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?

The only antiwrinkle that actually works is Botox. And I'd rather pay that twice a year than spend hundreds on creams that don't work.

Firstly because if these products actually could reverse ageing they would be classed as medical and you would need a prescription for them

Not true. As mentioned, Retin-A and Vitamin C serums both have been proven in many studies, I’m sure you must be aware of that. Both can be had suuuuper cheap (vitamin c serums can easily be made at home). And without a prescription.

Not going to disagree that many products pushed by Big Beauty are worthless and overpriced but you’d do your readers a disservice by saying anything effective would be only by prescription.

I do agree to a certain extent. With regards to skin itself, are a lot of factors that come into play here that can have an effect; genetics, hormones, environment, diet, etc....
I only wear minimal make-up for work (3 days a week) and use Simple wipes to clean that off. Then every night I shower I use a facial wash and water, then a night time moisturiser. In the morning I put a day moisturiser on (with SPF) - no toners, serums, etc.
I stay out of the sun and drink 2.5 litres of water every day and my skin is ok.
I think everyone (hopefully) eventually finds a “skincare routine” that suits them but I do think the amount of products available out there is OTT.

I used to agree with what you are saying until I was in my late forties and my skin was awful and dry. I looked older.
Since then I have used skincare products, Michelle water to remove make up and two skin creams, day and night time moisturisers. After a few weeks my skin looked tons better.
I don't think you have to spend a fortune on all the top brand stuff though.

Micellar...not bloody Michelle!

I watched that too! And promptly bulk bought La Roche posay anthelios which I now wear religiously

They also said Nivea soft is great which is great news as that’s my spare /run out one

Love the smell reminds me of when I was in my 20s

Also, anyone wanting great sunscreen should buy Japanese brands. They go on silky smooth with no chalky finish and block both UVA (sunburn causing rays) and UVB (collagen destroying rays). Traditionally Western sunscreens only cared about UVA. Things have started to change, but I’ve yet to find anything that compares to Japanese ones.

Biore is muck and bog-standard, try for Shiseido’s Anessa and you’ll never go back.

@Raven88 sorry to hear you have had skin issues since starting HRT :( I have no advice on that front I'm afraid but am sure your doctor or dermatologist could help you there if it persists.

Another thing that’s helped is my switch of a vegetable mainly diet . It agrees with me in so many levels and I think that plus fake tan has helped wonders

Lol I got the sunscreen UVA/UVB mixed up. It’s the opposite, sorry!

Fully agree - i just use water on my face and maybe occaionally a dab of Astral cream if it feels dry. Normally though being left alone my skin balances itself

Not unreasonable. My skin was best when we were trekking in the Himalayas and I literally left it to its own devices for 2 weeks (the odd wash in cold water, that’s it).

I've only ever washed my face with water and a little soap and have never had any problems with it.

What we don't need is to pay an absolute fortune on products. I buy any hot cloth cleansing cream that's on offer, and use The Ordinary Buffer and moisturiser, plus their primer if I'm wearing foundation. I also use The Ordinary foundation. I have rosacea so am prone to flare ups. This routine keeps them at bay.
The Ordinary is cheap as chips as it's not marketed to the max. Read all the reviews on the products.

@Needmoresleeep Your risk to take. Botox is a poison and nobody knows yet what the long-term effects are. Plus it makes people's faces look frozen, artificial, and just generally awful.

@PineapplePower I'm not going to say that anything effective would require a prescription but as I'm sure you can appreciate, the anti-ageing field is murky indeed. Cosmetics (which includes most non-prescription skin creams etc) have to be regulated only to ensure they are not harmful - they are not legally required to be effective unless being dispensed by prescription. This article from Business Insider says pretty much as I already did on this thread:
uk.businessinsider.com/anti-wrinkle-cream-bogus-2017-3?r=US&IR=T

One article states (correctly, in my view) that "if these creams actually did change the fundamental structure of your skin tissue, they'd have to be classified as a drug." This is more what I was driving at earlier.
www.highya.com/articles-guides/is-this-stuff-working-a-look-at-anti-aging-creams

This is supported by this piece of academic research, published in the Journals of Gerontology: academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/59/7/B682/585765
"The manufacturer can make numerous claims just as long as they do not claim that the product effectively diagnoses, prevents, treats, mitigates, or cures specific diseases. To make such claims would insinuate that the product is a drug."

