Is it ok not to moisturise?

[frillyskirt]

I've always used a decent face cream in the past, but in the last year or two, a few issues have come up.

Background: I'm 40, good skin, no signs of aging yet apart from my skin is a tad less taut. I'm fairly pale (blue eyes/blonde) and have never liked sunbathing (don't have any wrinkles or fine lines yet, so maybe it's genetic or something?).

My routine has always been cleanse, moisturise and then add an eye cream.

But then a while ago I quit using face cream because I wanted to see if it was causing the odd breakout that kept cropping up. It did. Eventually, about a year later I got into Clinique (my fave brand) and it worked really well, no spots, etc. I also use the eye cream (all about eyes).

Then the bloody spots appeared again, so I quit it and my skin is lovely once more, glowing and really nice.
In the past whenever I try an anti-aging cream I get a lot of breakouts so have never used it at all. The one that did work was just a basic 'moisture surge' sample.

So am I ok to stay this way, as it appears my skin is very pleased just being cleansed and with the eye cream?

Or will i regret it later, if i don't find an anti-aging cream now?

I'm of the mind that all anti-aging products are a tissue of lies and shite, so don't really worry much, but I do care about my skin being the best it can at any age.

Thoughts?

You'll regret it later. What do you take it off with? Oftentimes that can have more to do with spots than the moisturiser itself, I've found.

get a moisturiser with retinol, great anti-aging and actually clears up spots. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-wrinkle cream with spf 15 is really fantastic.

Thanks.
I take it off with body shop sensitive cleanser.
Any advice for something better?

And how do I find a product with retinol on the shop shelves? I thought it was on prescription or something, and my doc would tell me to bugger off.

moisturiser has no effect on wrinkles, except possibly retinol. All the adverts talking about anti-ageing are lies.

suncream is what you need.

The most anti-ageing thing you can do by far is wear SPF during the day. If you aren't doing this, all the other anti-ageing stuff is a bit of a waste of time and money.

Night creams with retinol are a distant second - there's debate about whether an over the counter cream contains enough retinol to be effective. Anything saying pro-retinol probably isn't effective. Retinol is similar but not the same as Retin-A which is prescription only.

Most retinol containing cream will be night creams and advertise it on the box or be claiming anti-ageing properties. They may say Vitamin A instead. If you look at the ingredients list you should see retinol or retinoyl palmitate (or just retinoyl something).

Retinol is advised at night only as it can make the skin more sensitive to the sun - and so you also need to be using SPF in the day or you could actually be making wrinkles worse rather than better!

The best thing is that retinol is anti-acne not just anti-ageing so will be great for spots. However it is not moisturising - if fact it can make your skin dry and flaky so you will need to use a moisturiser (with SPF) in the day.

Avene Ystheal and La Roche Posay Redermic are both retinol containing ranges if you want to try.

Thanks for the advice!

I have tried la roche posay and sadly came out in the spots - this includes anything with spf too. I'm really confused!

As far as I know, my skin is 'normal', in that it isn't oily or dry, or combination, really.

I wonder why I'm having this reaction.

I think your issue is definitely with your cleanser. Try 'double cleansing' which is fancy speak for washing your face twice.

Do you wear makeup?

And yes to an SPF.

Are you checking that everything you use is 'oil-free' and 'non-comedogenic'?

And yes to the cleanser question. Once you start using SPF and moisturising etc you have to cleanse twice a day. This should be gentle but effective - no scrubs, beads, harsh foaming etc.

Finally if you've tried retinol and it brought you out in spots this can be a good thing (honest!) It takes 12 weeks for you to have all new skin so for the first 12 weeks you can be more prone to reactions and bringing out spots that were secretly developing.

Thanks again for the help!

I took advantage of a 3 for 2 offer at boots and bought the Roche Posay range (cleanser, retinol night cream and spf 30 for daytime). Hoping it goes well as I had a gift card too, so don't feel like I've spent much!

