Amy, thank you for sharing your journey with us. You look fantastic and your before picture is adorable. I’m sure you’ll be thrilled once your skin settles down.

I want to thank you and all the women who have shared their skin care stories. You are each and all very brave. Partly due to these beauty theads and mostly due to hereditary under eye bags, I will embark on upper and lower eyelid surgery next month. If I don't lose my nerve, I will share my journey here.

Honu, I wish i could do that! im certain you will be thrilled with the results! i know sometimes people also have lasering done to get rid of the wrinkles that can be more prominate once the fat pad is removed. Please keep us posted!

Amy

Count me in among the Retin-A users. I have also been an avid sunscreen wearer -- literally every day on my face since I was 13. I constantly get asked "how do you look so young". (Although if I'm being honest, I need to add that I don't have kids, and I know that can really add to it for some people. In other words: I get plenty of rest.)

But even if you were not much of a sunscreen wearer or Retinol user before, it's never too late to start!

I get the Retin A Rx through the dermatologist, and only pay about $66 for a 45 gram tube (using a GoodRx coupon). My insurance doesn't cover it, but I find that amount quite affordable since one tube lasts me 3-4 months. RetinA is much better than OTC retinoids, so I think this is a pretty good bargain.

Amy, your beauty shines through in your lovely face and in your sweet, sweet personality. Always.

I'm glad you "did a little something" just for you, and hope you'll really enjoy the results.

I pay $5 per tube of Retin-A through Kaiser. I'm grateful for solid medical benefits in retirement.

Honu, I had upper/lower eye surgery in 2003. It went well, was a relatively painless recovery, and with concealer and dark glasses, I was out and about a few days post surgery, once the stitches came out.

I had hereditary bags under my eyes. Not just through aging. You see lots of people with pooches under their eyes, all well and good until gravity takes over. I really didn't need anything on my uppers but I didn't want an unbalanced eye, so they did both. I never felt I didn't look like me, just got rid of the baggy, tired look. I'd do it all over again.

I need to start the vitamin c serum and I'm curious as to what brands all of you are using. I've been hearing about this for quite a while.

Amy, you look great before and can only imagine the after will give you the lift you're hoping for. I realize we are all usually our worst critics. I look in the mirror and see everything wrong that I'd like to fix. So thank you for sharing your story, your courage and getting us to think about taking better care of ourselves because as they say, "we're worth it" :)

Yes, Amy. I’ll be getting the laser as well and at the same time. Once and done, hopefully.

I've used different brands of vit c serum over the years and right now I'm using Olay vit c serum . My skin loves all Olay products, so I think I'm sticking to it plus tretinoin at night. I've had samples of Skinceuticals Ferulic CE and I really liked , but it's so expensive. There's also a highly rated one on Amazon, and for $20, is not bad.

Glad you are feeling better, Amy. I started going BBL/IPL treatments three to four times a year about 4yrs ago. The first three were closer together. I have fair skin, blue eyes and have never been that red or had pain afterwards. The only treatment I've done with that result is HALO, which is much stronger. After your first treatment, you won't have as many or dark spots.

@amykath wrote: I know the bleph is what I really need.

Amy, the plastic surgeon that I see from time to time sent out an email about UPNEEQ. It is prescription eye drops that lift the upper eye lid. It might give you the lift you want without surgery.

@amykath do you need to go back for follow up laser treatments? if your skin is still sore, I have a bit of advice: try Olay Complete SPF 15 and/or SPF 30-- specifically the one for sensitive skin, which contains zinc oxide. This is going to sound really weird but stay with me: when I was younger, I had acne so bad that sometimes it burned. I always felt better when I used that face lotion. I later learned that zinc has soothing properties -- it's also used in soothing ointments. There are other things about that formula that make it really gentle too, and it doesn't feel greasy or leave a white cast.

Anyway, just thought I'd put it out there since you will need to use sunscreen with your laser treatments anyway. (Note: SPF 30 isn't quite high enough if you're going to spend some time out in the sun. On those days I put on a tiny bit of the SPF 15 just as a moisturizer, and top it with a much stronger mineral sunscreen. And/or wear a hat.)

Can you tell I'm serious about my sunscreen? It's like a hobby, LOL.

yikes, ouch

Hope you are all better soon, Amy. I love your look!

Thanks for sharing your progress, Amy! I think you're going to like the results! I am going to look into this for my own skin that is sun damaged with a touch of melasma.

I've been trying to use Tretinion for a few years and finally am at a place where I can use it almost daily. I used a "sandwich" technique that helped. Moisturize, wait a few minutes, apply tretinoin, wait a few minutes, moisturize. Lots of Youtube doctors out there to help with that. Also, if you travel or know of anyone traveling internationally, check your destination countries to see if they sell it over the counter. I have been able to pick it up inexpensively and without a prescription in Colombia and Costa Rica. Before buying it on my travels, I tried both Nava MD and Curology; I like those because they can put other ingredients in the prescription product that will address your specific skin concerns, like acne or aging. I also bought it on Amazon once without a prescription and it worked just fine and I lived to tell about it.

