Caroline Hirons

magicmushroom

Hi girls

So I recently discovered Caroline Hirons - not sure how I hadn't stumbled across her before, but anyway...

Does anyone on here follow her type of skincare routine and if so, how has it worked for you?

After reading her blog for a few days and doing my own research on a few products, I've started a routine of:

Morning
Body Shop Camomile Balm cleanse with hot cloth
La Roche Posay Serozinc Toner
Hydraluron Serum
Body Shop Aloe Day Moisturiser (which I've always used)
La Roche Posay Anthelios a Factor 50 SPF

Evening
Double cleanse using Body Shop Camomile Balm and then Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Oil
Pixi Glow Acid Toner
Serozinc Toner
Hydraluron
Body Shop Aloe Night Cream

Before, I was just using a Neutrogena face wash and moisturiser. Occasionally just Miccelar Water when feeling lazy!

Now, my skin does feel much softer but looks no different yet (it's only been 2 weeks) however I'm getting a lot of spots.
The really annoying white ones that pop up around the nose and are sore.
Did anyone else get this when changing their routine following her advice?
I assume it's just the extra cleansing it drawing all the crap out and the spots should clear up over time.

Any advice or tips?
Would also love to know what your routine is and the products you're using?

retro:electro

Some people like her and others think she's full of sh1t. Personally I'd read what she has to say about things but I'd also make up my own mind about stuff. What suits her skin might not suit others' and vice vearsa. I certainly wouldn't be looking to her as some kind of skin guru or anything, I actually find it amazing how she has gained such status to be honest, like her skin is nice ya but it's hardly enviable.

Anyhoo what I do know is that whole "skin breaking out is purging and getting rid of all the toxins and you'll soon have magnificent skin" is pure nonsense. Your skin is irritated by something so it's acting up. You probably shouldn't have introduced so many products so quickly. Maybe take it down a notch and cut it back a bit.

Ilyana 2.0

I think she gives good advice generally but everyone's skin is different so I wouldn't base my entire skincare routine around one person's recommendations alone. You know your skin better than a stranger on the internet

As regards the spots, maybe remove one or two items from your routine and see if that helps? I find that SPFs like the Anthelios tend to break me out so I use foundations with SPF instead. Also, make sure you're thoroughly rinsing off your cleansers each time (without scrubbing your skin raw). I like to use a gel cleanser after my balm cleanser in the evening so that I know the balm has been completely rinsed away.

PinkLemonade

I think I'm the only person in the world but LRP anti acne products give me breakouts, I've used the effeclar duo +, effeclar clarifying lotion and the zinc spray for quite a long time until I realised that it wasn't purging - it was giving me acne! I'd keep with the balm cleaner and the moisturiser sounds fine, but slowly introduce the zinc spray and toner if I were you.

I don't like Caroline Hiron, she might give good recommendations but the science stuff is mostly made up

Sittingpretty

Personally I think Caroline Hirons looks a good bit older than her actual age so I wouldn't really personally look to her for advice.

I'm not sure what age you are but I'm almost 38 and I'm tired just reading your skincare routine that's a lot of products to apply every day but if it works for you and you're happy with it then stick with it

retro:electro

Sittingpretty wrote: »

Personally I think Caroline Hirons looks a good bit older than her actual age so I wouldn't really personally look to her for advice.

I'm not sure what age you are but I'm almost 38 and I'm tired just reading your skincare routine that's a lot of products to apply every day but if it works for you and you're happy with it then stick with it

What age is she? I've googled but can't find out!

Sittingpretty

anna080 wrote: »

What age is she? I've googled but can't find out!

She's early 40's. I thought she was well into her 50's until I heard that.

misslt

Pretty sure she's 48, no? I have to say if I look like that at 48 I won't complain!

I like her, I don't take her word as law or anything like that but I like the way she writes and I have been happy with the few recommendations of hers that I've picked up.

magicmushroom

I know a lot of women younger then her whose skin is nowhere near as good.

I have to admit when I first started reading her blog I was expecting her to be some supermodel type and was quite surprised when I saw her picture.

But actually I quite like that she is normal. If you look at any up close pictures of her, her skin is really good and actually looks better then mine - I'm 28.
Obviously I have no wrinkles or anything yet, but I just mean the overall glow and clearness of her skin compared to my own.

I've starting only using the Pixi Glow toner every couple of days now, I love the Serozinc though - it makes my skin feel really soft when I use it
The spots have clamed down the past 2 days, no new ones anyway!

jadie

I'm a big fan of her I have to say. I like her no-nonsense attitude. Her cheat-sheets are spot on. Her skin really glows I think.

