r/40and45PlusSkinCare

I will be 40 in 4 months so i need to get this figured out bc of my self esteem is on the line here. My partner is also younger so i really want to make sure i look my best so we dont look like a parent and child together.

I do admit prhaps my sleep is part of thi...My sleep got destroyed for the first time in January due to an illness so that might have contributed to what i can only describe as rapid aging and rapidly appearing wrinkles almost overnight depending on sun exposure(im feeling better now but now need to fix the damage this left me). During my lacking slseep these last 6 months the crows feet really got deep and so did other wrinkles, yikes! I did use retin A before but I I stopped using it during covid and only started up again last november. But before covid i used it for a good 4 to 5 years consistently from 30 to 35 and it worked great.

In present time I never go outside but when i do its always in a car so i dont feel i get too much sun exposure but im likely wrong. I did try to go for walks for a week with sunscreen on and an spf 50 rated umbrellas from totes but everytime i came home i consistently looked more wrinkled after each walk so i stopped! I wonder if its the sunscreen im wearing or am i just older now and cant be in the sun at all :(

The sunscreen im using is called Hello Bello and although its for kids the spf is 50 plus and full spectrum.

Theres are the ingredients:

Active: Zinc Oxide 23.0% 

inactive:  Butyloctyl Salicylate, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Cetyl Dimethicone, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Hexyl Laurate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Magnesium Sulfate, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Purified Water, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate

I have included a link to it in case anyone wants to see the sunscreen.

Im so confused and even seeing my arm and leg skin look a big weathered not too much but its noticeable... I admit i havent been using lotion for a while but im thinking maybe i need something more than just regular lotion now that im turning 40, suggestions?

At this point im just looking to reverse and fix the damage, to get clarity, advice, and recommendations on what to do and not do and what to use.

The crows feet really bug me. I also have those lines on the back of my neck and front of the neck and it just kills me and im getting a little sag under my chin. Im slightly overweight and i noticed when i started to lose weight i looked even older sso i had to stop that too! Its a little scary to be in this position so i just need some info and direction here. Even my skin feet and elbows are looking wrinkled too. It sucks and idk where to start

What is the actual future of non-botox, non-injectable wrinkle erasers? I'm highly interested in upcoming, needle-free technologies for smoothing fine lines. Are there any breakthroughs on the horizon for topical neuropeptides (like Argireline updates) or exosome serums that can actually penetrate deep enough to mimic a mild neurotoxin effect? I'd love to hear from derms or tech-forward skincare users on what innovations are actually backed by science vs. what is just marketing hype

Hey all im just wondering if anyone can tell me about their experience with this treatment.

Ive been doing in for probably the past 5 years instead of injectables. I love it when done right. I generally get an instant lift that lasts about a week and then cumulative results with 3-6 treatments. It gets rid of my smoker lines and lifts my brows. I was strongly considering an upper bleph before i started this treatment , then i found there was no need.

The problem is that I have found there are not a lot of places that offer it, im not sure why that is and how they perform the procedure seems to vary WILDLY from the places ive tried and even from person to person performing it within the same practice.

The first medspa I had it at had an amazing esthetican and I got fabulous results. They moved the wand fairly slowly, focusing on the areas I needed. Unfortunately they closed. Then the next place i found was great until they had who I assume was just inexperienced (normally worked the front desk) perform it. She burnt my nose. Badly. Im pretty sure its not meant to be on the nose.

So I found another place, went the other day and was very underwhelmed. It was the owner who was performing it so I thought it would be done right. Although who am I to say what the "right" way is? Im not educated on the machine, and most dont take kindly to someone explaining to them how to perform their job.

So going into it I told her how I love this procedure bc it lifts my brows and erases my smokers lines. So thats what I want to focus on. So she starts into it chatting the entire time and doing it really faced paced. I noticed it felt like she was just barely getting to the part of my lip where.the smokers lines were. After she did each side of the face, I thought she was going to start the forehead. But she started putting on lotion and sunscreen and said ok all done. I asked her if she normally doesnt do the forehead. And she said no, the skin is thinner there so I just botox it. But I literally said I dont do botox at the beginning of the appointment?

She said ill try it next time for you if you really want it. So I reluctantly made another appointment.

Got home, noticed it looked like literally no difference at all, like it did nothing. I dont know if im just going to have to bite the bullet and try a place thats 30 mins + from my house.

Im just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with it. Or is there another treatment that is really similar?

I don't have a skincare routine.I just use soap and water.What is your suggestion? where should I start? I am looking for something low maintenance and not expensive.

Hi, Im looking for peptide to reduce wrinkles. What’s your holy grail product.

39, female
Oily sensitive skin

What are the best ways (anywhere on the spectrum but likely looking for a spa treatment that doesn’t require frequently repetition) to reduce/remove freckles or melasma?

Idk if it's just me paying more attention lately, but i swear the little lines around my eyes look way more obvious now 😭 ive tried a few random products over the last year and honestly i cant even tell if any of them did anything or if i just wanted them to work lol.. starting to think im just wasting money at this point😅 what working for u guys? Appreciated the answers!

I feel like most perimenopause skincare advice jumps straight to buy a richer moisturizer without really explaining what is changing.

A few things can happen at once: skin gets drier, less elastic, more reactive, and slower to recover. Some people are also still dealing with hormonal jawline breakouts, which makes the whole thing extra annoying.

The collagen part is probably the biggest one. Reviews estimate that type I and III skin collagen can drop by as much as 30% in the first five years after menopause.

