Caroline Hirons

[ReputationPrecedesMe]

Unpopular opinion but AIBU to think that she is talking rubbish? She was on This Morning showing us all how to wash our face and telling us how bad face wipes are. Apparently they just move make up around your face, which is wrong interesting.
Considering it is basically her job to flog skincare, of course she is going to try and tell everyone to ditch them.
Prepared to be told otherwise but maybe she's just been using the wrong wipes 😁

I qualified as a skincare advisor when I was a beauty therapist and face wipes really are terrible for your skin.

I use baby wipes to remove my makeup (same I’d use on a newborn so can’t be that bad), and wash with cold water and a flannel. There’s no makeup on the flannel ever so I don’t believe that wipes just “move the makeup around your skin”.... (But I don’t wear heavy skin makeup anyway). I use SPF facecream and that’s it. I have nice clear skin.

I never get on with face washes and cleansers. They always leave my skin looking a bit worse. I have nice skin just from cold water, so why the faff? I feel like if scrubbing away at your skin with chemicals/charcoal/seeds/bits/acid etc was actually beneficial then dermatologists would recommend fancy cleansers. But hey ho

I love Caroline so all you doubters can piss off!

Oh, OK then.....

No I don’t think she looks 60 on that photo. But on breakfast telly, well definitely. Photos can be edited.

@OverMoon most dermatologists recommend retinol, vitamin C, SPF and varying acids
If I used wipes and water I would have makeup left on my skin and my hormonal acne would be bad. The problem is people say "well I just use water and my skin is fine"
Great, but for those of us with issues like rosacea, acne, sebaceous filaments - we need more!
I wish I had nice clear skin with not doing anything to it, but a lot of what I do is preventative like the SPF and retinol

She has some good points, absolutely, but her routines are very expensive, and that's a fact.

Baby wipes would remove nothing. Babies don’t wear make up on their bottoms. Fine if you don’t wear make up, I suppose, but those of us who do need to wash our faces to get rid of it at the end of the day.

Baby wipes would remove nothing

I hate to disagree because I now hate wipes BUT there is nothing like a baby wipe for cleaning woodwork and kitchen tiles.I have to have stern words with myself when my tiles are looking grim.

I like her. I don’t use many of the products she suggests but rather seek out mid-price dupes.
Double cleansing changed my skin.

'I wish people could understand how it can be slightly hurtful when people are insinuating you aren’t eating well enough and that’s causing your bad skin'

Ah no, I don't mean that skin conditions are caused by diet of course. That's a very specific way to take what I said. Generally people with very clear, glowing skin have healthy diets. Of course not everyone with bad skin has a poor diet.

Medical Dermatologists in the UK are trained to treat and care for diseases and conditions of the skin. They aren’t trained in cosmetic dermatology as standard. There are medical doctors who specialise in cosmetic dermatology (who also have a basic background training in dermatology too) but your average NHS dermatologist isn’t going to be equipped (or particularly interested) to advise you of which face wash is best if you have ‘normal’ skin (ie no medical conditions to be treated). You need to access a private cosmetic dermatologist for targeted, evidence based advice regarding products/medications best for both skin health and cosmetic appearance.

That was to overmoon/anyone talking about dermatologist recommendations.

Some people choose a more expensive cleanser or other product despite there being an equivalent product of a lower price because they prefer the smell, or the texture, or the packaging. It’s ok, they aren’t spending your money.

I don't follow her recommendations any more because I can't add them, but her info on how to read ingredients lists and how/when to use different types of products has really helped me to work out what works for me from the less expensive stuff.

I like that she's someone with a normal face who has a chance of seeing if things actually work, I was getting so annoyed by beauty bloggers in their 20s saying how much something had reduced their lines!

*can't afford them, not add!

@Alsohuman Baby wipes would remove nothing. Babies don’t wear make up on their bottoms. Fine if you don’t wear make up, I suppose, but those of us who do need to wash our faces to get rid of it at the end of the day.

That’s just your opinion, or what works for your skin, it’s not gospel.

