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?

@QueenCT

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

Exactly. It always makes me laugh that people with naturally great skin think it’s something they’ve done rather than luck of the draw.

Sun protection, sun protection, sun protection.

I grew up in a hot country with very fair Celtic-type colouring. Didn't particularly seek out the sun but couldn't avoid it - plenty of outdoor all-day school events, for example, and a lot of outdoor swimming in my own time. "Sun cream" those days was Coppertone or similar - to encourage a tan (no idea if it works for some people, never tried), not to block out the UV, so I was badly sunburnt many times.

I haven't the money to spend on expensive skincare and wouldn't care to, but how I wish factor 50 had been around (and used liberally) when I was a child.

I honestly think if you really want to tackle wrinkles then spend your money on Botox. I have it and it costs way less than the money I've spent on useless creams over the years.

I still use moisturiser and stuff, but there's barely anything you can put on your face that will actually help with wrinkles that are already there.

Prevention is better than cure obviously, but in my case I was stupid when I was younger (sun beds) and have paid the price with my face.

Merryoldgoat, it gets washed with water, that's it. I dont use soap on my face. I dont use anything else. I'm sorry if that upsets you.

I enjoy putting nice products on my face for me it's an indulgence and self care at the end of the day away from my toddler. I wouldnt try to convince anyone who doesn't enjoy it but for those of us who do it's not a chore. I bought my sister some nice bits and for the first time she felt confident in her skin to goake up free after having lots of problems as a teen. For many people it makes a big difference.

Having worked on fashion magazines for years, the wisdom I've absorbed from various beauty experts is that if you're going to spend money, it should be on your serum rather than your moisturiser, as the latter is only designed to keep the hydration already in your skin from leaving it, rather than really putting anything back in.

I think the generally accepted wisdom is that the only really important thing is SPF, a real one, not just a face cream with some factor 15 in it.

Most of the people with really plump unlined skin beyond their twenties or thirties will have had a little bit of very discrete Botox or fillers.

@NotShiny

Merryoldgoat, it gets washed with water, that's it. I dont use soap on my face. I dont use anything else. I'm sorry if that upsets you.

It doesn’t upset me - I’m glad you’ve got good skin - but to attribute it to anything other that genes and luck given you don’t use anything is insulting.

I’ve suffered from adult acne on and off for years and it was only resolved using proper (not necessarily expensive) skincare.

The number of smug people who said ‘oh? If you didn’t wear makeup’ or ‘I just use soap and water - try that’ like I’m a moron is irritating.

There’s a vast difference between treating your problem skin properly with recognised and proven ingredients, overspending on unsuitable creams And having unrealistic expectations of what those products can do.

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

When I talk about cleansers I mean the type that comes in a bottle and they charge you lots of money for it. I think because I dont clog up my pores with makeup or creams, I then just need to wash with water. If I did use the whole rigmorole of makeup, cleansers, toners, moisturizers etc etc, my skin would be tired and or in a state if shock!!!

"Exactly. It always makes me laugh that people with naturally great skin think it’s something they’ve done rather than luck of the draw."
My skin is good because I dont use lots of stuff, it wasnt always that way. I had the same terrible teenage skin as my friends when younger. It makes me laugh that people think all this stuff helps their skin. Maybe give your skin a holiday for a few weeks and see what happens?

I use Clinique moisturiser and Aldi intensive serum under my eyes really works!

"It doesn’t upset me - I’m glad you’ve got good skin - but to attribute it to anything other that genes and luck given you don’t use anything is insulting."
But I think what you are doing is insulting, saying it's only because of my Gene's. It isnt. I'm proud I dont use anything on my face other than water. I took the risk of trying that years and years ago and it's worked. If I had spent the last 20 years using products I'm 100 per cent sure my skin would be in a right state now. It's my routine of using nothing that has made it good, not my Gene's. I think women are in a never ending cycle of dreams and lotions.

I think because I dont clog up my pores with makeup or creams, I then just need to wash with water.

It’s this - it’s a fallacy.

In my teens I used to wear clown makeup. Never washed my face before going to bed. Pissed as a fart frequently. Rinse and repeat until 22 when the contraceptive injection just ruined my skin almost overnight. Prior to that I had literally flawless skin.

I stopped wearing makeup, using anything but my spots got worse and worse even after a year of stopping the injection. Over 10 years of shitty skin caused by two injections.

Not until the last 2/3 years and I’ve been treating the spots correctly did they clear up.

You have naturally great skin. Good for you. You’re fortunate.

I think you should do whatever makes your skin feel nice. Whether that be using the creams we buy for our babies, or the stuff Aldi sells which incidentally has a huge following, or the expensive creams that I find indulgent but a joy to use.
I don't think there is a right or a wrong, and if you can afford the expensive stuff then good for you !

