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!)

@elbea

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?

Sun damage is the BIGGEST cause of premature skin aging .

I reapply twice a day . If you watch Andy Millwards videos he demonstrates how sunscreens break down

I had no clue at all about skincare but as I got past mid 30s this year thought I should start paying attention.
I got totally overwhelmed so bought Caroline Hiron's book and now I have a simple routine for mornings and evenings, I'm not a slave to it but do actually enjoy the routine and my skin looks and feels so much brighter.
I only buy stuff from boots or superdrug, I'm on a tight budget and some of the recommendations are more than my weekly food budget but there doesn't seem to be a need to spend so much, as far as I can tell.

Exfoliants like retinol will make your skin temporarily smooth and glowy.

Peptides or hyaluronic acid will temporarily plump up your skin.

Niacinamide will temporarily make your pores look smaller.

A moisturiser will make a temporary barrier to prevent moisture leaving your skin (it doesn't add it, that's a common misconception).

All of these things last as long as the skin cells on the face do, and which one you need will depend on what sort of skin you have and would like.

The only things that give you nice skin long term are genetics, good diet and water intake and spf to prevent UV damage.

I think certain skincare products are worth it. I've always been lucky to have very good skin and only ever used a cheap basic cleanser and moisturiser plus spf. Around this time last year I noticed my skin looked tired, dull and it'd lost its glow. Did a bit of research and bought a night cream, some retinol serum and a vitamin c serum. Within a week of starting my new regime I had a few people on how well I looked. I've kept it up and I definitely look better. The products I bought weren't expensive ones either.

The recommendation to reapply every few hours is if you are in the full sun. Day to day use I reapply once at lunchtime. Doesn’t render them useless at all!

Retinol isn’t an exfoliant specifically and retin-a or tretinoin does have long lasting effects. It’s not temporary.

I use
Cleanser
Moisturiser
Prescription tret
Vitamin c
SPF

Skin looks SO much better

in my 20's/30&'s spent a fortune on clinique, facials & NHS prescriptions for my skin.
Now use superdrug vitamin E hot cloth cleanser, kukui oil to moisturise. Skin has been great for years.

If you're going to invest in one skincare item, let it be Estee lauder advanced night repair! :-)

I am sure your doctor has told you that PCOS comes with insulin resistance for many sufferers. I have both, along with a host of other medical conditions. At 30, I had greasy spotty hairy skin. Lasering took away hair, but Metformin for 20 years has sorted the insulin and hormone imbalance for me. There is a higher risk of diabetes from PCOS by mid-life. As for skin care, I do find basic shop bought cream to be good for dry patches. But I wouldn't get expensive creams and reckon diet is pretty important to managing PCOS. I love carbs but I try to avoid bread and cereal as that kicks back at me.

Of course it is worth it - unless you want to look like a crispy sallow old bag.

Get Caroline Hirons skin book, it’s great for beginners.

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

Gah, I used to work with her! She’s fantastic! (If you’re reading this, hi Natalia!) 👋

To me it is. But I guess it really depends how you feel about your skin in the first place. A proper skincare routine took years off me. I don’t spend a fortune on skincare either. Some people are blessed and have amazing skin without even washing their face, or can get away with just using a bar of soap but I am not one of those people.

I don’t think skincare is as simple slathering pots of goop onto your face and expecting to see a difference though. It’s about finding what’s right for your skin personally and catering to that. Skin is super sensitive and what works one day can suddenly stop working the next. Textures change and personally my skin needs different things in winter than it does during the summer.

I only really started noticing a difference six months in, a huge difference after a year. Tretinoin was the biggest game changer for me. But you really do have to persevere through the scaliness and the redness it gives you to get through the other side.

SPF and moisturiser is the key, as others have said. I live in Oz and a lot of women look quite a bit older than the UK or Irish equivalent, and now I've been here a while I've really noticed the difference a hot dry climate can make (and its not good!). As for moisturiser, my mum has beautiful skin with very few wrinkles, all she ever used was Astral cream. But I like the Aldi stuff too.

Cleanse, and moisturise, twice a day. Use SPF. Done.

I think people are missing the part where the OP does not even do these absolute basics, and leaping onto their favourite topicals.

I drink lots of water, hardly ever wear makeup, wash my face with water, use a moisturiser with SPF15 in summer, keep out of the sun because I'm very fair - and that's it. I'm in my late 50s with good skin. I've a few fine lines as you'd expect, but no deep wrinkles. I'm sure it's mostly down to genetics and I'm lucky, but I don't think it's necessary to spend a lot on skincare.

I'm 63 and have never used any 'skincare' products whatsoever, except a light SPF foundation if going out for any length of time, for sun protection. My skin is hands down the nicest thing about my face - no wrinkles to speak of, good texture etc.

The £££££ I must have saved over NOT buying any over the decades! It would all have been a waste of money.

(My skin tends to eczema and irritation if i use anything on it, it seems to prefer to look after itself apart from being kept out of the sun, so that helped the decision making.)

@TheWestIsTheBest

SPF and moisturiser is the key, as others have said. I live in Oz and a lot of women look quite a bit older than the UK or Irish equivalent, and now I've been here a while I've really noticed the difference a hot dry climate can make (and its not good!). As for moisturiser, my mum has beautiful skin with very few wrinkles, all she ever used was Astral cream. But I like the Aldi stuff too.

That's interesting. I've always thought the opposite. I live in Australia and my skincare routine since my early twenties has been SPF and moisturiser every day, wash face at night with either cleanser or just water, moisturise before bed. I'm 50 now but commonly get taken for much younger as I don't have any wrinkles. I think that's partly genetics, though.

As for skincare, I think SPF and a good moisturiser -that doesn't have to be expensive - are great basics. My current favourite is a Vitamin E with Evening Primrose Oil from the supermarket.

I never bothers with skin care. Wash my face with shampoo in the shower and wear sun cream if it's hot.

I decided to do an experiment for six months and buy all the lotions and potions and have a "routine". Guess what happened? Fuck all. Other than I'd spent a load of money on pointless crap.

It's mostly a load of marketing aimed at getting women to feel insecure, as per usual.

I'm in Australia, so definitely yes.
And sunscreen everyday.

@milkyaqua

Cleanse, and moisturise, twice a day. Use SPF. Done.

I think people are missing the part where the OP does not even do these absolute basics, and leaping onto their favourite topicals.

Are they really "absolute basics" or is that just what the marketing companies are telling you?

I wash my face with water in the shower and just use whatever shower gel I have on the go to remove make-up.

I can't be arsed to "cleanse and moisturise" I put sunscreen on for work as I'm outside all day but otherwise I don't do anything lol.

I have a group of 6 friends, 3 of us spend a lot of time outside 3 of us barely see daylight, the difference in our collective skin is quite incredible. I'm one of the outsiders and whilst I don't regret one jot of my outdoor life, boy do I look a lot a lot older than the indoor group.

Like the OP, i am ambivilent about skin care. Bit of Nivea when I remember. Yet, neither do I have any neck or chest crinkles, and I am 60.
Much of ageing is down to genes. Much of the 'science' of OTC skin care products is not really science (e.g. ads stating that 77% of 80 women agre..., etc). If it was that easy to rejuvinate skin and replace collagen, all the tissue viability/wound care professionals would be out of a job. Once skin starts losing collagen to ageing, you cannot replace it!
But sadly, companies will continue to profit from selling snake oil because people want to halt the ageing process and they feel under pressure to look 'young'. The hands will always give age away....