The Ordinary is cheap as chips as it's not marketed to the max. Read all the reviews on the products

Yep, they are very good and very reasonably priced. Great starting point for anyone trying to improve their skincare routine.

@Verbena87 Probably also during that time you were eating more healthily (I'm guessing). If so, that would have perhaps helped too (although it depends on a lot of factors - such as what you eat normally - and the link between diet and skin condition is not always clear). Possibly you were also exercising more, which would have improved circulation and thus potentially skin condition.

@Bezm BeautyPie is very good for this reason as well.

Totally agree. Just read patriarchy and the beauty industry. So interesting to see how the industry grew.

I use soap bar on my face and nivea a few times a week. No spots or blemish.

Plus we are meant to age. Nothing stops That!

FuckedOff very good point. Anyone with a skincare regime beyond soap and water is, according to some people’s assertions, a silly little fool sucked in by advertising who wastes their money and time and can’t think for themselves.

Hadley Freeman did a very interesting take on it a few months ago. There is a fine line between positive self care and slavish devotion to whatever new product is marketed but overall, to take care of yourself and spend time on yourself is a positive thing.

Buying these products is also a reflection of what women are forced into by society to an extent. Expected to look young, expected to wear make up when, for the most part, men are excused.

The ONLY reason beauty products are legally allowed to claim to be anti ageing is because they contain SPF, as the sun is known to age the skin.

Whoever said that ‘vitamin C oil’ etc is anti ageing is incorrect. It’s not. It’s all bullshit.

People with darker skin, e.g people with African Caribbean background tend to age better, as their skin doesn’t age as fast as white skin. Which is why there is less of a ‘product using’ culture, and coconut oil is used to moisturise skin.

White skin ages quicker as it has less protection from the sun. Using an spf stops this process.

Acne is a medical conditon caused by baceteria/inflammation, therefore some acne’s creams do help reduce spots, but only if the have benzyl peroxide/antibiotics in.

All the rest is bullshit. All of it. Designed to separate women from their money.

Use it if it makes you feel good, but don’t kid yourself you need to.

Do men get questioned by other men about the unnecessary fortune they spend on football season tickets, car accessories and golfing holidays?

I'm very interested to see photographs of those who claim, "I'm 68, only wash with lard and a brillo pad and I often have police approaching me asking if I'm playing truant from school"

I have a skincare routine and some of it is functional [SPF, Vitamin C, Retinol] and some of it is fun. I enjoy spending time on my fabulous self and I know my mental health is in check because as soon as it slips, I stop my self-care rituals and my skin starts to look dull as the skin cycle goes on.

Sitting on the Tube, there are plenty of men with awful skin; bloated, sun damaged, rosacea...

I’ve had 30 years of extremely oily skin and acne.

I had the same until I stopped drinking milk. I'm not dairy intolerant, but something in milk causes my skin to produce far too much sebum. Having identified the source, the cysts are all gone. Now all I use to wash is a bar of Robert's soap.

@Articuno is right.

As for the dairy argument: I hardly consume any. No milk in tea, in coffee, or on cereal. A yoghurt at lunchtime only because I am kind of forcing myself to right now as I am pregnant and know it's important to get the calcium in. Cheese maybe sometimes at the weekends. And yet my skin has been acneic since age 10 and I'm now 32. Fun times eh?

Whoever said that ‘vitamin C oil’ etc is anti ageing is incorrect. It’s not. It’s all bullshit.

Do stop your bullshit.

Vitamin C serum stimulates collagen growth and reduces photoaging (i.e. freckles and liver spots). This has been proven with several studies, here’s one for your perusal: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579659/ and another www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605218/

Now. Just throwing Vitamin C into your product isn’t enough. You have to do your research as packaging/formulation/storage all play into the effectiveness of your product. It’s best to make your own to control for that, but some beauty companies make effective formulas that can transport/store well, but those are pricey.