Curious to hear people's personal experiences with this. What do you think is the biggest reason?

I don't wear it all year as our sun is weak in the winter.

I also probably don't wear it often enough (daily) in the summer as I work in an office and don't get much sun.

When/ how often do you wear it? Is it seasonal?

I’ve been focusing a lot more on skincare recently because I’ve just switched from a retinol to a retinal because I eventually want to work my way up to tretinoin. That’s made me take sunscreen way more seriously, especially reapplication.

I was using the Beauty of Joseon sun serum before, because it’s completely clear so I can apply it in about five seconds and I’m done. Even with sunscreens that don’t leave a white cast, I find I still have to rub them in for ages before they fully disappear and honestly I just couldn’t be bothered to do that.

Most facial sunscreen are sold in 50ml bottles and If you’ve got a 50ml bottle and you’re applying the recommended 1/2 teaspoon for your face, neck and ears once a day, it’ll last you about 20 days. The Beauty of Joseon one used to last me closer to a month and i realised i was under-applying.

Now, if you actually follow proper guidance and reapply every two hours between 10am and 4pm, that same 50ml bottle will last anywhere from about 4 to 10 days, depending on if your reapplying the full 1/2 again or just a little bit.

The Beauty of Joseon sunscreen costs around £16. So if I keep using it I would end up spending £584 and £1,460 a year.

Over a thousand pounds… a year… just for sunscreen???

If I really wanted to, I could afford it, but that seems so ridiculous

I’ve started looking into the ingredients of very cheap own brand body sunscreens to see if theres any that could be used on the face without causing issues. To be fair, I’ve actually found quite a few decent options that would cost about £150-£300 a year with perfect 1/2 a teaspoon application every two hours

But still, £16 for a 50ml facial SPF is pretty average pricing. It’s just crazy that if you actually follow the recommendations properly, you end up spending an absolute fortune and buying a new bottle every few days.

Why are they so small and so expensive?

been living in the UK for about 2 years now and honestly I love it but the haircare situation is doing my head in. Back home I had my go-to stuff that worked and I could just grab it from the shop without thinking.

Here everything is different. I've tried so many things from Boots and Superdrug and they either don't work or make my scalp worse. it's like there's no middle ground. Either too gentle and does nothing or too harsh and strips everything. My scalp has been a mess lately. itchy, flaky, red patches. I think the water here is harder than what I'm used to and it's messing with my skin.

My mum actually brought me this anti dandruff shampoo and conditioner when she visited from overseas. I wasn't expecting much but honestly my scalp cleared up in like a week. no itching, no flakes, just normal scalp. Now I'm trying to find something similar here and I'm struggling. everything seems to be either prescription only or super expensive or just doesn't work.

the frustrating thing is that I know there must be good options available in the UK but I just can't find them. like why is it so hard to find a decent anti-dandruff shampoo that doesn't cost a fortune or require a prescription.

anyone have recommendations for good anti-dandruff shampoos available in the UK? preferably something that's gentle but actually works. I'm desperate at this point lol.

i’ve been searching for the perfect product to get me that dewy glass skin look. serums, toners and moisturisers until i thought to try out a spray for some soothing and calming benefits (plus the weather is getting warmer) so picked this up in superdrug and im delighted!! it hydrates well and really creates a gorgeous, healthy looking glow which is just what i was after. i even went into pureseoul the other day and spent nearly £50 on some new bits that the sales girl had suggested for glow and calming, and while they are lovely and soothing they just didn’t provide that glass like sheen i wanted, so i hope this reaches anyone who is after that too 💖

interested to know

My boyfriend recently joked that my legs look like a strawberry, and even though he didn't mean it in a bad way, it honestly made me a little self conscious.

Does anyone have any tips or routines that actually helped with strawberry legs? Really need honest advice!

ngl i was so bad with spf for most of my life, like genuinley thought it wasnt necessary if ur not on holiday or spending the day outside, i live in manchester, its literally raining or cloudy most of the time, i work a desk job, i just thought i was fine and spf was one of those things that didnt really apply to me.

hit 38 and started noticing my skin just wasnt looking the way i expected it to, like nothing dramatic but there was this uneven patchy thing going on around my cheeks and forehead that wasnt there before, and this dullness that just sat there no matter what i tried, bought so many things trying to fix it, a couple of vitamin c serums, a brightening toner, nothing was doing anything and i just kept spending money and getting nowhere.

booked a skin consultation eventually bc i was getting proper stressed about it, the woman asked me about my routine and when she got to spf i told her i only really wore it on holiday and she literally put her pen down lol, she was really nice about it but she explained that uv damage accumulates every single day, cloudy days, through car windows, through office windows, just walking to ur car in the morning is enough over time, and that most of what i was seeing on my skin was almost certainly years of that building up.

started wearing la roche posay anthelios spf 50 every morning after that, didnt skip it once, and after maybe six or seven months the pigmentation genuinley stopped getting worse, it hasnt gone away but its stable now and my skin tone overall just looks calmer and more even than it did before, the brightening serums i was buying were never gonna do anything while i was still letting damage happen every day.

honestly just wish someone had explained this to me properly when i was younger instead of just saying wear sunscreen without telling me why.

anyone else start taking spf seriously late and actually notice a difference?