Euphoria Intensifies

I like Caroline Hirons and read her blog regularly. I've taken some of the ideas I've seen there on board, such as double cleansing and using an acid toner. I haven't gone out and bought anything very expensive (I tend to stick to Simple/Lush/Vichy/LRP for skincare), I'm just using the products in a different way. I'm very wary of bloggers'/beauty gurus' honesty seeing as they get so many freebies, so I wouldn't go out and buy anything expensive purely based on their reviews. I find that integrating these steps into my skincare routine definitely has helped my skin look and feel better.

I actually bought the Clearasil exfoliating pads to use as the acid toner (they have salicylic acid in) which I thought was going to be the worst idea ever (my skin is quite easily irritated), but they've actually worked really well for me and haven't irritated my skin at all! I use Serozinc afterwards, just to help prevent any irritation.

SillyBeans

I use the Clearasil pads too. Got a load of them in a 2 euro shop so stocked up. I have immensely dry skin though so I think I might need to up the game a bit and maybe try that Pixi Glow Tonic she raves about, or that P50 lotion stuff. I like most of her advice but sometimes I find her a bit contradictory i.e. NEVER USE A PRODUCT WITH X INGREDIENT ...except this one, this one is fine. I will admit though if I buy a new skin product I do tend to see if she's commented on it at all. I have the serozinc spray and it seems to make my skin a bit rubbish too. The best recommendation from her was The Body Shop serum. That stuff is fantastic.

How Strange

I've been reading her blog for a year and the one thing I don't get is her slavish following of very expensive products. I prefer Sali Hughes in that sense as I find her a little more down to earth. Having said that I double cleanse with Clinique ttdo and I love it. I also read beauty pedia as I've rosacea with sensitive skin. What's really worked for me is the Clinique redness cleanser (amazing- I can go without foundation if I want to now!), serozinc (again amazing) and Clinique City block SPF 25 as it's perfect for rosacea sufferers. Finally the Vichy Aqua serum is incredible. I was using hyraluron and it wasn't doing much for me and it's expensive enough. The Vichy serum is cheaper, lasts longer and is much more effective for hydration.

I don't think Caroline rates Clinique (apart from ttdo) highly but some of their products are great. Similarly I don't think the Vichy serum gets much of a mention

rougegal

I like her even though I don't always agree with her. Her cheat sheets are great and she's one of the few bloggers who talks about the actual ingredients in products she's reviewing, I like this as my skin is quite sensitive so I always have to check product ingredients before buying.

Corruptedmorals

Yes, I follow it although before I went for any of the products she recommended, I researched them elsewhere and found some more opinions. My skin was a dehydrated dried-up lake bed which couldn't take any make-up and transformed to soft and glowy within about 2 weeks. The difference was really noticeable quite quickly.

I like her style of writing, reviews and cheat sheets but I am put off by the sheer expense of the products. Seems like €50 is reasonable for one product. My limit is €30ish.

Currently I am using:

Lancome Galatee Confort cleanser (Tried the Emma Hardie...wasnt convinced)/No 7 Beautiful Skin Dry Skin/REN clearcalm
Clarins exfoliating toner/Pixi Glow/First Aid Beauty radiance pads (the last two are relatively reasonably priced)
Caudalie Grape Water spray/Vichy Purete Thermale toner
Deciem Hylamide Sub q serum
Indeed labs Eysilix eye cream
Vichy moisturizer

This routine takes about 5 minutes so it's manageable.

womandriver

Whatever about her face I'm very jealous of how young and smooth her hands look!

psawyer

OP. I would maybe only acid tone in the evenings 2 or 3 times a week and also do the same with the hyraluron. It could be that they are too harsh to be used every day. That's what I do anyway
HTH

magicmushroom

How Strange wrote: »

I've been reading her blog for a year and the one thing I don't get is her slavish following of very expensive products. I prefer Sali Hughes in that sense as I find her a little more down to earth. Having said that I double cleanse with Clinique ttdo and I love it. I also read beauty pedia as I've rosacea with sensitive skin. What's really worked for me is the Clinique redness cleanser (amazing- I can go without foundation if I want to now!), serozinc (again amazing) and Clinique City block SPF 25 as it's perfect for rosacea sufferers. Finally the Vichy Aqua serum is incredible. I was using hyraluron and it wasn't doing much for me and it's expensive enough. The Vichy serum is cheaper, lasts longer and is much more effective for hydration.

I don't think Caroline rates Clinique (apart from ttdo) highly but some of their products are great. Similarly I don't think the Vichy serum gets much of a mention

Hmmm I might try that serum - I've been using Hydraluron but I have to say, after all the rave reviews I'm not exacrtly blown away. And it's expensive!
Am I right that you would put the Vichy Aqua Serum on after toner and before moisturiser?
And do you use it both morning and evening?

