To think that skincare is a load of old rubbish?

[GodivaEater]

It dawned on me today while in Boots that the size of the men’s toiletries bit was one aisle and the women’s stretched into the dozens. And then I thought- men for the most part just wash their faces and then get on with their day. Your average man does not use serums, toners, face masks, moisturisers, nowt.

So why do we as women believe we need all this shit? Why do we buy in to all this shit? Why do some of us spend so much money on this shit? (That includes me in the past). And isn’t it all making our skin worse? You rarely see men with bad skin. Ask the average woman however and most reckon we/they need to sort their skin out.

The older I get the more I think that skincare is a load of bollocks and that most of us don’t need to buy in to any of it. And I say that as someone who has struggled with acne and horrible oily skin for 20 odd years.

Thoughts?

I've tried the no product route with my skin and I just break out. I need to use products to keep control of my acne. I use the body shop tea tree range. I went one day without doing my routine and I had new spots growing. But I'm on HRT and I've got oily skin and hair. If I wear make up or sun cream I end up with new spots almost instantly.

Also acne products are marketed to men as well.

Sorry, I disagree. If you have naturally 'good' skin you don't need more than soap and moisturiser, but us spotty types (and sensitive-skinned people, I suspect) do better with certain ingredients added into our ablution regime. My skin has finally gotten better with LRP's Effaclar range but I need to use it daily or it goes downhill again.

But I agree that there are loads of pointless products out there, at insane prices, and that women are expected to have flawless skin while men aren't

Women's skin is different (as others have mentioned, hormones etc) so it's possible we need some things that they don't.

However, what really gets on my wick as a beauty blogger is the anti-ageing industry. Firstly because if these products actually could reverse ageing they would be classed as medical and you would need a prescription for them. Secondly because most products do not contain nano-particles which could infiltrate the upper layers of the skin (this is why the whole parabens crap annoys me as well).

All you need to do for anti-ageing is this:

• use suncream
• don't use tanning beds or tbh tan at all (even naturally)
• drink plenty of water
• don't smoke
• eat healthily
• use an eye cream if you really must (but honest to God any cheapo one will do)
• focus on your hands and neck when moisturising as these are the giveaway areas but again you don't need an expensive product at all

The industry certainly has a lot to answer for.

I used to buy lots different skin care products. It's only last year due to budget and wanting to reduce plastic that I suddenly realised I don't actually need all this crap.

I now use a chamomile cleanser thing from Body Shop to remove make up as it's excellent (I don't wear a lot but soap and water never easily removed it without hard scrubbing). Normal soap for washing, coconut oil for moisturiser and shaving, and make my own sugar or salt scrub as an exfoliator. I have decent skin.

I think the vast range of products is unnecessary but excellent marketing encourage people to think we need it, therefore they buy it.

I work with the elderly, most of the women have always used cold cream and have fantastic skin!

I have never put anything on my face at all, other than sun screen on sunny days.

No make up, no beauty products, no soap, nothing.

I m in my 50s and regularly get mistaken for being in my 30s

Oh and just a point regarding suncream for the face, as I see it's been mentioned above: you do need a specific one for the face. You can't just whack normal sunscreen onto your face and expect not to break out. There are lots of very good facial sunscreens out there. Vichy's is excellent. Failing that, at least make sure your foundation/BB cream contains an SPF (Bobbi Brown's would be my recommendation but there are lots of others of course).

@chocolateismyvice I agree with the cold cream recommendation too. I was very impressed when I was sent Ponds for a trial.

Even at the Ester Lauder counter there will be about 6 different serums. One will be “firming and reducing wrinkles”, another “lifting and smoothing” and another will be “illuminating” and so on. I always ask why, with all the supposed technology, they can’t just have one serum to do all this! Or just mix them all up into one “solve-all product” and be done with it? It puts me off buying anything.

@Wildernessie I agree about a lot of the teenage range. My sister's A Level science project (conducted in 2006/7) tested these and found them to have little antibacterial effect. Saying that, I think they have upped their game since then because they've realised they need to and are of better quality than they used to be.

Oh and just a point regarding suncream for the face, as I see it's been mentioned above: you do need a specific one for the face. You can't just whack normal sunscreen onto your face and expect not to break out.

never heard of this, just wack on a normal one! Who's going to bother to cart two bottles around all day?

@theSnuffster see my other post for a facial sunscreen recommendation. Aveeno is indeed a very good moisturiser/skincare range generally so just wanted to big that up as well when I saw your post mentioning it. Like you, I have suffered persistent acne since being a teenager and am 32 now so do sympathise. (Truthfully though now that I am pregnant with baby #1 I have found my skin's the best it's ever been!!)