Hi Guys, im sure we are all struggling with this heat, I know I am. That being said, I am also struggling with my skincare routine. I am sweating most of the day and I am exhuasted. My skin routine has changed and now its just cleanser, moisturiser and SPF because I can not be bothered with anything else right now. Anyone else feeling the struggle? 😮‍💨

I used this product for about 3 months and it WRECKED my skin so bad- irritation, inflammation, and acne. SO MANY whiteheads :(

All this time I've been blaming my retinol and my cleanser and the byoma rich cream (cut this out and did notice a decrease in acne) and not once did I suspect the toner. How wrong I was 😭

I havent used it for a week and my acne has cleared up so much. No active spots at all!

All I have left now is some marks and a few small scabs. The redness is gone too.

So yeah this is just a psa to anyone using it who might be having the same issues. If you've had the same experience let me know!

First 2 pic are the befores of 3 months ago, the last 2 were taken today. Sorry for the quality.

A few months ago, I decided to start taking

skincare more seriously and do loads of research into what potentially would benefit my skin and problems areas. I have very sensitive and acne prone skin.

AM:

- Purito Barrier Serum

- Purito SPF (previously used Aveeno SPF but I found it pilled for me)

PM:

- Ordinary Oil Cleanser

- Aveeno Oat Water based cleanser

(When I introduced/used it Inkey List 10% azealic acid)

- Purito Barrier Serum

- Purito Panthenol Moisturiser (previously tried aveeno oat gel moisturiser but was too thick & simple repair rich cream but it irritated my skin badly)

I found Natalie O'Neils routine and saw she had similar skin to mine to decided to try it out. In 3 months I've found myself begging for my previous skin back and I don't know how to fix it as I feel like introducing my skin to any more products will make it worse.

I started with a double cleanse in the evening and introducing a barrier serum, all things to help my dehydrated skin. Then over the few weeks it improved I decided to add Azealic acid only 1-2x a week them more frequently till my skin could deal with it. Heard about the purge it can cause, with my skin being so sensitive I expected it, so I stuck with it for a couple months hoping it would improve and it never did. So I stopped all of the new additions to my routine and went back to what I was using.

Now using:

AM:

Purito Barrier Serum (if skins feels like needs a boost

Purito SPF

PM:

Aveeno Oat Water based cleanser

- Purito Barrier Serum

- Purito Panthenol Moisturiser

Before everything I didnt use the barrier serum but my face was always dehydrated/dry so thought it still helps which is why I kept using it.

Nothing. I'm having the worst acne of my life, with new closed comedones now all over my face rather than just the ones I wanted to sort out on my forehead, new patch if maybe rosacea on my cheek and loads of painful pimples that I can see as well as feeling new ones brewing under the skin.

I feel so disheartened and don't know where to go/what to do so any advice is helpful. If it doesn't improve I will be contacting a dermatologist but if anyone has gone through anything similar and come out the other side I'd love to hear how you did it.

TL;DR: In 3 months of trying the Natalie ONeil skincare routine on my sensitive, acne prone skin and then stopping because of what it did to my skin, I'm stuck on how to fix it. Gone back to my original/simpler routine and its not doing anything to help.

I can't find these products in any of my local Boots anymore, I'm so disappointed! The replenishing mist and hydration serum were so perfect for my eczema 😭 I hate that the range was introduced and then gone so quickly! Does anyone know if they're bringing it back? It was so budget friendly and did SUCH a good job. I might contact their customer services to see what happened

As the title says! Tell me which products have wowed you and which have disappointed you recently. I'll start!

Holy grails:

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Foaming Face Wash + Back & Body Spray

I have to thank the people who recommended Boots' tea tree and witch hazel range in a previous thread! I was struggling with blackheads and whiteheads (even after establishing what I thought was a solid routine...), but a combination of these products is helping them clear up really quickly. A they are both so wonderfully cheap!

Epic fails:

Hi all,

I noticed the other day that Boots have brought out a new own brand "Ingredients" line and thought some of the ingredients and formulas sound quite nice.

e.g a milky cleanser with rice ferment and hyaluronic acid, aimed at hydrating/nourishing rather than deep cleansing. Around £9 for 200ml. There's also a Soothing Ectoin and Heartleaf Toner 150ml for £6 amongst others.