Best things for your skin are not smoking, not drinking, not sunbathing, and eating a healthy diet

True, but it's really not a lot of fun!

I tried the Aldi moisturiser a few years ago when people raved about it, and it brought me out in spots.

Blessed with good skin.

Factor 50 every day.

Great fan of serums. Every day.

I do think it starts with genetics and can be hugely helped by SPF, staying out of the sun and good moisturising with serums.
They absorb very quickly.

I use this
www.aldi.co.uk/lacura-q10-multi-intensive-serum/p/080918177809600
And this to cleanse with a rough flannel
www.aldi.co.uk/lacura-2-step-hot-cloth-cleanser/p/077730351667701

My skin is nice and smooth with minimal wrinkles although I'm 60.

I do use a moisturiser on my face again now, just a bog-standard very cheap one.

I get that very dry tight uncomfortable feeling after washing it (water only).

I did an experiment last year and I decided not to moisturise at all and just push through that dry, uncomfortable feeling.
Guess what, it worked! And after a few weeks, my skin no longer got dry and tight at all after washing and my skin was really good too!

Not quite sure why I have slipped back into moisturising it. Think it's just because it's ingrained that that's what we are 'supposed' to do.

I swear by Nivea face cream and genetics, plus staying out of the sun. I have friends who have spent thousands on 'posh' creams over the years (I'm in my 60s) - some are wrinkly, some are not. I have spent very little myself and, whilst not wrinkle-free, I'm not bad. If you lined us all up and guessed which of us were beauty cream spenders and which not, I doubt you'd get it right. However, if it makes you feel good to use expensive creams, and you can afford it, why not, eh? Everyone decides what's important enough - to them - to be spendy on. For me, it's food - maybe the fat's plumping the wrinkles out, who knows?

If you have Botox you look like you've had Botox, it doesn't make you look younger.

I have recently been using Superdrug's vitamin E cream with spf but with all the Zoom calls I've been doing, also found a tinted moisturiser by Lumene quite helpful for lifting my face a bit.

I'm not convinced by anything to be honest, I just think if you avoid the sun as much as possible and don't smoke you are giving your skin the best chance. And avoid refined sugar (I don't).

A SPF on your face doesn't prevent you getting vitamin D, you just need to leave your arms out in the sun for 10 mins a day.

'Great fan of serums. Every day'

Which serums do you use and what skin type do you have? Ta

It’s worth spending extra for active ingredients/plant extracts ime. But these don’t have to be particularly expensive. Lip balm is a great example. Vaseline is cheapest and will only offer barrier protection. Burts bees will offer barrier protection plus a better smell and texture. Paw paw ointment will offer barrier protection plus some moisturising and antiseptic properties. A plant oil based lip balm like Love Balm will offer a Barrier protection plus a high level of moisture plus other properties such as antioxidants etc. depending on the blend.

But I think what you are doing is insulting, saying it's only because of my Gene's. It isnt.

But it is. Yeah the other creams etc clog up your pores and caused you to break out as a teenager, or maybe it was just the normal teenager issue of hormones going nuts? Who knows, but it is just your genes that makes you have good skin.

I think having naturally oily skin helps as well though, possibly. My mum has oily skin and she looks a lot younger than she is. Probably just because it stops the skin from drying out which would age it. I've got oily skin too and look younger than I am, but maybe it won't last forever. Only damn problem with my skin is I get spots once a month. Stupid hormones.

Look at gillian mckeith though. She is only a year older than my mum and she looks about 10 years older than she is with no make up on. Yet she's a healthy person. Dunno if she was for her whole life, but she's built her job around it. My mum isn't healthy really and looks younger. It's genetics I'm afraid. No cream, toner, foam etc is going to do it.

I am in my 30's but have never really used skin care products. I think I have been quite lucky- more recently though my skin has needed something so I invested in some Arbonne products that my friend sells and they are lovely. I can see a marked improvement in my skin when I have used them. I don't use them every day.
I have also massively upped my water intake which has done my skin the world of good.

sorry pressed submit before I had finished. My point was in the past I have used cheap brands and a lot of them are full of rubbish. They pack products out with really cheap ingredients that are not great for your skin.
I invested in a better quality product and 1 I use much less so it lasts longer and 2 you can see the difference in the results.
I personally think you have to find what works for you but sometimes you get what you pay for,

@Soontobe60
@Lottapianos
I think that serum is absolutely great. A great price point and I slap it on my face, neck and decolletage.

That hot cloth cleanser is also super 👍
Have used it.

I think the Caviar night cream from Aldi is a beauty too.