The beauty industry has created a truth that you “need” to cleanse, tone etc, but people managed for thousands of years just washing their face with water and a cloth.

As I said in my post, I wear makeup every day, and baby wipes DO remove my make up, and washing with a flannel and water cleans my skin just fine.

SPF is an essential for skin protection, but that’s it. I hate beauty industry marketing being talked about as gospel truth. Lots of people have lovely skin without using products or having a “routine”. Not everyone has problem skin. The amount of money women spend on the beauty industry because they’re told they HAVE to do stuff.....

I really like her. I found her recent series on retinols incredibly informative and she covered a large range of brands of differing price points. I enjoy watching her insta stories and I admire how hard she works .

People did manage for centuries with just water and a cloth but it's the SPF that's designed to stick to the skin and that needs serious removing and that's a recent invention.

Then again a simple cleansing oil will shift it.

@ChardonnaysPrettySister So I’ve been wearing SPF facecream for years and don’t cleanse beyond water and flannel and wipes, I also never get spots and my skin is clear even tone etc. What damage is the SPF residue causing me? (That’s a genuine question, I’m not being sarcy).

Let me phrase it a different way - most men manage with just water and a cloth, and a lot of men have really nice skin. I hate that some women are beholden to spending so much of their money and precious time and mental energy on a slew of products, where is the clinical evidence that half of them make any difference? Beyond obviously SPF to prevent sun damage, and drinking lots of water.

But obviously I’m in the wrong place to have this opinion, because the nature of the thread is that people will think the other way, and I understand that it’s something of a hobby for some people. I just hate it being stated as perceived widsom. “Oh you have to double cleanse each night and cleanse once in the morning to have nice skin.” Er, no you don’t! My husband has really beautiful skin and I’m not convinced he even washes it with a flannel (maybe in the shower...).

I just hate stuff that women have to do, inevitably it involves spending money and buying new products every year as trends (or “discoveries”) change, and become the new recieved wisdom (the latest one seems to be putting acid on your face). Go figure.

Some people don't and no, you don't have to. However I personally do, unless I want acne because my skin is more tricky and has been since I was a teenager. If I fall asleep with makeup on, I wake up with spots
The acid I use (fairly cheap, lasts ages) has been the absolute key to helping prevent my hormonal acne

If by ‘spf face cream’ you mean a normal moisturiser with a stated SPF rating the you won’t have much spf residue because you won’t have much actual SPF on your skin by the end of the day. You need to be using quite a lot of the moisturiser every time in order to get the stated SPF rating.

Moisturiser with SPF20 on the packet is not equivalent coverage to proper SPF20 suncream designed for the purpose (which will take more effort to break down and get off).

*then you won’t...

Pointless comparing with men because last time I looked the vast majority of them don't wear makeup. Nor are tiles skin. Some of the comparisons here would be hilarious if they weren't so desperate.

Yes, Hirons uses high end products, you don't need to, my cleanser is £10 a time and lasts for about three months. It's probably cheaper than those ineffective, planet destroying wipes.

Yes, CH advises double cleansing if you're wearing make up or SPF. So I think there are plenty of women she would say it's unnecessary for.

Of course her focus is on people who are interested in skincare and willing to spend money on it, that's the point of her blog. But she comes across as perfectly nice and well intentioned to me. She did a post recently about skincare in ME/depression/illness that I thought was really on the mark.

OverMoon, if your routine works for you and your skin, that’s great. Some people do find other things helpful though. Lactic acid exfoliation has been a game changer for me, along with oil based cleansing.

I do agree that there is lots of stuff cynically marketed to women to make them spend money in the pursuit of ‘looking younger’ or to fit a certain physical ideal. Capitalism, eh?

most men manage with just water and a cloth, and a lot of men have really nice skin.

I was on the train a week or so ago when loads of middle aged men got on on their way to a rugby match. I remember thinking to myself how rough and ruddy their complexions looked compared to most middle aged women I know. So many men could benefit from adding a blob of moisturiser or facial oil into that 'water and a cloth' routine.