Do I really 'need' anything from the SilkNaturals skincare?

[Jessica]

Hi everyone!

I REALLY would love to try using some of Karen's serums and products in her skin care section, but I was wondering if I HAD a reason to use them and/or if they would be effective/beneficial to my skin! Or really, is there anything you recommend I COULD use? Mandelic acid, AHA, etc...
I'm eyeing-up the 2% BHA, Oatmeal or Green Tea & Aloe hydrating serum (whichever is more moisturising I suppose for night time) microderm cream, silk shea & aloe lotion, vit c...

So here's my skin information;

• * Normal - slightly oily skin. Slight sensitivity due to Duac, but getting used to it now.
  * 18 year old, Chinese with overall pale skin tone but strong undertones.
  * Fairly 'plump' looking skin. Although I don't have a healthy glow, I look sickly and unhealthy. (And rather dull) Admittedly I don't have a healhy diet, but it's hard when you're allergic to a lot of the healthier thing.
  * Area around my eyes are usually puffy, tired, slightly saggy, wrinkley, and discoloured (orange-bruise yellow) I have no crease in my eyelid - monolid. No flap/crease whatsoever.
  * Mild clogged pores on forehead, near eyebrows (in between the eyebrows) and some in the area below my eye (no idea what that's called)
  * Medium-large visible pores.
  * Very small, thin, pale brown freckles/sun damage in the area below my eyes.
  * Have some 'dents' in my skin mostly on face cheeks. Some are quite big, would love to get rid of these somehow.
  * Very, very mild acne (hormonal under my chin, quite small, and occasional pimple on TOTM (time-of-the-month) around my forehead.

Mostly concerned with/would love to have smooth, even skin with a dewy/healthy glow.

Thank you so much.

[Rhys]

Fortunately samples don't break the bank, even for those of us who are international.

You might want to try the Super Serum (that's good for almost everybody and does help to heal both acne and flakiness) or the plain Vitamin C serum - which is also good, but doesn't have the extra peptides - you may not need all of them. See which suits you better. The Vitamin C is MAP, not L-AA, so you don't have to worry about it going bad in a week.

All of the hydrating serums are lovely - I think the Rose is my personal favourite, but here's the thing. The Green Tea and Aloe does NOT have oats or seamollient (an algae extract) in it, which may be better if those are acne triggers for you. If they're not, go with the Oatmeal - which does have seamollient and oats. Both are really hydrating, but the Oatmeal may have a slight edge - you won't do badly with either, I think, depending on what your skin likes.

A light moisturiser like the jojoba might be a good bet, too.

[stuartpierce]

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, I think the BHA toner might be worth sampling.

Stuart

[Jessica]

Oh, thank you so, so, so, so much for answering my question. I'm going to the Doctors to see if it's OK for me to using these things first before I buy them. (Karen was hesitant to reply for my skin safety, bless her)

AFAIK, I don't get bad acne triggers at all (if any) only triggers I get are irritation to harsh products, or if my skin already has a red patch from scratching, it'll further more be irritated by a cleanser.
How do you apply jojoba oil? I always hear raves and downfalls of applying oil. I tried olive oil but I THINK it made my neck itch (which was strange because my face didn't itch... ok, my forehead did, but that was all)

I was told mandelic acid would be a good choice too. Which would be better at this point or a less harsh on my skin at this point? Is 2% BHA on Silk Naturalsa good percent to start or should I start lower?

How do you buy the samples? I don't see a sample section in any of the products, are they sold out at the moment?

How do you apply serums, and should I invest in a spray/atomizer/(glass) bottle? I have been wondering about buying these for awhile because I was thinking of trying out glycerin + water for fun. What else would you need to 'spray' on your face, toner?

[Rhys]

You don't want to spray on the serums - you just pat those on. The moisturisers are all gelled oils, so same there - Imost people like the gelled oils because they're easy and you can't make a mess out of them. Generally it goes - active serum (Vit C, DMAE, SuperSerum, or whatever you use), optional toner, optional hydrating serum, then moisturiser.

The samples are in the Samples category - when you get to Samples, click on Skincare.

You might want to pick up a spray nozzle for the toner if you get the Pore Refining Toner - the bottle itself holds it just fine.

On the acids, I'm really not sure. Karen doesn't sell mandelic acid, but I find mandelic less irritating than the AHA toner - I'm in the minority, though.

The BHA will be a little bit stingy, but probably a good idea to at least try if you've got clogged pores.

If you use the Super Serum, it won't mix with the acids - you'll end up with a red face because acids react with niacin - so the Super Serum would be for daytime, acid at night. The other serums are fine with acids.

[mlle.gnome]

You don't want to spray on the serums - you just pat those on. The moisturisers are all gelled oils, so same there - Imost people like the gelled oils because they're easy and you can't make a mess out of them. Generally it goes - active serum (Vit C, DMAE, SuperSerum, or whatever you use), optional toner, optional hydrating serum, then moisturiser.

OMG I didn't know that was the general "rule." I do toner, then Super Serum and/or Vit C Peptide, then moisturizer. Why is it better to do actives then toner? Thanks!

[Rhys]

Either way is fine, mlle.gnome - or both.

[sewwies]

If it's a good glow you're looking for super serum and rose moisturiser are amazing. Unfortunately if I use the rose as my only moisturiser I get a few pimples so I use the hemp most of the time. But they really do make your skin look lovely! I use toner before, just cause like to leave the actives on my skin to work, I think of toner as wiping them away (that's just the way my mind works hehe!). Also for the clogged pores, have you ever tried an aspirin mask? They leave your skin so super soft and might be better than leaving BHA (it's similar stuff I think) on your face with other bits and bobs!

[lilychemgirl]

It sounds counter-intuitive, but I love the apricot oil cleanser to unclog pores and make my pores look smaller. I guess it make sense, as oil dissolves oil, and if you don't have horrible blackheads your pores are going to look smaller.
I also second the super serum, as it makes my skin look way more even and glowy and great

[Jessica]

Hey everyone! I have my SN order now - yay!
I'm going to start introducing these very slowly. No need to rush, eh?

I'm wondering how to put these into my routine? I bought the Super serum, AHA toner, pore refining toner and oatmeal serum.
I was thinking of starting either the Super Serum or AHA first (kind of worried about the purging, though)

My current routine is AM: Rinse and gently exfoliate with warm water and microfiber cloth
PM: Use tiny bit of Lancome ultimate foaming cleanser

and I alternate using Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-wrinkle cream Night/day (the retinol one) and Duac once daily.

Should I wait at least a month before I start introducing the other things?

Thanks!