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?

How did I know this would be "I just give my face a good scrub with a Brillo pad then slap a bit of lard on it. I'm 74 and everyone thinks I'm 16"?

It's not about being wrinkle free, it's about self care, doing something nice for yourself. You only get one face, Theresa nothing wrong with looking after it.

I’m very lucky with my skin. It’s good despite a lack of routine.

I wash with warm water in the shower and moisturise when I remember, which isn’t often because I don’t really like the feel of ‘stuff’ on my face.

One of the things I have observed on my ongoing journey to be frump-free is that having nice skin is top of the list. Some people are very lucky in that they are genetically blessed with clear, young skin. On the other hand I know some women who spend an absolute fortune on La Mer, Praire and other ££££ brands and their skin still looks awful because they have inherited awful skin unfortunately.

I bet that if we had taken a set of triplets at 16 and introduced them to a skincare routine of Nivea, La Mer and Clarins there wouldn't be anything in it by the time they were 40. Irrespective of what you use, I think that the act of taking care of yourself makes a big difference.

My mother introduced me to cleanse, tone and moisturise when I was 16 and now I also do eye cream and serum. When I religiously do it I can see a massive difference and people say I have nice skin. I think by doing so I upgrade the skin I've got, but it isn't going to perform miracles. If you take care of your skin you need minimal makeup. It is the layers of makeup we are told we need that is the biggest con IMO.

The best “skin care routine” for me has been to stop wearing makeup My skin is the best its been for years. I think that the skin care pedallers and the makeup pedallers work together to ensure that we all spend as much money as possible. At the moment I just cleanse, a light moisturiser and occasionally do a mask and my skin is just so much better. I swear that it was the daily makeup that was blocking pores/causing breakouts/redness. I only wear makeup on special occasions now (although I do my eyebrows every day because I actually enjoy that part).

BEN Goldacre explains the face cream myth very well in ‘Bad Science’

Basically, if fancy skin creams actually did anything magical beyond moisturising, they would be classed as a medicine and have to be very tightly controlled.

Read the claims VERY carefully, and you will start to spot the weasel words.

For most people without actual dermatological problems the things that actually work are:
Don’t smoke
Don’t bake in the sun
Nivea
Choose your parents wisely

Just to add to Norks point - anything "cosmetic" is not allowed to fundamentally change your skin or anything else.

Micellar water is pure marketing. Your skin doesn’t need this. It is just soapy water. If your skin feels dry after using it, or it got worse, that’s because you’re supposed to rinse it off after you’ve applied it. If you haven’t, you’ve left a layer of soap residue on your face.

“Micellar” is simply a buzzword. It actually refers to the process by the soap and water molecules combine (more or less). It sounds somewhat cool, and like it could sell things - and it has. Soapy water. .

I just cleanse face, pat dry and then moisturise. I have greasy skin so i do it twice a day, at night i put on night cream and in the morning i put on a cream with spf or just sun cream.

I think years ago there was a big difference in skin creams but a lot of the cheaper ones are just as good, or even better!

If you dont want wrinkles you need to keep your face out of the sun (or slap on factor 50 if it is in the sun), use a cream with retinol in it when you get the wrinkles at night (lots of cheaper versions work just as good as expensive) and keep moisturised even if you have greasy skin.

I have tried many creams over the years, some expensive and some cheap and I would say one of the best for me is the Olay Regenerist creams which are not expensive (always wait until they are on offer). Also for cleansing the Aldi Lacura Hot Cloth Cleanser at 3.99 is absoutely brilliant if you have a greasy t-zone like me.

I do think with all these extra things companies are bringing out they are conning women (and men now) out of their money - when I had a set of creams over 120 pounds worth I saw no difference to the Olay moisturiser so just dont listen to the hype - the main thing is the sun cream if you get that on your face it really helps to stop new wrinkles appearing!

I wash my face with warm water and then I put on a cheapish moisturiser. I have used moisturiser every morning since I was about 20 and if I don't put it on, my skin feels dry and tight. Once I've put it on (and type doesn't seem to matter that much - used Boots Time Delay for about £5, or other similar cream - they've all had SPF in them for last 10 years or so) my skin feels slightly moist and plumped - I am ready to start the day, but without it I feel dry and a bit parched.

That's it. Ashamed to say, I dont usually even wash my face at night - I don't wear make-up, but I know the day's grime will be there.

My skin is looking pretty good for age of mid 40s. Has the regular moisturising worked? Not sure, but it feels nice on my skin so I use it for that as much as longer term impact.

I rarely wear make up, and scrupulously clean it off the times I do wear some. I use a basic cleanser, sometimes moisuriser, but above all, a factor 50 on the face. I have Roseacea and need to be careful to avoid at lot of chemicals.

I'm almost 50, and still get a lot of people thinking I'm much younger.

Everyone is different. Some have skin problems, some have sun wrinkles, some just have very very dry skin. Some people think lots of skin care and routines work, some don't. Each to their own.

I have kind of ok skin, it gets a bit red sometimes from the cold, and there are few broken veins in there (red wine I both love and hate you!).

I just let the shower water cascade over my face. Then use Nivea Soft, the smoothest nicest cream I have ever used, and I have tried em all!

That's it.

I only wear a mineral powder, touch of blush and a good lippie, and I'm good to go. I'm a bit older now and don't bother with eye make up at all now. Only wear foundation or whatever it's called now if going to something very special like a wedding!

Whatever works for you is fine. But I do think that the very expensive stuff is a total con myself!

