To find skin routines a con?

[pinkbottle48]

I remember we use to be always told to cleanse, tone, moisturise. Now we have to double cleanse (two different cleansers), tone, moisturise, prime, serum, facial oils, BB cream, night cream, eye cream (obviously not all in that order).
AIBU to think we being conned into buying more and more or does anyone actually find it works?
At the minute I cleanse (once), moisturise, eye cream and occasionally prime. It cost me enough but when I see other ladies with lovely skin/make up I do wonder is it their skincare routine?

If I bother with anything it's a bit of Astral cream occasionally. Cheap as chips and as good as anything else I've tried.

Otherwise plain water is all I use. I will occasionally use a sunscreen on my nose but I don't want to absorb the chemicals from one on a regular basis so it's only when I'm likely to actually burn.

The very fact it's called a routine or a regime puts me off. I don't do it. I have moisturiser and I have water. I use them when I feel like it. I remove make up with the moisturiser (don't wear it much) saves time and effort!

Elsapethflashman You are bloody hilarious. But then I love potion. The only thing missing from my bathroom cabinet is a woman in a white coat with a dazzling smile saying 'Is there something I can help with today Madame?'

onward I might be a scouser but there’s definitely a product called micellar water!

My skin care routine does wonders for my skin. I spent a month in hospital recently and couldn’t be bothered with more than cleanser and moisturiser...by the end my skin looked like utter shit. Dull and congested and dry and oily and just gross. A month back on my routine and my skin is clear and glowing again.

You do need products with ingredients that actually do something though. A lot of the standard Western skincare products are formulated to do nothing much. Many actually make things worse eg. moisturisers that dry out skin.

Vitamin c, retinol, AHA’s and BHA’s, nicaiciminide, alpha lipoic acid, hyaluronic acid etc. actually have an effect, provided you buy good formulations and use them properly. It doesn’t have to be expensive. The Ordinary has great products starting from around £5, and a lot of great Korean products are cheap.

@Andro - thank you

What are retinols for? Never heard of them before...

I have ok skin I suppose. Prone to period spots so always used non-oily cheap neutrogena moisturiser until recently. Noticed a few wrinkles and dryish eyes at the beginning of summer so bought no 7 protect range of serum, moisturiser and eye cream. Only use them in the morning and clean with baby wipes/water but there's a definite difference.

YANBU. It's all complete nonsense.

However, there is one product that actually does work miracles in preventing wrinkles and that is high factor UVA/UVB sunscreen, preferably in partnership with a sunhat and sunglasses.

The single biggest favour you can do for your skin is to keep it out of the sun as much as possible (notwithstanding the daily 15 minutes of daylight needed for vitamin D).

I’m wondering about people saying that it’s sun protection and genes- my only lines (I wouldn’t say they were wrinkles tbf) are from frowning/ squinting. This wouldn’t be resolved by sunscreen or Nivea- but I find acids and microdermabrasion Make them
Look better. I imagine this is how most people get lines? Obviously sun exposure/ smoking excepted

Most skin care products are a con.

There are ingredients that actually do something: vitamin c, retinoids, niacin, lactic, glycolic and salicylic acids are all effective active ingredients. The trick is finding them in formulations that actually work.

I used to use Nip and Fab glycolic pads. Then I met a chemist who literally worked on the very same product. He told me not to bother: they buffer the acid to avoid customer complaints. The pH isn't effective, even though it contains x% of the ingredient.

And vitamin C absolutely does brighten skin. But it is unstable in solution due to oxidation. Finding a product that can deal with that issue isn't easy.

However, there are a couple of companies that do everything possible to be transparent about their formulations and how they work. Paula's Choice and The Ordinary (Deciem) remove the flowery bullshit from their product descriptions and stick with the active ingredients.

My skin is pretty great. That's primarily because I don't smoke, drink or eat much sugar. But when I use my skin care products consistently, I definitely get clear improvement.

Yes it's a con.

I definitely belive in moisturiser. But all rest is utter rubbish.

I have pretty good skin, though it's a bit on the dry side so I've always moisturised twice a day. I've never ever gotten spots, even as a teenager but that's just good luck. Never sleep with make up on.

I've only started a "routine" since turning 30...

• Wash face in morning with Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore & Shine Daily Scrub.

• Put on Simple Anti Blemish Moisturiser.

• If I'm going to work, that's it (too lazy to wear make up to work!). Don't bother with suncreen as I work inside but I'll wear sunglasses for my commute though, unless it's dark.

• If I'm off work and it's sunny, I'll put Soltan Once Face Advanced 8hr Protect Face lotion SPF30 on, then BB cream and a bit of powder.

• Take make up off with Garnier Skin Active Micellar Water.

• Before bed use Simple Anti Blemish Moisturiser, or Nivea Urban Detox Mask (Moisturise).

