinley stood out bc some of these are genuinley exceptional.

products that genuinley compete with expensive alternatives:

altruist spf 50 the one everyone already knows about and the reputation is completely deserved, protects as well as anything i have tried at any price, not the most elegant texture but at the price it genuinley does not need to be, i buy it in bulk and use it liberally which is genuinley what spf requires

cerave hydrating cleanser available in boots now and the formulation is genuinley as good as anything in the premium gentle cleanser category, my sensitive skin has never had a single issue with it in two years of use

simple kind to skin range broadly underrated for sensitive skin management, the micellar water is genuinley one of the gentlest makeup removers i have tried, the moisturiser is solid and unfragranced and does its job without fuss

boots pharmaceuticals vitamin c serum this surprised me enormously, the 10% l ascorbic acid formulation is as effective as vitamin c serums i have paid four times as much for and the packaging genuinley protects it from oxidation better than many expensive versions

e45 cream not glamorous, not instagram worthy, one of the most effective barrier repair and sensitive skin moisturisers available at any price, derms recommend it for a reason and the reason is that it genuinley works

what uk pharmacy products have genuinley impressed u?

okay so i want to write the post i wish i had found when i was starting out bc most of the general skincare advice online is genuinley written for lighter skin tones and leaves out some really important considerations for darker skin.

things that are genuinley different for darker skin:

the post inflammatory hyperpigmentation risk changes everything any skincare ingredient or approach that causes inflammation or irritation on darker skin has a much higher risk of leaving a dark mark than the same irritation would on lighter skin, this means the tolerance for irritating actives is genuinley lower and gentle beats strong in a way that is not just preference but genuinley necessary

spf is not optional and the myth that it is needs to die the idea that darker skin does not need spf bc melanin provides protection is genuinley harmful and has caused real preventable damage to so many people including me, we get uv damage, we get skin cancer, and for hyperpigmentation specifically any uv exposure makes fading so much harder

not all dermatologists are equally equipped to help u if u can access a dermatologist who has experience with skin of colour ur outcomes will genuinley be better, the assessment of what is normal, what treatments are appropriate, and what the risk of procedures is genuinley differs and not every derm has adequate training in this area

the brightening ingredient conversation is different some ingredients that are effective for hyperpigmentation on all skin types, like high percentage retinoids, carry a higher pih risk on darker skin, the starting low and going slow guidance is not just caution it is genuinley more important for us

representation in product testing matters products tested primarily on lighter skin tones may genuinley perform differently on darker skin and finding reviews from people with similar skin tones is more useful than general ratings

what do u wish someone had told u specifically about building a routine for darker skin?

before 12 hours:

ten years of skincare trial and error and i feel like i finally actually understand my skin for the first time and i want to share what changed bc i think it might help people who are earlier in the journey.

the things that actually helped me understand my skin:

stopping and observing before adding anything i spent a month with just a gentle cleanser and plain moisturiser and actually paid attention to what my skin did on its own without anything else influencing it, i learned more about my actual skin in that month than in the previous nine years of adding things

understanding that products reveal ur skin they do not fix it a product cannot give u healthy skin it can only support skin that is capable of being healthy, most of my decade of frustration came from expecting products to fix things that were about barrier health, hydration, and consistency rather than ingredients

correlation is not causation but logging helps find it i used to assume i knew what was causing reactions or improvements but i was almost always wrong, actually writing things down revealed patterns i never wouldve identified otherwise

ur skin changes and what worked last year might not work this year stopped treating my routine as something to optimise once and leave forever, now i reassess every few months and adjust rather than assuming what is working now will keep working

most skin problems come down to a compromised barrier or inadequate hydration genuinley almost every skin issue i have had in ten years traces back to one of these two things, fixing the foundation before adding anything else should be the default approach

what changed ur understanding of ur own skin the most?

okay so this is specifically for uk people bc i think the british weather creates some very specific skin problems that general skincare advice doesnt address properly.

the central heating situation is genuinley serious uk homes in winter run central heating that absolutely destroys indoor humidity levels, ur skin is being dehydrated from the inside of ur house all winter and most people do not account for this, a humidifier in ur bedroom is genuinley one of the best things u can do for ur skin from november to march

the hard water issue is real in most of england hard water leaves mineral deposits on the skin that can disrupt the skin barrier over time, if ur in london or the southeast and ur skin is reactive and sensitive the water is probably a significant contributing factor, a filter shower head genuinley helps

uv still matters even in winter in the uk this is the one i see people dismiss most often, yes it is grey and rainy and depressing, the uva rays that cause ageing and pigmentation still penetrate cloud cover and still hit ur skin every single day, spf in december matters as much as spf in july for skin ageing purposes

the cold wind barrier damage is real going from cold wind outside to central heating inside repeatedly throughout winter is genuinley harsh on the skin barrier, a slightly richer moisturiser in winter is not vanity its just practical

the lack of sunlight affects skin differently than the lack of uv low light in winter can make skin look dull and grey bc of reduced circulation and vitamin d, getting outside even on overcast days genuinley helps

anyone else feel like their skin completely changes personality between summer and winter?

okay so i want to write the post i wish i had found when i was researching tret before i started bc most of what i found was either really scary or unrealistically positive and i want to give an honest middle ground.

the bad stuff that is real and u should prepare for:

purging is real and mine lasted about ten weeks, it was not subtle, my skin looked genuinley worse for two and a half months and i almost quit four separate times

the dryness around my mouth and nose was relentless for the first four months, aquaphor became my best friend and i applied it approximately constantly

my skin was visibly peeling in certain lighting for months three and four and i had to change how i applied my makeup to work around it

i could not use any other actives for the first six months without my skin reacting, had to completely strip my routine down to the basics

the good stuff that nobody really captures properly:

the texture improvement is real and it is gradual and then suddenly obvious, like u look at a photo from eight months ago and ur face looks completely different

the skin clarity is different from anything i achieved with other actives, not just clearer but genuinley more even in a structural way

the way my skin responds to other products changed, hydration actually seems to absorb properly now in a way it didnt before

my skin at one year looks better than it did at any point in my twenties and i am now 34

the honest summary: months one to four are hard, months five to eight things shift, month twelve u look back and genuinley cannot believe the difference.

what does ur one year skin look like compared to where u started?

quick breakdown of my tret journey bc i wish someone had laid it out this clearly before i started:

• month one: skin freaking out, dry patches everywhere, a few new spots, convinced i was doing it wrong
• month two: purge hit properly, chin and cheeks, looked worse than before i started, almost quit
• month three: purge slowing down but skin looking rough and uneven in this weird texture way, second guessing everything
• month four: something shifted, texture started smoothing, skin clearing properly for the first time
• month five: genuinely different skin, not perfect but clearer and smoother than it had been in years
• month six: where i am now, just maintaining, barely think about it anymore

the thing nobody tells u clearly enough is that months two and three are the hardest and most people quit right before it starts working, my derm warned me but i still almost quit at month two bc i couldnt see past how bad my skin looked on video calls every day.

what kept me going was just setting a three month rule, no quitting decisions before three months, just commit and reassess then.

routine that got me through it was dead simple, cerave hydrating cleanser, the ordinary hyaluronic acid 2% b5 on damp skin, cerave moisturising cream, tret on top three nights a week building up slowly, spf every morning, nothing else at all.

if ur in the hard months just set a date and dont make any decisions before that date.

what month did things actually start looking better for u?