AIBU to think it’s ridiculous how much ‘extra stuff’ has been added to the average routine!

[TheGirlWhoLived]

So a decade ago I used to wipe off my make-up with a 3-in-1 wipe, pop on some cheap moisturiser and brush my teeth. That’s it, that was the extent of my night time routine.

Now I’m late 30’s and suddenly I brush, floss and use mouthwash. Apply a 7-step cleansing/toning/treatment/moisturising skincare plan, use bio oil and tightening creams, take various supplements (including biotin, turmeric, collagen, magnesium, apple cider vinegar, ashwaganda, cod liver oil, b12, k2, d3 ETC) - all before getting into bed.

This doesn’t even include the daytime additions of gut healthy seeds, low upf,7 fruit and veg, 10,000 steps, strength training, yoga for flexibility, fresh air, 30 different plants, kombucha, kefir and whatever else I’m meant to do to stave off illness, it’s exhausting!

Please tell me everyone’s routine has been embellished in the last decade or have I just been taken in by all this extra rubbish!?

I wash my face with shower gel and use the same baby moisturiser I use on my kids. My skin is very soft and blemish free. I brush my teeth while on the toilet. I probably do about 15000 steps a day, all while
cleaning/ doing the school run. I shave my legs max twice a year. I don’t shave my armpits, I just always wear things with sleeves.

You have the choice to do whatever you have time for.

Make Up Melting Balm
Cleanser
Toner
Azelaic Acid
Nyacinamide
Moisturiser/Eye Cream
Lip Mask

Jeez that’s a lot of product on your skin.
Does it really need all that ?
Have you costed it - how much monthly ?

You're spending a fortune on supplements that simply pass through your system and literally flush away down the loo. Most of the stuff you are putting on your face is a complete waste of time and money, too.

I could have written this and often think about how much time I spend in the evening on all this!
However I don’t intend to change…… I also floss after every meal if possible, include a special throat/neck treatment twice a day and wash and carefully dry between my toes (adding treatments if necessary) daily after a shower.
Face tan too as my face hasn’t been in the sun for 30 years 😂
Then hair care, pedicure, manicure etc …. just realised I’m very high maintenance!!

Ps I have a drawer full of supplements - taking care not to overdose on any.

You are doing a lot but in general I do think people are doing “embellishments”

I’ve always brushed my teeth and used mouthwash. I’ve added a water pick which I really like.

I used to wear make up and I don’t now. I used to used moisturiser and I use coconut oil. I use spf when it’s hot. I don’t have a 7 step routine and probably do less than I’ve ever done. Anecdotally everyone I know who uses a ton of “product” looks old for their years.

I eat much better than I used to but as a person brought up on crispy pancakes and turkey dinosaurs that wouldn’t be hard. My mother was a terrible cook and I became a good one in self defence so as an adult I’ve always eaten well but a much more conscious of my diet then I’ve ever been and eat a much bigger variety of food than I did even 5 years ago and I eat stuff specially because it’s “healthy” whereas I used to eat food based purely in deliciousness. I don’t take any supplements but I’ve got friends who rattle with all their various pills and stir collagen powder into their tea.

I don’t do strength training or yoga but I definitely should. I’m weak and inflexible and my life is too sedentary. I get into them for a bit then stop and I don’t know why because I feel much better when I do them.

Brushing your teeth and a good diet and level of fitness is surely a good thing. The supplements and face products - maybe more of a fad.

Yes it is. Told to me by a dermatologist for the skin cancer I have on my face for not using sunscreen. Factor 50 for me these days every day of the year.

Crikey OP your posts are exhausting just to read! How do you find the time to do all that?! I don't where tons of makeup, and all my life I have usually forgotten to take it off, to be fair though I've never had any skin issues to worry about like rosacea. Whenever I have used expensive/fancy/fad of the moment, face products I tend to get spots or really greasy skin, most of my makeup rubs off during the day anyway.

All that routine before bed would be far too much activity before bed for me, and then take longer to get to sleep, as it is I fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow.

If it's making you feel better that's great, and in that case I'm not sure why you are moaning? Is the mental stress of doing it all worth the physical benefits? That's for you to decide. You could try and drop all the supplements and most of the skin routine and just drink more water, give it a go see what happens?

I could not be arsed with all that faff and remembering to take all those supplements, and I look pretty good and youthful at 43 (you'll have to take my word for that!).

I do the opposite, cheap cleanser as it's only on your face for a second.

It's all completely unnecessary, OP, and you have been massively conned. Just brush your teeth and wash your face with soap. Sorted.
However, it's a free country so if you choose to spend your time and money on all this, then carry on. Personally, I think it's just too much faff, and your face won't look any different!