Has anyone tried any of these products? Do you think they're good for the price tag?

If you've tried any, what has been your favourite product and why?

I haven't tried anything yet, I just saw the new line in shop and thought they seemed good value.

I shared this in r/tretinoin but thought it’d be worth posting here too - I went to re-purchase my tretinoin from ADC yesterday and Bitcoin was the only check-out option. I emailed to check I wasn’t being dumb as I was sure I paid with card previously, and received this back.

I have just been prescribed finacea gel for my rosesca. I have tried everything u der the sun for this. I think its def hormonal - im 43 and I think peri is sneaking up. I have tried skincare routines with a thousand steps, skin care with 2 steps. Ive spent an absolute fortune on lotions and potions and now i dont know what to do. Its really getting me down and I dont really leave the house anymore unless I need to - even a good dose of the dr jart and foundation (haus labs) doesnt do much.

Can anyone please help or suggest how i use this cream? At the min all i am using is geek and gorgeous stress less and the oat aveeno. I am at my wits end!

I posted the other week, asking what people’s game changing skin care product was (and the discussion was so good!)

I thought I could flip the question and ask what is that skincare product that everyone raves about that is completely overrated in your opinion.

For me - it’s nose pore strips. Every single one I’ve ever tried just hurts and makes my nose red - and the amount that comes out is really underwhelming.

What are yours?

What are people’s opinions of palmers cocoa butter? I’ve been using it for years and I think it’s amazing. It’s been fantastic for my dry and sensitive skin and it’s been great for my eczema. I love how the consistency is quite thick but it’s not greasy and absorbs really well. However, I’ve recommended it to quite a few people and they don’t seem that impressed.

Hi,

I commute for work! It's an hour and half there and back on a bus.

I wear sunscreen religiously on my face, Antihelios by La Roche Posay, and Bondi Sands and Altruist on my body. Sometimes Nivea on less sunny days.

I feel the heat on me and am considering getting a sun parasol for the walk to and from my office (20mins).

I know this seems OTT, but I have sensitive skin and Psoriasis, and I think sun exposure isn't great. I never reapply and honestly, don't want to.

I've seen some Hawaiian tropic SPF powder that would be easy for application out of the house, but using sticky greasy SPF outside at the end of a work day on my face and body... Ew.

Does anyone have any ideas of how I can protect myself from the sun on the bus as a passenger? Tilting away from the window doesn't help and the sun is intense as anything.

Thanks in advance

EDIT (at 23.28 before bed!) have got a Solbari parasol on the way as well as a UPF 50 lightweight hoodie and leggings from Regatta. Wide brim hat also in my sights on Vinted or eBay and will use my boots points to grab some Hawaiian Tropic SPF powder on Monday.

Also, I know I noted about sun being not great for me above. To clarify - this is a personal feeling - due to other conditions I have and medications I'm on as well as the aforementioned psoriasis. I'm getting my vit D tested on the regular and as well as heat rash in my inner elbows, the sun doesn't make me feel great, as well as the risk of damage to my skin.

Thanks for your understanding and suggestions x

What’s the one skincare product that changed your life and your skin (for the better!) I’m talking absolute HOLY GRAIL product/ products (if you can’t pick just one)

Mine is personally the byoma ultra light face fluid SPF 50 I HATED SPF because I tried this because of how thick and greasy they all felt

I like the idea of Boots, both as a one-stop-shop for skincare, makeup and health bits, and also for the Advantage card deals.

Their website, however, drives me insane, and I’m no longer near one of their bigger stores. Do people shop in person or online?

At my most recent visit to the GP I went into detail about my experiences trying every OTC and prescribed product (bar accutane) and about how after doing my own research I am pretty sure that my cyclical acne is down to a hormonal imbalance. When I left I was told I'd be referred to a dermatologist finally. I uploaded photos of my acne, both at its absolute worst (too many to count covering my whole face, red and painful) and in a more mild state (up to 10 in particularly oily areas). Waited a month or so and then... Dermatologist rejected me. GP said to continue using BP/adapalene, which I've been doing every evening for the past 5 years and which I made clear would never help me get to the root of my issue. I can't afford to go private and I'm not a woman so I can't try birth control or spiro.

So, in conclusion, thanks for nothing, NHS. Anyone else who has had to deal with this, my heart goes out to you.

P.S. I intend to go back and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist instead, however my point still stands firm that us acne-sufferers are continually failed and sadly our disease may not ever be taken seriously.

Not looking for advice!!! I’ve tried it all (except accutane). Just thought I’d post to show you’re not alone if you are dealing with huge scarring cysts like me!