SeattleMCM, I'm jealous of your early start using sunscreen! I'm 56 and wish I had started so much earlier than I did!!

Honu, can't wait to see your eyelid progress! I will one day need a lift due to genetically saggy eyelids. My eye doctor thinks insurance will eventually cover it, but maybe I won't wait that long.

@Bluebell66: I can thank my mom for that! I'm really freckly and sadly, I hated it. It was my mom's idea to start wearing sunscreen. It was the late 80s, so somewhat decent daily SPF face lotions started to hit the market. It barely worked for freckles but I stuck with it anyway. These days my face freckles only come out in the summer and I actually love them now.

And of course, these days I'm more concerned with skin cancer and aging, so I'm even more disciplined about it now.

@Bunny: Thank you for the support. Wow! out and about a few days post surgery. I hope I have the same healing time.

@bbstx: Very interesting about the eye drops. Lately I've been more consistent about using lubricating drops and I just told DH last night that I thought my upper lids were less droopy. Though not enough to forego surgery!

@Bluebell66: Insurance will pay if your peripheral vision is compromised. My doc said the surgery is good for about 25 years. He thinks between age 60 - early 70s is the sweet spot.

ETA: he may have been referring to the lower lid surgery. I know people who had the upper lid done 20 years ago and they still look great.

@amykath: Sorry for the hijack. We're still looking forward to your progress updates!

@Honu3421: You will want your stitches out first. I'm usually a baby when it comes to getting stitches out, but this was easy, even though around my eyes.

I took pictures of my face every day. When I got home I went to the mirror and my bags were gone! I'm a bruiser but that didn't bother me.

Strangely I was not the least bit nervous before surgery. I was just relieved it was finally getting done.

You'll do fine. Take pictures, even if you don't show anyone else. You will be amazed how quickly you heal and look great.

@bbstx have you ever tried those eye drops? I had read somewhere about this. I will be getting some for sure! I know they are expensive as I looked them up. However, I would not use them daily but maybe 2-6 times a month. That is really exciting.

I see my derm on Thursday and will see if she will write me an Rx. She is an odd one, so I am not sure she will. I get the feeling she just wants to sell the skin care line she carries. Ugh!

As for progress I am on day 3 or 4 depending how one determines that. I look like I had a horrible sunburn and am now peeling. My skin is red, brown and white with dark dots that are to fall off. They better bc I never had them before! My skin feels so tight and disgusting. I can not wait until it all peels off and feels normal again. I hope it was all worth it.

Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement and experiences.

Amy

@amykath make sure you talk to your dr about side effects of the drops. It can alter blood pressure, among other things. i dont think your eyes look bad!

Amy, I have not tried the drops. The plastic surgeon that I prefer is 2 1/2 hours away. I thought I might ask the ophthalmologist when I next have my eyes checked about his opinion. Truth be told, I’m probably a prime candidate for blepharoplasty. I think I’ve gotten to the point where it is interfering with my vision. My mother had very droopy eyelids that she didn’t get fixed because she was a chicken about the surgery. She later regretted that she hadn’t gone through with it, because her eyelids interfered with her vision.

I was just diagnosed with loss of peripheral vision from sagging eyelids. When i had an annual eye exam they included tests of peripheral vision in each eye then repeated the tests with each respective eyelid taped up and out of the way. The nurse who performed it said the test was indicated on the basis of my eyelids’ appearance. I couldn’t believe how much more I could see with the eyelids taped up! I am having surgery August 16 to correct this, and made it clear to the surgeon that I wanted correction for vision, not an “eyes wide open ,” more cosmetic result. Feeling a bit nervous about the procedure but encouraged about the greater range of vision it will afford.

Kswl, I have several friends who had this surgery for the same reasons as you. It went very well and the end results looked great, nothing extreme, just correction for vision. All the best. You should be very pleased with the results.

One reason I’ve dragged my feet is becasue I don’t like what I call the hollow-eyed look some folks end up with.

I've been using UPNEEQ and it works really good for me. I got the box of 45 and the box was $200 and they had a 25% off sale that day so with tax it was around $160 ish I believe. I don't use all the time, just when going out to dinner or things like that. I've use about 3 or 4 times in the last month.