Important distinction though: that stat is post-menopause, not perimenopause itself. I see those two blurred together constantly.

For laxity and fine lines, retinoids still have much better evidence than most firming creams. Peptides are interesting, but I would treat them as an extra, not a replacement.

Dryness is a different problem. Lower estrogen is linked with reduced skin moisture and elasticity, so the boring basics matter more than people think.

Humectants like glycerin and HA help with water content. Emollients and oils help with softness and that tight, rough feeling. Barrier lipids can help when skin suddenly seems to lose moisture faster than it used to.

Then there is sensitivity. Products that were completely fine before can suddenly sting or feel like too much. That is where simpler formulas, fragrance-free products, and not stacking a million actives start making more sense.

And somehow you can still get jawline breakouts at the same time, so you end up with skin that wants acne treatment but also gets irritated more easily. Very fun.

If I had to rank the skincare side by evidence, I would roughly go:

SPF + retinoid first.

Then moisturizer basics like glycerin, emollients, and barrier-supportive ingredients.

Then peptides if you want an extra firming step.

And way below that, collagen creams and anything promising dramatic lifting just because collagen is in the name.

The main thing I wish more perimenopause skincare content explained is that this is not one problem. Laxity, dryness, sensitivity, and breakouts are different changes, so they need different appro

I'm in my early 40s and mostly looking to improve dullness, texture, fine lines, and overall skin quality. I'm not expecting miracles, just something that produces noticeable results if used consistently.

For those who've used a red light mask for several months, what did you end up choosing and what realistically changed?

Looking back, was it worth the investment, or do you think the benefits were overstated?

I was browsing around and I started the Ghk cu my skin a Has gotten so much smoother.

I use to have kinda of rough feet from working all the time after using Ghk for a month my feet are like baby feet now it’s honestly amazing 🤩

My source is If you need a USA 🇺🇸 source I got mine from
terrorized (dot) net

Some skincare names are just synonyms. Others tell you that the ingredient is a different form with different strength, stability, irritation risk, or evidence.

The annoying part is knowing which is which.

Same molecule, different name:

Niacinamide = nicotinamide = vitamin B3

Panthenol = D-panthenol = dexpanthenol = provitamin B5

CoQ10 = ubiquinone = ubidecarenone

L-ascorbic acid = ascorbic acid = pure vitamin C

Copper tripeptide-1 = GHK-Cu = copper peptide

Snail mucin = snail secretion filtrate

Centella asiatica = cica = gotu kola = tiger grass

Aloe = Aloe barbadensis

Green tea = Camellia sinensis

Shea butter = Butyrospermum parkii

Water = aqua

Those are mostly label differences. Paying more because one name sounds more scientific does not mean you are getting a better ingredient.

Then there are families where the exact form matters.

Hyaluronic acid:

Hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, and sodium acetylated hyaluronate are all humectants, but they are not identical forms.

Sodium hyaluronate is the salt form. Hydrolyzed HA is broken into smaller fragments. Molecular weight usually matters more than whether the front of the bottle says HA or sodium hyaluronate.

Retinoids:

Retinyl palmitate and retinyl acetate are weaker retinyl esters.

Retinol is the usual OTC standard.

Retinal or retinaldehyde is one conversion step closer to retinoic acid.

Tretinoin is retinoic acid and prescription strength.

Adapalene is a synthetic retinoid.

Hydroxypinacolone retinoate is sold as granactive retinoid.

These are not interchangeable. The name tells you roughly where it sits on the strength and irritation ladder.

Also, bakuchiol is not a natural retinol. It is a completely different molecule.

Vitamin C:

L-ascorbic acid has the strongest evidence but is unstable and can be irritating.

Sodium ascorbyl phosphate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl glucoside, 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, and ascorbyl palmitate are derivatives.

They are usually more stable and often gentler, but they do not all have the same evidence or behave the same way. Vitamin C on the front of a bottle tells you almost nothing unless you check the actual form.

Niacinamide vs niacin:

Niacinamide and nicotinamide are the same.

Niacin is nicotinic acid and can cause flushing. It is not interchangeable with niacinamide.

Vitamin E:

Tocopherol is the active form.

Tocopheryl acetate is a more stable ester that has to convert on skin.

Salicylic acid and similar names:

Salicylic acid is a BHA.

Betaine salicylate and capryloyl salicylic acid are related but gentler forms.

Willow bark extract contains salicin. It is not the same thing as free salicylic acid and should not be treated like an equivalent BHA.

Squalane vs squalene:

Squalene with an e is the natural but less stable form.

Squalane with an a is hydrogenated and more stable, which is why it is commonly used in skincare.

Ceramides:

Ceramide NP used to be called Ceramide 3.

Ceramide AP used to be called Ceramide 6-II.

Ceramide EOP used to be called Ceramide 1.

Sometimes a formula looks different because the naming changed, not the ingredient.

Peptides:

Peptide is a category, not one ingredient.

Copper tripeptide-1, acetyl hexapeptide-8, palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, and Matrixyl-type peptides do different jobs. The word peptide alone does not tell you much.

AHAs:

Glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acid are all AHAs, but they are not interchangeable.

Glycolic is smaller and tends to penetrate more aggressively. Mandelic is larger and usually gentler. Fruit acids is too vague to tell you what is actually in the product.

Azelaic acid:

Azelaic acid is one ingredient.

Potassium azeloyl diglycinate is a gentler derivative used for similar concerns, but it is not the same thing.

Save this for your next time you check for a specific ingredient!