I need a verdict please ! Is expensive skin care really worth it or not ?!

[ginorwine]

Age 50 skin looks dull and sad . No spots . No vitality . Pale .
I did try clarins double serum once and it seemed to improve matters but stopped as I read that the improvement was just a visual and it didn't actually treat the skin . I used their creams once and thought they were great but stopped as too expensive as I read that moisture cream can't really do much to improve skin and therefore something cheap will do a similar hydration job .
So Amy comments ? Does money buy better products ( if so which are good ) or do cheap ones do the same ( and which are good!)
Please tell me your views 😄

[Kennington]

No: go to the Beauty brains website and listen to some podcasts and read about ingrediants
Vitamin a, hyluronic acid, glycerin, maxtrixyl are not expensive.
If you read the ingredients you can work things out but it takes a little time.

[ginorwine]

Thanks
Will check out !

[BerylStreep]

I think diet & hydration are much more important than skincare products.

I did an elimination diet and my skin looked amazing after that. Not just my skin, but also my eyes, really bright looking.

[ChishandFips33]

I've noticed a difference since switching to La Roche Posay (not hugely expensive in the grand scheme of things but much more than I was paying at the time)
To be fair, I also use Boots glycerin and rose water which is £2.50 ish

[SpeckledyBanana]

I switched from Clinique to La Roche Posay then on to Aldi's own brand, and I prefer the Aldi products.

[Doublejeopardy]

My skin is an order of magnitude better since my diet improved, more fruit and veg than I have ever eaten, low fat, lo wish carbs and bang smooth skin amazing difference

[ginorwine]

Chis
Is the glycerin a moisturiser ?

[gammatron]

No, as Kennington said its all about the ingredients. Checkout a company called ' the ordinaries ' for cheap (but good) vitamin a (retinoids) and hyaluronic acid ordinaries.com/regimenguide

[Doilooklikeatourist]

I use the Nivea age protect skin care ,a nod it works for me ( 57)
I slather it on ,as it's about £5 a tub
Some creams make my eyes run , but this works for me

[Woopsiedaisy]

I second Nivea.

That is after years of using Clinique, Dermalogica etc. etc.

My skin is miles better now and I just want to cry at all the money I have wasted over the last three decades on expensive brands.

[BabyGanoush]

Sleep, diet and exercise do more than any cream/serum.

Skin is an amazing organ, it does not let stuff penetrate the layers of skin. Things that do work miracles on skin (like, say, steroid cream) has to be classed as "medicine", whilst "cosmetics" just treat the (thin) top layer of the skin.

Exfoliation helps (any will do, I like REN glycolactic mask)

Then moisurise (anything simple)

Age 45, I have gone off face stuff, no longer believe in them ...

Aparently by 50, 90% of women no longer believe in anti ageing creams

[MontyPythonsFlyingFuck]

I think routine is also important - I know if I skimp on my routine then it shows up pretty quickly. I'm also 50, and I am lucky in that my skin is quite well-behaved, but then I do treat it well.

Expensive products really, really aren't worth the money, except psychologically as a marker that you're taking yourself seriously, IYSWIM.

I use cream cleanser with a flannel (clean one every day) to remove makeup and gunk. Then (sometimes) Neutrogena face wash in the bath if I'm still feeling grubby. Then night cream (Organic Surge is my preferred brand because a. it smells nice and b. you can often get it in TK Maxx) with a bit of Bio Oil mixed in.

In the morning, I wash with Origins Checks & Balances in the shower, then use day cream (again, usually Organic Surge) or sometimes No7 serum, either Protect & Survive or Lift & Laminate (can't remember what they're actually called).

Takes a maximum of 10 mins a day and I honestly do do it every single day, no matter how tired or drunk or ill I am. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've gone to bed in my makeup in the last 30 years. And my skin is definitely good for my age (the rest of me.... less so).

[JohnCheese]

Nope, it's all stuff and nonsense, castles in the air built by pixies and fairies clever people making oodles of wonga. We all live in hope, but that's the reality. If you like fancy packaging and pretty bottles then buy those.

As mentioned above, active ingredients are tretinoin, Vit C, glycolic acid has some benefit, peptides are a maybe, moisturisers such as glycerin, oils to seal in moisture, a few others.

The advice list is probably something like:
Eat well
Don't smoke
Little sugar, little alcohol, both ageing
SPF every day of the year, at least factor 30 (take a Vit d supplement to compensate for lack of sun)
Then it depends on what you can tolerate: Vit c, tretinoin (the the gold standard for reversing ageing) and glycolic.
With whatever cleanser and moisturiser suits you and keeps you comfortable.

We're all lured by the amazing sales pitch and those sales pitches and ads are incredibly clever but save your money. Spend it on a holiday. Or a good haircut. Or even Botox. All far more effective!

[SeaRabbit]

I pay a fair bit for shampoos and conditioners, as they make a difference but I have concluded that Boots is fine for skin care. I got a free gift of some Espa serum recently- costs £49 - it smells lovely but it's just a load of oils plus some glycerin, and it makes no difference to my skin. There is no scientific evidence that these creams etc make any difference.