I've had a blepharoplasty too. I went for a "soft" look and I am so happy with the results! I said I'd rather you take less, than more! I was nervous, as I've always had "hooded" eyes all my life, and I had heard how it could be shocking for those of us with hooded eyes regarding the change, but I was very satisfied in the end. Healed very quickly.

eta: bbstx, I feel my surgeon left a tiny little bit of "fat" above my eyelids and didn't take all she could. I feel like she took just enough. But, I definately have my whole eyelid now to put on makeup without sagging skin. If all that makes any sense LOL

I've looked at these on Amazon but they would be too fiddly for me but they are interesting.

400Pcs Natural Invisible Single Side Eyelid Tape Stickers Medical-use Fiber Eyelid Lift Strip, Instant Eye Lift Without Surgery, Perfect for Uneven Mono-Eyelids, Slim https://a.co/d/1HvG5Ts

Bumblebeez, I’ve wondered about those. I have very little manual dexterity (never have had any). I can just see me getting them on crooked and having 2 wonky eyes!!

When I was 16 my father went to a plastic surgeon for a blepharaplasty. He wanted me to drive him home afterwards. He wrote a note to the school which sounded very important, stating I would need that day off because he was having surgery. I remember the teachers pulling me aside, asking if I was okay in quiet and concerned tones. They all assumed it was something serious. LOL they looked disgusted when I told them what the surgery actually was. I can’t remember what kind of anaesthesia they typically give, but my father assured the surgeon that he needed only the very minimal. The surgeon was shocked and in the end so was my father. He said it was extraordinarly painful.

I’d love to hear how you like the laser procedure.

I did have a rhinoplasty about 10 years ago. Apparently when I was born, my father told my grandmother that if I got his nose, he would pay for a nose job, and my grandmother said if I got her nose then she would pay for it. Well, true to his word, my father paid for it! It wasnt a very big nose, maybe a lttle rounded at the tip. No one really knew I even had the procedure. But since it was free, I thought, why not?

@gardener123 OMgosh that is hilarious!

Best wishes, Amy, and I hope you get the results you want.

I lost some weight over the pandemic (and YAY for that!), but now my face looks like he11. Turns out the fat was holding up some of the wrinkles. LOL.

This is me, too, Ally. I lost about 30 pounds last year and suddenly remembered Catherine Deneuve's comment that after a certain age, a woman has to choose between her bottom and her face : ) .

Things have been complicated by the fact that I've had rosacea since my late teens, and have also had sensitive skin. It's been only with the improvements in mineral sunscreen in the past few years that I can use sunscreen on my face without developing a terrible rash/dermatitis, though I've been wearing a broad-brimmed hat in the sun for years. I would love to find out about anti-aging treatments for those with rosacea and sensitive skin.

Becky, One of the treatments I had was and IPL (photofacial). This treatment is a big one to help with rosacea.

Here is some info.

IPL Info

I am getting a hair cut and color on Wednesday. I have not had a proper hair cut nor color in over three years!

After it is done, I will throw on some make up and post an after photo. I think my skin is still healing from the laser treatment. It has been nearly two weeks now. I am surprised by how long it is taking to completely feel normal again!

Two weeks! That is one reason I hesitate to do something like this. Darn, should have done it right before the 2020 lockdown.

I had a Lash Lift a few weeks ago, feeling skeptical but after thinking about it for a long time, decided to try it out. I do not have impressive eyelashes and as I’ve gotten older I find that mascara plus lash curler are essential to looking ”awake.” I have also been using lash serum for a while. I have to say, I am really happy with the lash lift. Will I do it every two months? Unlikely, too scared that it would eventually ruin my lashes, but I will do it before DS’ wedding or maybe for the holidays.

Becky, have you spoken with your doctor about very low dose doxycycline for rosacea? I never had acne as a teen or young woman, no blemishes of any kind until i was in my late fifties and developed rosacea. I take 40 mg of doxycycline daily and have no traces. if i miss a few days it starts up again.

@Sueb20, tell me more about the Lash Lift? Was it done in a salon or in a doctor’s office?

Speaking of lash lifts... I have an Rx of Lattiesse waiting for me. I found a subsbriction on Good RX where it is only 50.00 a bottle. It takes months to see new and thicker eyelashes but I almost have none these days. I am not good with keeping up with various regiments, so I will have to make certain to use it correctly and get my moneys worth!

Bb, I had it in a salon that specializes only in lashes and eyebrows. They also do lash tinting (mine are dark already) and extensions.

Basically it’s like a perm for your lashes. I was a bit nervous about side effects but I didn’t have any. And the process itself is easy as long as you can lay still and do nothing for about 45 min.

Amy, I have been using Latisse for almost 5 years. I would love to find it for $50/bottle. It does not take months to see results. I started seeing results in 3 weeks, but it took maybe 3 months for them to fully grow out. I had long thick lashes when I was young but before Latisse I had to wear mascara every day and curl them to even see them. Now I only use mascara for special occasions and no need to curl at all.

aktillery, I sit my Latisse out on counter and when I brush my teeth at night, I am in the habit of putting it on every night.

