To wonder if ‘skincare’ is worth it?

[Eeksteek]

I’ve never really bothered. It seems like more faff than I can be arsed with and my skin seems to be indifferent to what I put on it. I have PCOS, and for most of my adult life I’ve been on Dianette (great skin), keto (great skin!) or had acne (icky skin, but the carbs taste good!)

Just lately, though my skin feels drier (hurrah, I might be able to look at a carb and not break out in boils!) and there’s no denying I’m solidly in my mid-forties and starting to look a bit crinkly around edges. I’m clueless though, is it really worth slathering yourself in expensive gloop? I don’t aspire to look like a teenager, and I don’t wear make up unless I’m going out out (lone parent, so that’s once or twice a year, then!) but I don’t want to look like an haggard old witch either!

Should I start with something? And what? Do you really get what you pay for? How can those little pots of gloop possibly be worth spending so much on? Gin’s loads cheaper - probably wouldn’t to do much for my skin, but it’s more fun and I’m sooo cynical about ‘beauty products’. There’s no way of knowing if you’d have aged well anyway!

(No judgement on people who enjoy spending time on their appearance or their skin. I’m lazy and irreverent, and you probably look loads better than I do. All self care is good, as far as I’m concerned!)

I have been wondering about this myself lately. I had years of depression where I didn't wash anything at all, let alone slather stuff on my face.
Now I look into what it is out there, and it seems there a million buzzwords. It is very overwhelming! I think I will stick to drinking lots of water and using a decent SPF.

1000% recommend Medik8 skin care. Start using a retinol - takes a few months to see the progress but I have really noticed a difference in the texture of my skin.

Well, I’m at the other end of the spectrum. I have PCOS, too, and absolutely can’t stand having a single pimple on my face. Too much of my twenties were lost to stressing about my skin, so I rely heavily on inositol to retain completely clear skin, and then Augustinus Bader and Lara Devgan products for even texture and hydration. I do Botox, too, but will say that a lifetime of slathering on products has helped me age really well. I’m 45 and don’t have a single neck line or chest crinkle.

I'm in my late 30s, have always worn make up and taken it off daily, mostly used sunscreen and use moisturiser every day, as well as the odd exfoliate and it is 100% worth it.

I mostly use superdrug products, usually under £10 each, and I have just one rogue fine line on my lip. That's unlikely to be purely genetic.

Wash, apply moisturiser in the morning and in the evening take off make up, wash and moisturise. It's that easy and quick
Doesnt need to be expensive.

There is really no need to spend lots of money. I buy Aldi Lacura Caviar pots of gloop ,and they are easily as good as any of the expensive pots of gloop I have bought in the past.

You don't need to 'embrace the world of skin care'. Just buy a good, cheap moisturiser and slap it on. Job done. Your skin will feel and look better.

I guess for some people it’s worth it and a bit like a hobby, others can’t be arsed as you say. It sounds to me like you’re sceptical about the worth of it and that’s fine, it just means you’d rather spend money elsewhere. If you want to look into it I’d recommend Caroline Hirons’ blog and/or book, although to be honest I think a gentle cleanser, perhaps a hydrating serum if you’re feeling the need, a good moisturiser and SPF every day might be the kind of thing you’re looking for. There is obviously a lot more you can put on your face that might help but it sounds to me you’re not feeling it and wouldn’t want or keep up a routine.

Please tell me more about no carbs giving you good skin! I had success on Dianette too years ago but eventually I was taken off it and then didn't need contraception for many years anyway. I can't imagine going back on the pill now really.

I have mixed feelings on skincare - I can't deny that there are people whose skin is just naturally perfect with water and nothing but the odd swipe of Nivea. I am certainly not one of these people. I alternate between oil cleansing and a foaming cleanser, and I also use some acids and a ceramide moisturiser, and sometimes benzoyl peroxide. I am also wedded to Effaclar Duo.

I've had very sensitive and acne-prone skin since I hit puberty (although it was great during pregnancy!) and have always felt as though I have an undiagnosed allergy/reaction to something that I haven't yet narrowed down. (I'm confirmed as allergic to PPD, balsam of Peru and abitol, and nickel.) Perhaps if I spent a lot of time on elimination diets I'd be able to work out of it was a foodstuff and would have amazing skin (and wouldn't therefore need any skincare) but it's a risk I can't be bothered to take I'm afraid 😁

I think it must either depend on genetics and finding the right skincare or it doesn’t do much because there are celebrities whose job it is to look amazing, they have money and experts at their disposable but take away the lighting, airbrushing and makeup artists and they have ‘problem skin’.

I didn't bother until two years ago (I'm 35) when an older more beautiful friend recommended I get ahead of the game. I had always had acne and it's now completely gone. I didn't really believe the hype but I was totally wrong, it's been a real game changer. I wash my face and apply a vitamin C serum in the morning, use SPF, then wash at night and use a retinol serum (prescription from Dermatica, online and cheap!) before bed. Best thing I've done for myself this decade.

Skin care is not generally worth spending a lot on - save the spending for Botox and fillers etc, where you will see bang for buck (and in these cases yes you get what you pay for - pick your practitioner carefully.)

