to think that spending a lot of money on face creams is pointless?

[MaMaLa321]

I'm in my 60s, and, for the last few years, have been spending a lot on face creams to try and keep wrinkles at bay (unsuccessfully). Like £50 a pot. My skin is ordinary, aging, skin.
At the beginning of lockdown I started using an all purpose cream that costs £7, and I don't honestly see any difference to the effects from the more expensive cream.
Do posters think it's worth buying expensive face creams?

Some creams do make a difference, facial sun cream for example. Also I use retinol (from a pharmacy) and it has made a staggering difference to my lines. That, plus hyaluronic acid and a copper based NIOD product, followed by high spf sun screen are all I use.

For the last 15 years my mother has been using an expensive ‘anti aging’ cream on the left side of her face and normal moisturiser on the right. After 15years there is no difference between the two sides.

It's eye cream that I think is utterly pointless...

Not worth spending money on
I spend on SPF, retinol and vitamin C. Cleansers and moisturisers are budget/mid range and what suits my skin

I started using a moisturiser from Aldi that's less than £2 and my skin has never been better.

I used to think that pepsicola I've got a cupboard full of eye creams but The Ordinary caffeine eye gel really does reduce puffy eyes, and no I'm not on commission!

You dont need spf50 every day in this country, especially not in ths colder months, it stop you creating vitamin d. You only really need factor 50 on a few days a year when it's really really hot and you are out in it a lot.

You've either got the genes to look young, or you don't. A cream isn't going to stop that.

I don't think skincare consumers are chasing youth like they used to. For me (as an ultra pale person where every single blemish is like a beacon) its about maintaining an even skin tone and keeping my skin nice and hydrated.

Obviously the main way I achieve this is through nutrition and general lifestyle.. But there absolutely are certain active ingredients that work topically, the biggies for me are salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. For others it might be a retinoid or glycolic acid.

But you're right OP, none of these things need cost the earth. And if skincare doesn't float your boat there's no need to spend anything at all.

I've never used creams daily, or hardly ever in fact. Just wash my face on the shower, no soap and no cream needed. When I was 40, people thought I was 30. I also don't smoke or drink, so that might have helped.

I think facial oils are good and massaging your skin.

I'm a sucker for beauty products and I like find the Prai neck cream good.

I do mix m,y stuff though.

My skin is fairly good at 53

I tend to think the people with the best skin are those that dont lather on the makeup and let their skin breath. It goes to reason if you dont clog your skin up with stuff, it wont then need cleansing or moisturiser.

Obviously not smoking, avoiding or limiting alcohol, drinking loads of water, exercising and eating a nutritious diet are no brainers for everyone, from a general health pov as well as skincare. Other than that though, get to know your own skin- what skin type is it? Any issues like dehydration, pigmentation, flakiness? What do you want out of your skincare? Just because your friend / mum / colleague raves about a product, doesn't mean it will get you the same results

Re eye cream, Nadine Baggott did a v good YouTube a couple of weeks ago about eye creams. She said you dont need one IF you can use your active ingredients products around your eyes. So for example, my retinol is in squalane, which irritates my eyes, so I use a separate retinol eye cream from The Inkey list, and very nice it is too

@NotShiny

I tend to think the people with the best skin are those that dont lather on the makeup and let their skin breath. It goes to reason if you dont clog your skin up with stuff, it wont then need cleansing or moisturiser.

Your skin still gets dirty!

If I don’t use any moisturiser at all my skin becomes tight and hurts and I don’t wear makeup often.

This is just beyond nonsense.

It's a complete con imo. I'm nearly 50 and over the years I've used expensive stuff (recommended for my skin), mid range stuff and cheap stuff. I now use Aldi moisturisers, which are just as good as anything I've ever used and better than many. I also use their Cleanse and Polish dupe, which works exactly the same as the real one.
Also, as long as I don't use a really light moisturiser (which wouldn't be moisturising enough), I find pretty much zero difference between all the others, whatever they claim to specifically do for a particular skin type or whatever magic ingredients they claim to contain.

Totally agree. My mum has fabulous cheekbones and relatively few wrinkles in her 80s, and used nothing more fancy than Simple and Olay. She is very pale and never sunbathed because she just burned.

...the cheekbones keep her ‘younger’ looking as there’s not much sagging.

Yes it’s worth taking care of skin
But agree that very natural products (ie almond oil) can be very effective

As I age it’s more about natural products than expensive products for me

Agree with PP that it's not just about a £50 cream and if you read a lot of the beauty pages etc, there does seem to be agreement that one or two products (which can be got at a cheaper price) are the most important. Serums seem to be considered the holy grail and I have to say that I tend to agree. And now that a lot of cheaper ones are available with similar ingredients, I'm in the process of researching options for myself as my old Clarins serums definitely made my skin look better but I just can't afford those anymore. But my nivea day and night cream do a great job on a daily basis and I use the oil cleansing method (for my skin, almond oil daily with castor oil added about 1-2 times a week). I do have a vitamin c moisturiser with SPF which I don't love but there's no doubt the vitamin c lifts my skin tone a lot.

Don’t waste your money. All the claims are awful. The ONLY THING THAT WORKS that I have found ( and no I’m not an employee or on commission) is My Tired Eyes. It’s pricey but a little goes a long way. I’ve used daily eye cream and their facial. That stuff I have found for myself is amayzing. I was so impressed I took it to my mum and put it on one eye and said watch this..... results in 60 seconds. Doesn’t last forever but if you feel
Yucky put it in instant improvement. Doesn’t work for some but I think it’s brilliant.

"Your skin still gets dirty!"

So wash it!! Use water or soap and water?!

"If I don’t use any moisturiser at all my skin becomes tight and hurts and I don’t wear makeup often."

Perhaps that's because your skin is used to it? Mine never feels tight.

"This is just beyond nonsense."

Really why?

I make do with an Aldi Q10 daily cream for £2.99 and a St. Ives face wash that I use in the mornings only. (Have never bought an expensive face cream but have been gifted them. Can't say I've noticed a significant difference!)
I don't wear make up.
My skin is pretty good and soft to the touch.

My sister, however, has always worn make up, tried all sorts of potions and lotions over the years (has also suffered with adult acne) and has troubled skin.

Purely anecdotal but I think there's something in there.

@NotShiny or if you're using retinol or acids or the UV index is high...
I use SPF every day because I burn easily and use a prescription retinol

There will always be people who say soap and water and no moisturiser
Fine, you're lucky to have good skin. If I did that I would have dry flaking skin and a face full of acne so therefore I have to use products that don't break me out. I also wear eye makeup so need a remover for that
Not everyone is privileged enough to have skin that can survive and look nice with a scrub of soap

@NotShiny

"Your skin still gets dirty!"

So wash it!! Use water or soap and water?!

"If I don’t use any moisturiser at all my skin becomes tight and hurts and I don’t wear makeup often."

Perhaps that's because your skin is used to it? Mine never feels tight.

"This is just beyond nonsense."

Really why?

Washing with soap and water IS cleansing.

Different people have different skin types - that much is obvious so what works for one won’t work for others.

The idea you don’t need to clean your skin is beyond nonsense which you obviously agree with since you wash your face.

I havent used moisturiser since I was about 18. I'd moved area and couldnt find my brand. Then I realised that I didnt need it and I havent used it since. My face just gets a wash with water in the shower and that's it. I dont wear makeup.