My skin is loads better since sticking to that most of the time. Pretty much all those products are often on sale for 2-4 quid, so I stock up when they're on offer. The sunscreen is a tenner, but I don't mind paying that cos it works all day.

Saving my money for botox!

All the people who say it's a con also say they have amazing skin already.

I have shit skin. Is grey, cloggy, with dry sore skin that peels. For me, a routine is key. It doesn't need to be the most expensive stuff but care and attention is needed.

Agree with PP who said if you cleanse tone and moistuise, you HAVE a routine.

And for the poster who washes her face with shower gel. Stop it. Just stop it.

Ohholy I've been honey washing for about 6 years now. Skin has never been better, the anti-inflammatory properties of honey get rid of any spots very quickly. I wished I'd known about it sooner, would have saved a fortune!
As far as anti aging is concerned, I think creams are a complete con, it's mostly genetics, avoiding the sun, not smoking and not drinking too much alcohol.

I agree. I wash my face in the shower with a nivea face wash, use toner if I remember, and always moisturize because I can't not - my skin feels dry and tight after washing it if I don't. I drink lots of water and people have always said I've got good skin and look younger than I am so I'm happy with that!

My mother's skin aged prematurely and she had lots of broken veins. She dinned into me the importance of looking after it, especially if you spend a lot of time in the fresh air, so I started using Oil of Ulay (as it then was!) at about 16-17.

In my 20s, my skin started to feel a bit dry, so I started using heavier moisturisers and when moisturisers with SPF became readily available (in my early 30s0, I switched to those. I've never toned, but have always cleansed and when the only cleansers available were creams or lotions, I used to rinse the residue off with warm water. Started eye cream in my late 40s, when the crow's feet started to appear and and started using serum before moisturiser in my 50s, when moisturiser alone didn't seem to combat the dryness.

At 35, people thought I was ten years younger. At 63, most people think in my mid-40s. I smoke a bit, drink a bit and still spend a lot of time in the fresh air. I don't drink much water (every time I have a drink of water, I need a wee within 15 minutes, which isn't practical when working in the community in a rural area), and don't think I'm blessed with good genes as none of the rest of my family looked young for their age.

I don't go mad on cleansing or exfoliating though. Hot cloth cleansers/flannels give me zit, anything with the word "glycolic" in it stings and cleansers with grains in make my skin really dry.

I started to get enlarged pores a few years ago, and thought they were clogged, so went a bit mad with cleansing. Then a beauty therapist friend explained that it was because my skin was dry, so I started to moisturise more and use a night cream, and they've improved no end. I use a primer simply because it stops my make-up soaking in to my pores.

My regime is: - wash face with Simple anti-aging cleanser, eye cream, serum (Superdrug's own brand) and SPF 30 moisturiser , then tinted BB or foundation with sunscreen. At night, remove make up with wipes and then finish with micellar water or a wash-off cleanser, eye cream, night cream.

I sometimes treat myself to Clarins or Clinique, but mostly it's the Superdrug stuff or Revitalift bought when it's on offer in the supermarkets. The massive price difference doesn't im[porove results imo, although when I tried the Lidl moisturiser it brought me out in spots.

TL;DR: it's not a total con but complex regimes and top-end ranges are overrated.

You don't actually need to drink plenty of water. That's a myth. You can get enough fluid intake from fruit and vegetables, and from tea and coffee.

I work outside all day in all weathers, put nothing on my face apart from a dab of nappy cream (left over from when I had my last baby who is now a parent ) if it's sore, wash my face when I have my annual bath for the Harvest Festival in church - I have this bath religiously once a year whether I need it or not - and I have the complexion of a baby.

I'm always told that I have really good skin (not a boast - I'm also plump and have frizzy hair - my skin is my best feature by far!!!), and that I look in my twenties rather than my late thirties due to my skin. I wash it twice a day with vegetable soap from Faith in Nature and wear Body Shop moisturiser in the winter, eat lots of fruit and veg and that's it. I think expensive creams are a total con for people with normal skin.
However, as someone with problem hair, I do use expensive shampoo and conditioner. Therefore, maybe people with problem skin do need to spend a bit more.

I use a cheap face wash morning and evening a 150ml tube lasts abt five months as only use pea size amount each time, then in morning use day cream again cheap one and night cream on evening again cheap one.

It's a con. Most the women in my family look very young. Grandma is almost 90 and looks like 60s. It's gene's and i inherited good ones
I don't have a skincare routine! And grandma uses Nivea or astral

I don't believe in it anymore. You use soap/cleansers to strip your skin of "excess" oil, then put on moisturisers to replace it - it's a con that robs you of time and money. I'll concede there are some who actually have very problematic skin and need a routine.

I just wash my face with water now, in the mornings and before bed, and I haven't had acne in years. I look younger than my age but I'm aging as much as anyone - I think that comes more from genetics, sun protection and looking after myself from the inside.

I guess I should add that I don't use makeup either. I guess if you do, you probably need some kind of routine.