Many beauty products are made from petroleum by-products (the crap left over from refining oil). It's in so much stuff. They needed to convince women they need a whole wheelbarrow of products when common sense says spreading oil by-products on your face is bad.
Not to say all beauty products are bad, but the market is driven by selling oily stuff that would otherwise be dumped.

@Clairetree1 depends how your skin reacts I suppose. I mention it only because some posters have said about how putting sunscreen on their face worsens breakouts. The skin on your face is much more delicate and so I can completely understand this. I personally also find normal sunscreen too thick to use on the face, especially for those with acneic skin.

The facial sunscreen bottles are tiny (less than half the size of normal sunscreen bottles) as you need to use much less - so having a separate one would hardly have an impact in terms of what you need to carry around with you (although if you are using really good sunscreens you shouldn't need to reapply at all during the day anyway unless you are going swimming - so no carting bottles around at all!).

Even at the Ester Lauder counter there will be about 6 different serums.

Behind the scenes, the Estee Lauder people say that they make creme, and sell dreams.

That's why they have so many different products, it's mostly the packaging.

I rarely put anything on my face other than water, very occasionally I will use some plain moisturises (Waitrose own brand). I rarely get spots, no wrinkles and I think I look ok for my age. I also rarely wear make up. Going in boots confuses the shit out of me, so much crap on sale that no one really needs.

Fwiw I have NO aversion to people
Pampering themselves

I do however believe that a shift to more natural products is a good move

Trust me when DS gets acne I will
Be straight on here asking for tips !

I just don’t nevessarily believe that a £70 serum will do that much more that a decent cleanse and some oil

I think that when you start with a new skincare regime, usually a more upmarket one, then your skin does look better. I then think it sort of gets used to it and the difference is not so apparent.

As for face masks, well I think they do give your skin a good clean up and it looks better afterwards for maybe a day or so.

Ive got no problem with women spending money on skincare regimes if it makes them feel better, more confident but I do think there is an element of the emperors new clothes about it. I mean where do you even start?

I would say I have pretty average skin, it is still oily so fairly well preserved being the wrong side of fifty. I use dove and then nivea.

What I think is worse is seeing my dd's use Estee Lauder's doublewear foundation all the time, believing that nothing else should be used. Some of the shades are awful and even my dh has commented on how orange they look. I have tried to persuade them to try a more reasonable brand and fgs get it shade matched to their skin, but no. Their natural skin is so, so much nicer. When they mentioned the shades, the EL rep suggested they mix two shades together ie pay 60 odd quid for both!

@Angelil I use a different sun cream for my face but I still break out. I need to use a skin care routine to keep my acne under control.

@Raven88 of course if you have found a skincare routine that works for you then nobody is disputing that you should continue to use it.
Which facial sunscreen are you using at the moment?

@ElsieMc DoubleWear is so thick anyway even for adult skin that I would be recommending something else purely on that basis. My skin has quite acneic tendencies and I would only use DoubleWear Light at most. I can't imagine who uses the standard DoubleWear - it's like liquid concrete!

I’ve used the Clinique 3 step system since I was 17, I pay the premium for their products because they’re fragrance free and when I’ve tried cheaper alternatives they’re too greasy.

I recently found out that 4 of the women I work with a 5 years younger than me, we had all assumed that I was the youngest, I’m mid thirties and I thought they were all late thirties and they all thought I was mid twenties! I don’t know if I can put that down to a good skincare routine or just good genes

I barely even use soap, normally just cold water. I own a moisturiser for the winter if my skin gets dry. I get the odd spot every now and then but that’s about it. Mind you, I don’t ever wear makeup so maybe that helps keep my pores clear?

There was a great documentary on the bbc about the beauty industry, they concluded the best thing for your skin was spf all the time and little else made a difference!

@Angelil I've been using Hawaiian Tropic Airsoft this weekend. I used to just use Olay light moisturiser with SPF but I've switched to Tea Tree Mattifying from body shop so needed a sun cream. I don't mind a breakout if my skin is protected tbh. I had perfect skin before I started HRT.

I also agree about anti ageing. Most older people I've met tell me they just use wash and moisturise and they have amazing skin.

My husband and I are the same age (late 50s) . I use all sorts of products on my skin from cleansers to remove makeup (he doesn’t need that!) to moisturisers, acid peels, serums and an SPF 50 most days. I also have regular beauty treatments including ultherapy and rf facials. He uses shaving foam and washes his face in the shower. He only uses an spf when playing golf.

I have excellent skin, wrinkle free, firm, clear, some redness but not too bad. He has terrible skin, lined, bright red, awful breakouts even at his age. It might be coincidence and genetics but just to be on the safe side I will continue with my lotions and potions.