I've only ALWAYS used one drop of Latisse into the bottle lid, not two as per bottle instructions. I had someone who sold it, tell me that. I haven't looked for years, so I guess it still says to use two drops(?) but I even have enough to put on a couple of swipes across my eyebrows-to keep them more full looking. No sense wasting money if one drop works, and it does for me.

Bumblebeez,

Angie of HotandFlashy.com and YouTube recommends several Vitamin C + E + Ferulic Acid serums, including Timeless ($17.29 at Target and Dr. Brenner, $19.99 on Amazon, which I use).

Angie's father is a scientist, and she analyzes the products she recommends in a scientifc way. For example, Vitamin C is best absorbed when it is L-Ascorbic Acid at a specific ph. She explains it all in her videos (and even shows the testing of several products' ph). BTW, she sold her 100 year old Boston area house last year, and moved to a condo in Connecticut she remodeled, and documented it all on YouTube.....so much fun to watch!

https://www.hotandflashy.com/how-to-choose-the-best-vitamin-c-serum/

(I've been watching her for years, and do not hesitate to post a link)

Hope your skin improvements are marvelous Aktillery! I too am surprised the healing has been a little longer than expected. You'll be more gorgeous than you already are when this is resolved.

Becky, if you are still reading...I had V-Beam done last year for rosacea. 3 treatments spaced out over several months. I have the vascular kind where you look like a madman with the red face (tiny capillaries). It helped. A lot. It looks a lot better. I still have some but really, it's much better than where I started from. The dermo said it would return and I should plan on having treatments every couple of years. It did hurt a little, but didnt last. I had a rare side effect of temporary dents left where the laser hit the skin. It also slightly enlarged pores :( where I didn't have noticable pores before. Again a rare side effect that to me, was worth it. I will probably have it done again next year when the redness starts to get worse again. Would be nice if it was a once and done thing. My skin sensitivies seemed to calm down a little too with it. It doesn't burn as much when I put on benign cream or wash my face most of the time anymore.

I'm not sure if it works on acne rosacea but I think I remember the dermo saying it was helpful for that too. I normally go deep into research for things, but with this one, I just really needed to trust that this would help and didn't read all that much on it prior.

Similar to Ollie, I use one drop total for both eyes. It gives me enough for two passes along each lash line, and one pass through my brows. I skip 1+ nights per week with no ill effects. A few years ago I had to evacuate (wildfires) and was gone 3 nights without Latisse. No discernible harm.

Thanks, Amy, for the information about IPL.

Kswl and SEA SEA, thanks for the extra info about rosacea. I had very bad acne from about middle school to my twenties, and in my twenties acne AND rosacea lol. I'm 58 now, and my skin is more clear than it's ever been and the flushing isn't as much of a problem after menopause and also because I drink red wine only occasionally, but my skin so incredibly sensitive that there's very little it tolerates well. I also have sensitive skin in general and have to be careful what I use for shampoo and antiperspirant or I get dermatitis requiring steroid cream for treatment. So I'd love to find something that works on fine lines plus the tired, saggy skin that wasn't as much of a problem when there was more of me : ) .

I understand Becky.

Well, my dermo did say that V-Beam does rejuvinate the skin somewhat. Now that I'm thinking of this, I'v had a lot of compliments on my skin in the last year. Perhaps the V-Beam has something to do with that. However, there are lasers in dermo offices that are specifically for rejuvination. I briefly worked at a dermo office and the office manager would get this laser once a year. She was early 60's at the time. She looked very good for her age. Astonishing, actually.

I'm sure you are using the go-to products for R. Cerave, Cetaphil, Vanicream.(that's as much excitement as I have lol) I find Skinceuticals C E Ferulic (the mega $$ one) helpful. It helps my skin repair itself. I appreciate that. I tried lesser $$ brands of the same formula and they made my skin burn :( Anyways, my skin care routine is boring, but I find sticking to those above helps my R. It's not such a struggle if I keep on the straight and narrow.

You mean Amy's appointment that was almost a year ago? What an absurd spammer you are, not even bothering to read for comprehension. How the hell are you a Houzz pro??

Ida, remember that it's a bot. Searches the web for keywords and drops in the spam, now AI enhanced to sound real. So you are not calling out a real person, per se. Just a machine. True, someone programmed it, but it's just a bot. Sigh, chasing spam is a Sisyphean task.

So the Houzz pro is a bot? Why does this not surprise me. (And maybe they all are.)

Sure, lots pf "pro" accounts are fake bots. Look at number of previous posts, then google address and/or phone number.

Thanks again Sushi for your vigilance in alerting us to spam. I appreciate your efforts!!!

Sigh

@sushipup2..Thank you..