I had no routine till I hit menopause, used suncream in the sun and that was it. Since then I have had to add in a few things, moisturiser and also some almond oil feels good (no idea if it acually having cosmetic effect), as my skin is very dry now. And retinol cream for milia (around eyes and on eyelids), which are bothersome but which melt magically away when you use a good retinol on them for a couple of weeks.

I don't always remember to moisturise (or even to clean my face) at night but I find I feel "fresher" in the morning if I have put an eye cream on at night. Again, don't know if there is any cosmetic effect, I have wrinkles and under eye bags which are hereditary, don't know if they would be slightly better or slightly worse if I did more or less to my face.

LOL, spot on, Elspeth. NO ONE on MN ever looks their age, or older, and they never drink, or smoke, they're just genetically youthful. They just wave unicorn tears at their face. Load of bollocks. I have shit skin, acne scars, sun damage, I smoked and drank loads, too. I use Cetaphil IF I wear any makeup, which is almost never, to take it off, Differin gel and then FA. I look ancient but don't really give a fuck.

I use Johnson wipes to remove make up.
Then I wash my face with a face wash like Clean and Clear.
Then I moisturise - I like Simple moisturiser, E45, Nivea original or Nivea Soft.
I've tried buying expensive moisturisers and also experimented with serums but didn't think they were any better than my regular stuff.

I like rosehip oil for a change, it smells lush.

I scrapped my lengthy and expensive skin care routine 6 months ago in place of using Lush Ultrabland once in the evenings and a splash of water in the morning and my skin has never looked better. It is a huge con in my opinion.

Remember it's not just about how your skin looks on the outside. It can be damaged in the deeper dermis layers which will come through in later years.

Also really supprised no one has mentioned skin cancer yet. It's on the rise hugely in the UK and the people not wearing an SPF on there faces are not only exposing themselves to more pigmentation/wrinkles. They are exposing themselves to skin cancer

Wear an SPF every day and it should not be in your moisturiser, it should be a separate zinc based on factor 50

Absolutely a con.

I wash it when it's dirty /oily

Put a bit of light moisturiser on it if it feels dry

Give it a good scrub with a hot flannel if it's a bit flakey

I had awful acne that needed antibiotics to clear and was using all sorts of lotions and potions on my skin. It was a mess and is still quite scarred.

But apart from the acne scarring, since I pared right back, not only have I saved loads of money (and invested in better makeup with the savings, think £50 foundation as opposed to £15), my skin is as clear and soft as it has been since before and was a teenager.

There's a few fine lines and large pores but hey I'm a grown woman not a small child.

@LeftRightCentre agreed!

I have never had a routine. My mum never passed any female wisdom on, so it simply never occurred to me.
I wash my face in the shower, slap some moisturiser on once in a blue moon (usually in the winter), and bought some serum about a year ago, but was so disappointed at not looking ten years younger immediately, promptly forgot all about it.

I am 57. I look somewhere between 55 and 60, depending on whether I have make up on, or brushed my hair that day.

I have drunk, smoked (not for 3 years or so), been on holiday in the sun, got windburn from walking in all weathers. Generally, i have had a bloody brilliant, enjoyable life 😁

My slightly saggy body matches my face.

I am lived in 😉

I think it entirely depends on your skin type. If I were to just wash my face and nothing else I would have blackheads, congested, textured, oily, dull skin. I wish I could get away with just washing my face, but I really can't.

An acid toner, a couple of serums that I alternate for different active ingredients, and a light moisturiser and my skin looks pretty ok, a massive improvement and well worth the few quid a month that I spend on it.

@Penninepain.

Way to go girl.

Advertising is for those chasing something they will never get.

Another vote to say it is a con. I used Clinique and Ester Lauder products for 15 years as everything else dried my skin or clogged my pores...

I moved into L’Oréal after a change of circumstances and yes, I got the dry skin and pimples for a week until my skin adapted to the new moisturiser.

I have been using a day cream from Aldi after washing my face in the shower, with shower gel, at the end of the day for 5 years. The only difference that I can see from moving from Clinique to Aldi is that before I felt “chic and expensive” while now I just feel “practical”

I don't even wash my make-up off at night. I haven't used a cleanser, facemask or serum for over 10 years. I just use a cheap moisturiser. My skin's really good, no spots or lines, even tone. I'm mid 40s but people guess my age at 30.

I think most products are a total con.

I have rosacea and used to have terrible breakouts due to generally sensitive skin, and I have found having a skincare routine has improved my skin enormously. I have two cleansers that I alternate between, a foreo cleansing tool, an anti redness serum, a natural AHA/BHA mask, a few moisturisers with SPF, loads of oils and a few clay face masks. All are natural products though with herbal/plant based ingredients rather than chemicals I can't pronounce the name of. I find regularly alternating some products such as cleanser and moisturiser is beneficial to my skin, it seems as if it almost gets used to a product and it starts being less effective (I have also found this to be the case with deodorant and have to a few different ones on rotation) The prices in some cases are of course a con, enabled by clever marketing, but I am happy to pay a reasonable amount for something effective, I don't wear any makeup so I spend more on my skin, and I enjoy researching plants active ingredients and effects and trying new things. Most things I have are pretty cheap though, especially when I consider how long they last.

Men don't seem to have all these skin care routines. Yes many of them shave and pat on something after, but that's it really.

I think many women do all this stuff for the men.

(I'm hiding in the wardrobe now for the fallout!).