I found a lot of cheap cleansers left my face feeling tight or stung my eyes. So now the one I use costs a fortune but lasts forever, smells delicious, doesn't sting, and leaves my face feeling soft. The moisturiser I use is Superdrug's Vitamin E range.

Dental hygiene (brush, flossing, mouthwash!) definitely isn’t new. It’s also a non-negotiable imo.

I (early / mid 30ies) do have a bit of a skincare routine (sunscreen every morning, between 2 and 5 steps in the evening) and I do believe that daily sunscreen and retinol make a difference.

I don’t take any supplements that weren’t prescribed by a doctor. (I already have to take a few meds and 2 supplements, so there’s no way I’d want to add anything else…)

Sounds impressive! Would you mind outlining your supplements regime - even brands if possible? How do you know you have perfect gut health - regular toilet habits or other tests?

My poor Aunty did all this sort of stuff (the vitamins and healthy eating as opposed to the skin stuff) and she still got a highly aggressive form of breast cancer.

That's why I don't trust this sort of spiel about needing to take a million supplements every day. I need to take ferrous sulphate for my anaemia, and a multivitamin, but no more than that.

My DH had BCC on his face.

His consultant dermatologist to wear a hat, cover up and wear high SPF.
He also said most of the damage would have been done long ago, possibly when he was a child.

All those food items are just part of a normal healthy diet - it shouldn't be a chore or a routine, it's just what you eat.

Forget the long-winded skin care and dump the supplements.

Sorted

Unless you have a diagnosed vitamin or mineral deficiency, all those supplements are unnecessary. Literally money down the loo!

It's insanely more complex - but also, we are living longer, and the body we are in today is the one that we'll still be lugging around when we're in our 90s.

It DOES mean we need to invest in it. And it's absolutely exhausting.

I walk for 30 minutes a day at between 4 and 4.6mph. I lift weights twice a week. I do Pilates classes twice a week, and stretch at home on the days I'm not lifting weights or at a fucking Pilates class.

And this is apparently the bare minimum to be a healthy senior - moderate cardio every day, plus load-bearing strength, plus core strength and flexibility.

It does NOT feel bare minimum. I enjoy it all, but my own body and its future strength, flexibility and heart and bone health is a full time job.

I take SO many supplements. Multivitamin, cod liver oil, garlic oil, biotin, collagen, magnesium, turmeric, d-mannose (I'm plagued by UTIs otherwise), vit D. I do feel the benefits, and I see them in my blood work, but my pill box is massive and it's like a full meal taking them.

Trying to eat enough protein and fibre is a fuckabout. Chia seeds do a lot of heavy lifting, cut me and I bleed greek yoghurt. I am nowhere near recommended daily protein intake for someone that lifts heavy weights though even though I try v hard, so I'm now looking into protein shakes ffs.

Skincare - alternate vit C and retinal serums at night, plus HLA, then a peptide cream. It's doing fuck all for the wrinkles, but they're SHINY wrinkles on glowy skin. Hoorah.

Drinking 2 litres of water a day feels like waterboarding but if I don't, my body balloons.

I am very resentful of it all - why are bodies so needy? Why did we evolve ourselves out of a lifestyle that looked after the exercise part because moving to survive was our job, and into one where there's no time to fit in the staying fit part around our stupidly long working week?

I'm 56 and only started a day/night skincare routine in January.

Befire I used to just use facial wipes and day cream.

So, yeah in your 30s you're definitely doing too much

Thank you.

I don’t do a lot of that stuff. Never have. Life’s too short

I brush and floss twice a day and take multivitamins. I also do a bit of exercise with small weights occasionally. I don’t do any of the other things in your OP.

I have a whole routine I do for my skin, health and fitness. Several steps of skincare morning and night, floss and brush my teeth, use a tongue scraper, a fitness routine with strength and cardio, do yoga, meditation and VNS, take supplements, I’m vegetarian and follow the ZOE diet. Focus on getting enough quality sleep and time doing nice things. None of it is compulsory, I enjoy taking care of myself and I enjoy the results.

All that's really changed in the last 10 years is the acceleration of social media - people had complicated multi-step beauty and wellness routines a decade ago, it was the mid-2010s not the dark ages. Gwyneth Paltrow et al popularised yoga in the early 2000s, Deliciously Ella kicked off the whole foods wellness craze in the 2010s, none of this is new. What's new is that posting about it has normalised it and made you think a) you have to do it, b) everyone is doing it and c) you should post about it too.

Do this stuff if it makes you feel good (sounds like it does), but no-one's making you do it! You can keep things as simple or as complicated as you like, and if you feel like you're getting bombarded with ads for the latest thing, like collagen or adaptogens or red light masks or whatever, just unsubscribe, unfollow, and ignore.

Er, no. I'm in my 40s and I'm still just removing my makeup with a cotton pad and micellar water then using one night cream. I take Magnesium Glycinate for sleep.