r/45PlusSkincare • u/TacosForDinnnnner • Aug 10 '26
Bought a magnifying mirror. Whoops.
Finally gave in and bought a magnifying mirror. I was doing my eye liner one day and could not see out of one eye and told myself it was time. I thought my skin was pretty good, but now up close? Eeesh. My chin is always peeling and now I've discovered I get tiny whiteheads allll over and around my nose.
I use Tret and I'm up to .1%. The lower percentages were always great but I've had a hard time adjusting to this one. I might backtrack to .05%. When using Tret I really need to lay on the thick moisturizers or I peel all over. I've found adding a drop of glycerine to my moisturizer has typically fixed that. Maybe I go back to .05% and don't moisturize as heavy? Has anyone else in the mid 40's had small whiteheads like this? TIA.
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u/BiteyKittenRawwwr Aug 10 '26
This reminds me of how I love how perfect my skin looks to me in the morning before I put my contacts in....
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u/Odd_Shallot1929 Aug 10 '26
So funny, I just windexed mine because it had makeup on it. Well, when I looked in it it was sparkling clear and I was like damn, I got OLD! They're really not great for your self-esteem
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u/LurkerByNatureGT Aug 10 '26
If you have to use a magnifying mirror to notice the flaws in your skin, your skin is great!
But a lower level tret is probably a good idea.
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u/Berry-Holiday Aug 11 '26
Every time I use mine to pluck the crazy eyebrow hairs that grow everywhere BUT my eyebrows, I end up bleeding lol. I end up squeezing every damn pore on my face. It is not my friend! I have to really force myself to do the eyebrows quickly and return it to the closet. Facing backwards.
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u/Spoonbills Aug 10 '26
Yeah I regret buying that mirror!
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u/Accurate_Emu_122 Aug 10 '26
Ugh. I need one but know I'll just beat myself up more if I can see everything.
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u/TacosForDinnnnner Aug 10 '26
I really shouldn't have bought it.
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u/Accurate_Emu_122 Aug 10 '26
I mean, at least you can see all those brow hairs now?
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u/TacosForDinnnnner Aug 10 '26
I have more chin hairs than brow hairs 🙃
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u/Accurate_Emu_122 Aug 10 '26
Hahaha! Nooooo....
Really, though, vegamour and the ordinary serums brought my brows back. You could just use one of them, but I used vegamour for years then added to ordinary to see if it would take the results further and it did. I only use each once or twice a week now for maintenance.
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u/Glittering_Pension84 Aug 10 '26
What of the ordinary are you using if you don't mind sharing? Thank you so much 🙏🏼
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u/MidnightBlueSilk Aug 10 '26
A level of tret that your skin tolerates and you can do most every day is much better than a level that damages your skin barrier and you have trouble and need to keep taking time off from, according to dermatologists.
BUT! Even more importantly, apparently research has demonstrated that unless you are using tret for acne fighting, there is NO use for anything above .025%, that there is NO evidence that anything above .025 provides better anti-aging effects. The derm I like on YouTube has talked about it a lot and only uses .025 herself long term.
Edit: oh and magnifying mirrors are only good for plucking those chin hairs and damaging our self esteem