The thing that will brighten your skin up most is washing it - the cloth is where it’s at because of the exfoliation. Try something like Superdrug Vit E hot cloth cleanser and get a bunch of flannels from Amazon. Just nighttime is fine.

Then get a day moisturiser with an SFP - Lidl and the other place both do good ones (forgotten the names but do a search here), and a Night moisturiser without one. Moisturiser will make you look a bit more dewy, stop dry patches and help slightly with fine lines.

If you have dry skin get a serum that hydrates, Superdrug do an incredibly cheap one, or Q and A do a slightly less cheap, slightly better one. A hydrating serum will plump your skin up a bit.

If you have very pale skin and would like not to, then you could use some self tan. M and S tan drops are quite good.

Unless you have any particular issues, that’s probably it. It will make you look a bit better, probably.

What does being irreverent have to do with skin care?

I don’t think you need to complicate things or spend loads. I used to buy all the Clarins/Chanel etc moisturisers and I don’t think they’re worth it.

Keep it simple. You absolutely need SPF every day. This can be a cheap one. Then a vitamin C serum and a retinol or better still tretinoin. Those are the basics that make a difference. My moisturiser is Cerave which is about £8.

Sunscreen is a must

I'm not convinced by the hype re skincare...I'm 45 and have never done much more than cleanse and moisturise. Bar the odd hormonal chin spot my skin looks pretty good. I suppose in 20 years I might wish I'd done more...the only thing I wish I'd started sooner is sunscreen round my eyes! I'm just not convinced that spending loads is worth it. I am looking into facial yoga/ exercise to try and counteract the effects of side sleeping but not sure that counts as skincare?

I got confused by all the stuff n jargon..saw the brand the ordinary reviewed and they have a starter pack with 3 basic products in ...all of which seemed to really help i actually got compliments on my skin... I have added their gratinode(sp) suspension which I use at night most nights as its quite gentle and a vit c thing in the morning....so far so good I definitely notice when I don't use it..

Also, your skin reflects what you are ingesting too. If your diet is shit, your skin will reflect that. I had a amazing skin when I ate loads of greens (in smoothies).

I’ve seen a ton of derms, taken medications and spent years hating my appearance

figuring out how to look after my skin was life changing. Lots of things I thought I was doing correctly were actually making it worse.

I would say to start find a good cleanser (no foaming if you have acne! - I like a milk one)
An exfoliator (lactic acid may be good to start with, but nothing with little beads that actually scrubs!)
The ordinary does reasonably priced ones to start with and experiment
And a moisturiser - you don’t have to spend a fortune on this either.
Then a good facial spf.

The people who say you don’t need skin care always have naturally good skin. Not all of us are that lucky!

Aldi skin care has been a game changer for me. I’ve used brands like Clarins in the past and I don’t think they’re that much better than the Aldi stuff I’m using now. Products are around £3.50 - £6ish. They would be a good start to see how you get on and if you can be bothered using them.

I would start with some basics from there and you can always try other brands if they don’t work for you.

A hot cloth cleanser. Usually comes with a muslin cloth, use each night to remove make up and wash your face.

A toner. Either retinol or glycolic alternating. They can be quite harsh at first but improve the texture of skin. Use a couple of times each week. Aldi do a three pack I think?

A serum if you fancy one.

If you buy nothing else, the Aldi rose oil is absolutely lovely. It really makes me glow and my skin has never been softer.

Night cream and a day cream.

If you want to add retinols and serums and different routines on different days great
But I think it’s overwhelming to start with that much and that many new products.
Start small, then you can see what you like and don’t like and build up.

I suspect a lot of it is genetic.

Both my mum and grandma have amazing skin - both grew up in hot climates and did very little in the way of skincare.

I work outdoors and do nothing except use sunscreen and I'm always told I look way younger than I am (I know that often gets laughed down on here though!).

Don't use a self tanner- these age the skin by increasing free radical damage.

Good skincare is absolutely worth it- but it can be pricey.

Botox- yes absolutely. However don't bother with Botox if you aren't doing the basics with skincare.

Basics: sunscreen every day, retinol at night (at least 0.5% retinol. Or 0.25% tretinoin. Vit c serum in the morning)

I visited a dermatologist for my dodgy acne prone skin and I was prescribed roaccutane. That’s a thread on its own but interestingly she told me that all skin needs is a half decent cream to lock water in - water is the real moisturiser! Expensive brands are a marketing ploy because nothing actually penetrates the skin. The most important thing is to wear sunscreen daily and to drink plenty of water.

Hmmm, do shoes look better if left untended, and without shoe polish? Or do they crack and age faster...

Agree a good diet (with lots of good fats - in salmon, avocados nuts) has a huge impact.

Remember the only skincare ingredients with any scientific evidence for anti-ageing are SPF and Retin-A.

I do rate vitamin C though.

I always wonder why people on these threads recommend SPF - I read the back of a fancy one the other day, it said to reapply between every 80-120 minutes. Surely not one person is actually doing this, rendering them entirely pointless?

Most of it is marketing crap that doesn't actually do anything !

You need :

Sunscreen
Tretinoin ( if medically able
To use - get it from Dermatica / skin and me )
Cleanser
Moisturizer

Most people do not need to spend much to have good skin

If this doesn't work for you see Dr Natalia Spierings