Thanks

magicmushroom

psawyer wrote: »

OP. I would maybe only acid tone in the evenings 2 or 3 times a week and also do the same with the hyraluron. It could be that they are too harsh to be used every day. That's what I do anyway
HTH

Thanks for that - I've actually started using the Pixi Glow Toner every other evening now and not in the mornings at all.
My spots are gone. But I started doing this at the same time I started using Serozinc, so I'm not quite sure which change made the spots go away!

Euphoria Intensifies

magicmushroom wrote: »

Hmmm I might try that serum - I've been using Hydraluron but I have to say, after all the rave reviews I'm not exacrtly blown away. And it's expensive!
Am I right that you would put the Vichy Aqua Serum on after toner and before moisturiser?
And do you use it both morning and evening?

Thanks

I also use the Vichy Aqualia Thermal serum (and really love it). I put it on after toner and before moisturiser. It's definitely light enough to use both morning and evening (it's not a siliconey primer, it's quite liquidy), but I just tend to use it either morning or night because I've some other serums I use too.

Corruptedmorals

I much prefer that Vichy serum to their Idealia one. Once that runs out I'm going to rebuy the hydration Vichy one and alternate it with the Deciem. Hydraluron did nothing for me but I'm really liking their new rival Deciem sub q.

I had to give Serozinc away- found it very irritating.

The Enabler

Not a fan of Caroline anymore. Used to read her blog but stopped as her personality is not my thing plus she contradicts herself a lot. Some of her advise is just not practical. Who needs or can afford 7 different cleansers or whatever it is she recommends?

I do think she has great skin though.

RhubarbCrumble

The Enabler wrote: »

Some of her advise is just not practical. Who needs or can afford 7 different cleansers or whatever it is she recommends?

Agree. I'm not a fan either. When she's using SO many different products at once, how can she actually tell what's working and what's any good?

magicmushroom

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

I had to give Serozinc away- found it very irritating.

The first week or so with the Serozinc my skin was lovely but now I'm coming out in big spots, on my cheeks and everything where I NEVER get them
Think I'll give up on it, it's not for me!

Bored_lad

I would not reccomend following all of her advice the majority of what she says is simply not true. For example she says never use mineral oil as it is not natural however it is a great oil cleanser and is perfect for most people. She also has recommended cutting foods out of your diet even though there is no like between diet and acne. However chemical exfoliation and oil cleansing which she reccomends are great and everyone should try them.

Make sure you match test all products before you use them to make sure your not allergic and that they don't break you out. Only introduce new products one at a time as well so if you do break out you can pin point which product is causing the problems. L

On the amount of products she uses yes you could probably use less however if your routine has loads of products and it works for you them I don't see what the problem is unless you are using more than one product that does the same thing.

The Enabler

Bored_lad wrote: »

On the amount of products she uses yes you could probably use less however if your routine has loads of products and it works for you them I don't see what the problem is unless you are using more than one product that does the same thing.

What annoys me is her attitude of "if you can afford more than one pair of shoes you can afford more than one cleanser/ moisturiser" She's someone who doesn't have to pay for beauty products so it might be alright for her to have 7 different cleansers on the go but for most people that's just not practical. It's the way she makes people think they need loads and loads of skin are products that I don't like.

retro:electro

If I messed around with my skin routine as much as she does my skin would be up in a heap. There are some products she mentions as new finds and holy grails but then when it comes to showing her skin care routine half of the previous stuff she found amazing is nowhere to be seen.

caveatemptor1

I like Caroline Hirons but as others have said, you have to think about your skin and what suits you bet. Dont use something just because a blogger is raving about it.
I had a facial recently because I was frustrated with breakouts and the facialist said that realistically you should be giving products a month before you judge them. Something about cell turnover (cant quite remember!) but it makes sense to let you skin settle into a new routine before giving up.

A couple of things about your regime that you could tweak maybe.
- Serozinc is great but can be harsh on certain skin types so you could try using it just in the morning.

- As others have said, Anthelios might be causing the spots. I love the texture but really find it clogs my pores. Ive been using Espa Pro Serum which is only SPF of 15 but its great, silky and light.

- I would remove the hydraluron from your night routine and maybe replace it with an oil. I love oils, I used to think they would make my skin oilier but I have found the Clarins lotus oil is greta, really balancing and my skin doesnt feel like a grease ball in the mornings! Ive heard great things about Trilogy rosehip oil too.

- Maybe try using a mask once a week to target specific issues. Lush are great for these and clay masks are very clearing so good for spots.

Hope this helps, its so frustrating when you feel like things are not working!

SillyBeans

I love the Body Shop serum. I have skin as dry as the Sahara and it really helps. The best moisturiser for me is the Olay firming one. I'm sure Ms Hirons would be disgusted at my cheap skin care, especially as I have lots of shoes!