I plan to cleanse once in morning and in evening also.
Can I ask, does anyone know - do I remove the cleanser with water - I tend to usually use pads?
I bought this one
www.boots.com/en/LA-ROCHE-POSAY-PHYSIOLOGICAL-Cleansing-Gel-200ML_866273/

I use the LRP physiological cleansing gel. Really like it! Yes - remove with water. I just splash it on my face and rub a bit until it is all off, but if you wanted to be fancy-schmancy you coudl use pads soaked in water or a damp cloth.

I use Cetaphil and just splash my face with water and rub like cardamonginger does.

You could be all fancy and use a flannel. If you went even fancy and used a hot damp flannel you could claim to be 'hot cloth cleansing' which apparently is v good but still sounds like using a flannel to me

Thank you!

I will follow this when it arrives.

Have also scared myself now reading reviews of the Redermic range, people saying it made their skin peel off, break out and swell up!

Especial thanks to Kundry for so many detailed, helpful answers :)

What bugs me right now is that my skin is currently its best ever, so smooth and clear and lovely, so I am terrified of altering my routine. I will just take it slowly and see where it goes - a sunscreen is obviously a good idea, as later damage would be a worry.

I always just use a flannel to take off my cleanser - gives a bit of a steam treatment to the skin, and makes sure you've got all of it off. Cotton wool tends to leave traces of it behind (which tends to lead to spots). Better for the environment too.

Incidentally, don't swap to using the products all at once, introduce them one by one. Your skin will get confused it you swap how you do everything all at once. One new product every couple of days.

YY to not swapping all at once.

Do one at a time so you can see if it suits you, let any reactions calm down and then add another.

For starting retinols the advice is go slow. You only need a tiny amount and start twice a week, then every other day before going daily when your skin is ready. You may not have any reaction at all - I also read the horror stories so followed the advice - my cheeks got a bit sore at one point so I just slowed down again and am now using daily. Only putting it on half an hour after cleansing can help, as your skin's pH is back to normal, as can mixing it in with the moisturiser.

Oh, and thank-you - after one episodes of spots too many I got slightly skin obsessed. The Q&A from Dr Sam Bunting on here are really informative.

Thanks again, this is great advice!

Oh, and can you recommend a decent, cheap moisturiser to mix it with for night time?

Anything very basic. I love Cetaphil cleanser but not tried the moisturiser, but that's often recommended. I'm currently using CeraVe facial lotion (I got ingredient obsessed and wanted ceramides, I suspect completely unnecessarily) which is fine but I'm not personally loving it as I just think I like a creamier texture. However for once cheap is better as you don't want fancy ingredients! Just basic oil-free moisturiser.

Hopefully this link will help (I think I must be Sam Bunting's stalker!)

www.stylist.co.uk/beauty/dont-look-now-its-the-return-of-retinol

My mum has the most fantastic, line free face ever and she's never used anything apart from Garnier cleanser and even that she's only started using in the last 5 years and she's 65.

Thanks Kundry!

Dame, genetics probably. I'm doing well so far, I suppose, but rather than turn back the clock i'm more interested in aging 'well', if you know what I mean? Just to have the best skin I can at any age.
Even if we get shut of wrinkles, we will still lose tone and whatnot. But that's ok.

Your mum hopefully passed this great skin on to you!

My mum was line-free at 65. It all seemed to happen overnight at about 70. And she used nothing but soap and water. I think it's genetics, not smoking, not working outdoors and being a bit overweight.

While that's amazing, I'm hoping with preparation I can go a bit further.

I think if your skin is happy with what you're doing, then don't change it. Madness to spend money to put something on your skin that's making it worse. It sounds like your skin is best balanced without moisturiser.

Toothy, I kind of feel the same, but I do need a better cleanser and the sunscreen will be handy.

As for the retinol stuff, I did get it really cheap, so can take or leave it, see if it suits. I may only use it sparingly.

Totally agree with Toothy - not everyone needs moisturiser. However if you want to use SPF, sounds like you'll need cleansing and then you may well start to.