Also, more expensive creams make my eyes itch but Boots don't. I may give The Ordinary a go as their prices reflect the true costs of production...

[hollinhurst84]

Searabbit- do. I second that range, it's fab. Making a huge difference to my skin and the retinol is good. Go easy though as its tingly and strong!

[PollyPerky]

No. I'm with John here.

The best thing you can do is use sunblock SPF25+. Every day. I was advised to use it during treatment for a skin condition 25 years ago . I did and have ever since. I have no wrinkles and am ancient. Kind people think I am 15+ years younger.

Then it's diet- good fats, and Omega 3 - salmon, avocado, nuts, real butter- no sugar, no booze, no fags.

You cannot do anything to your skin with products except refine the surface layers. Ageing comes about due to destruction of collagen- mainly by UV rays and poor diet.

I've used face creams at £40 a pot and am now using Olay 3 point Regenerist ( from Amazon for about a tenner) and Garnier micellar water £5 and notice no difference compared to high end products - all smoke and mirrors. But I do spend a good amount on sun block and a decent foundation.

You'd be better off paying for a good cut and maybe colour, and a tiny tweak with fillers or whatever if it all starts to sag.

[Kennington]

The ordinaries look good
I use grapeseed oil at night and same mixed with spf in the day. Plus some acids.
Make up is slightly different because of the amounts of pigments used but not to the extent it is worth paying the very high end Charlotte t and Tom ford prices

[Shesgotelectricboobs]

I want to say yes. I'm an avid user of clarins.

But I agree that Diet hydration and exercise play a big part.

I have used clarins for years and recently switched to Nivea but my skin broke out so it's back to clarins.

It is expensive. But for me it works (and I get stocked up on the essentials at birthdays and christmas).

But diet exercise loads of water and being outdoors help too.

[Shop]

Totally agree regarding it being the ingredients that are what's important.
However, worth it, is totally subjective. If you've had bad skin issues which affect your self confidence and find somethings which helps then it's totally worth it.

From reading various threads it's often a case of "my skin is fine, I use soap and water, never moisturise and look 10 years younger than I am, skincare is all nonsense" If you've never had any issues then of course that's how you feel.

[ginorwine]

Thanks .
I get that there are certain things I need to get like retinoids , ttetinon but I'm not sure where and how to use . If anyone knows any good products I'd be grateful .

[PollyPerky]

The point is that all these 'claims' are purely subjective.

For example, swapping from Clarins to Nivea doesn't 'prove' that Clarins works any better than maybe Simple or Boots No 7. It just 'proves' that there was something in Nivea that caused some spots to appear. It's usually the perfume or preservatives in products that cause irritation.

Just because one product doesn't cause irritation, doesn't mean it's worth the cost or will stop your skin wrinkling or sagging. It just means it's not irritating your skin and providing a level of moisturisation that works for you .

I first used Clarins 40 years ago when it was a really niche product. It was far less fancy than it is now, and in my opinion a lot better. Now it's full of perfume and goodness knows what - all hype.
You're paying for the lovely jars and bottles, the acres of paper that come in the package telling you in pseudo-science what it's supposed to do, the glossy counters in stores, the advertising in glossy mags, the sales assts.

I think a true test of a high end over budget ranges would be to try 3 or 4 of each and then compare. My guess is that one budget range item would work just as well.

Good skin happens from the inside out. You can't expect anything you put on the epidermis to make a real difference other than provide a slightly smoother surface while you use the product. Collagen and bone structure as well as fat are the the basis of good skin and they come from lifestyle genes and lack of damaging UV light!

[PollyPerky]

OP if you want your skin to glow, I recommend a brisk 1hr walk outside in the fresh air away from pollution, sunblock and lots of water/ fresh fruit and veg. A daily avocado and a handful of almonds will work just as well as anything you put on the outside.

[Pinickins]

I don't want to say yes and I think that there is a lot of snake oil out there but my diet is super clean and I exercise regularly so, after years of paying for expensive skincare, I went super cheap earlier this year to see if I was wasting my money but my skin just didn't feel the same. I have very sensitive skin and it just felt dry and tight. I felt I'd wasted my money with the cheap skincare. I went back to Clarins in the same way as the previous poster and all has returned to normal! Maybe there is a happy medium in between somewhere!

[EdithWeston]

It is all selling the dream.

The concentrations of the Wonder Ingredients is too low to be effective, it is being delivered by a route (rubbing in, rather than ingestion into the metabolic pathway) that is not known to have any effect at all.

You're paying for the packaging, the perfume and the dream. Which all put together might make you feel better. Which probably has a good effect on you generally (mind/body connection and all that not being well understood).

[Indecisivejo]

I think it just depends on your skin, mine is hyper sensitive and i have tried high, mid, and low end skincare, unfortunately for my purse my skin prefers the more expensive stuff. It doesn't necessarily mean more expensive is better it's just that my skin doesn't react to the products I use so is worth the money for me.