Does anyone else's skin got to shit with 'skincare'?

[PipinwasAuntieMabelsdog]

A few months ago, I noticed my skin was starting to look a bit rough, so I started to cleanse, serum, moisturize, and sunscreen. I have never worn makeup, and I swear it looks worse than when I started! I thought this was supposed to make me look better...I am very confused

Yes! I have been using expensive stuff since Christmas and it's made my skin worse! Maybe that's how they get you....

Yes, everything I try seems to make mine worse! I used to have clear skin still i had to start steroids so I feel pretty clueless about skincare as I managed with bear minimum (soap and water) and no make up till 40!

Sunscreen is thick, plasticky and awful for your skin. It will be that which is making it worse.

If you don’t wear make up all you need to do is wash with water as usual and apply a moisturiser with low SPF every morning.

I will try that @Moonicorn

I am beginning to think the same @KylieKangaroo they make a problem to sell more?

Glad it's not just me @SweetSakura

I did! Went back to focusing on moisturising properly and it’s been great since. No complicated or expensive things, I just hot flannel clean with the blue Nivea then slather it on before bed. Done

Yes I suffer with acne. All I can use is one particular serum and a bit of blusher. Everything else makes me look 100 times worse.

I'm 40 and I wish I could find something that helped the signs of ageing but I'd rather look old and unblemished and not have painful skin

What are you using skincare wise?

I do a routine twice daily, but initially as the skin gets used to it and acclimates, you get all sorts of spots and bumps coming up.

I also stay away from expansive stuff as it's overpriced brand crap. I use ONE pricier skin item that cost me £27 because I tried a smaller size first and it is worth every penny, but the rest of my stuff is all cheaper. My daytime moisturiser is from Asda and costs less than £3. It smells amazing and leaves my skin so soft.

Sunscreen can be so horrid honestly. And it mostly smells nasty as well. Even the one I use isn't nice smelling, but it's the lightest one I've found that's not ludicrous price wise.

Some of the stuff doesn't react well to everyone's skin and if you've got a whole 'routine' you need to be cautious that the products can actually be used together. All that said alot of the theatre of skincare I've found is mostly for the element of practicing self-care, there's something quite relaxing about it. If I were to strip down my routine to the bare bones I'd probably only use a cleanser and a good SPF.

Posted too soon! The only thing I've ever known to be a non-negitiable r.e. skin is wearing SPF. I wear it all year round.

SPF is designed to stay on so make sure you're cleansing well enough, twice if you need to
A lot of people have issues with it but it's mostly that you're not getting it off your skin

Have a look at Caroline Hirons, she's got a book and she's also on Insta and there's a really, really helpful Facebook group.

She tells you what and what not to use based on your age and also when to use each product.

She helps you to understand what each product does so you can put together a routine that suits you and is effective.

It can be trial and error to get the right products. I avoid anything that has pore clogging ingredients.

I found that I did start to purge a lot when I started a routine but it has now settled down.

I take sunscreen off with two cleanses, baby oil then a foaming cleanser.

I use water. No soap, no creams, nothing else. I had dry patches on my face this winter and I tried some moisturisers (expensive and cheap) and my face went red and blotchy. I stopped. The scaly skin got better on its own. Am back to water. (No I don’t wear makeup.)

It's very personal and trial and error.

There are amazing Korean Spf's that are so light.

Maybe you just need to cleanse and Spf?

I wouldn't skip Spf as there's so much evidence aging is sun damage related and one in four people get skin cancer - it's highly avoidable.

Yep that sounds like me. I have acne prone combo skin and people forever try and get me to use expensive crap. Only things I use on my face is a cleanser, hyuloronic acid and a good moisturiser. My moisturiser is expensive as it’s a dermalogica one but it’s the only one that works. I never use sunscreen unless I’m on holiday. It breaks me out so I won’t touch it.