I've seen it mentioned on a lot of threads to ditch the foaming face washes

[lucysmam]

What do you all use instead? & why are they bad?

Gosh I sound a bit thick lately...I did used to be good at this beauty stuff

Morning: wash in shower, water only. Weleda baby face moisturiser.
Evening: ignore completely. Don't do anything.

But I don't wear makeup except for a touch of under eye concealer. Apparently I have good skin - apart from being a little dehydrated but as that was said by a Clinique person trying to sell me loads of overpriced product I'm not sure how true it is (I'm rubbish at drinking water though, so could well be). My skin is better now than when I did the whole dermalogica cleanse-tone-moisturise stuff.

Horrifies many people that I do so little!

MakeHay I am so glad to hear I am not alone in my utter lack of a Skincare Regime. I am nearing 50 and I think my skin looks better than many of my colleagues who are a decade younger. I always moisturise, and I use SPF, but otherwise its just pure soap and water.

before i got brainwashed about expensive products i just used the superdrug vitamin e face wash and that worked a treat

i'm 45 now so over worrying but op you're young. don't stress x

Soap and Glory ( there's a pink one and a green one) with little tiny 'capsuals' in it. (No idea what they're meant to do. They do squish but I don't know if they burst on my skin or not)
Foams a bit, non drying.

And Philosophy MicroDelivery wash (when I get round to it, I'll order the big bottle from QVC ). It has a light foam and a fine salt to exfoliate .

I love garnier micellar cleansing water. I use it with cotton wool pads. Really refreshing. Bit like cleanser and toner all in one.

I like the Superdrug Naturally Radiant hot cloth cleanser for cleaning make up off. They do a vitamin E version as well, but it is too rich for my skin.

If I want to wash my face I really like the Bodyshop vitamin E facial cleansing bar. It works like soap, but isn't drying.

I use the olay sensitive wash cloths
wet lather mush on face
give it a swirl
rinse tepid wather
pat dry

excellent

I'm in love with this cleanser - not sure if it's available in the UK, bit has helped my skin clear up no end (still waiting for the wrinkles to go)

Pacifica coconut facial wipes for me, they have sorted out my terrible achne and its a few seconds 'regime' in the evening, dont get them off amazone though because they are ridiculously overpriced, in my area its £5 for thirty wipes, so basically £5 a month. Do a skin test first though because DH cant Use them as they gave him a rash! (Which at least means he cant pinch mine! )

I use soap and glory peaches and clean

I think I'll use up what I have left (I actually have three tubes in the bathroom - two exfoliating ones I seem to share with dp and a wash) and then try the Naturally Radiant one if it's on offer.

Do you all use cotton wool, or a muslin, or just a plain old flannel to remove it?

Flannel for me, but the naturally radiant one comes with a muslin. I use those sometimes if I dont have loads of make up to shift.

I use a rough flannel and quite warm water then I slap on my own cream.

I take a tin of lavera cream. Info about the founder here

www.pravera.co.uk/lavera-natural-cosmetics/about-lavera-natural-cosmetics

Then I take about a third of it and mix with some Shea butter, coconut oil and then a drop of this aNd that. ( wheat germ oil, jojoba, evening primrose oil and frankincense essential oil) I just keep mixing and beating till the consistency is about right. You know what I mean, just like you are making a cake. I think I add a bit of spring water as one of the biggest ingredients in cream is aqua....which when I did Latin at school meant water.

A lot of creams have alcohol and preservatives for their shelf life. Well if you make your own you can keep it in the fridge.

It smells lovely. I whack it on and then what I don't absorb I tissue off. Wished I'd done it years ago.

Skin is not bad for 60 odd. Certainly not dry any more.

When I think of the money I spent on Clarinsover the years.....I could weep.

I did an aromatherapy course a couple of years ago. One of the better things I've done. Especially for making your own potions and lotions.

I have used both, but prefer to use a flannel. The muslin cloths that come with the Superdrug one are rather insubstantial.

Lavera cream is £7-15 in holland and barrett. It's too drying on its own which is why I mix it.

Coconut oil and a flannel for me. Feels really clean and not at all oily. And my skin is calmer than it's ever been.

Cream cleansers like liz earle are good too, but Imo coconut oil is better. I use the organic cold pressed variety.

Cetaphil does have SLS but it's way down the ingredient list and it doesn't foam at all. My skin loved it.

Scientists don't really care about parabens but they've become a big no no on word of mouth. I've seen a great video with Marko Lens who has paraben-free products where he basically says parabens are great ingredients, no evidence at all they are bad but he wanted to make a premium skincare line and no-one in his target market would buy it if he had parabens in. So Zelens markets as paraben-free - which makes parabens sound bad, and so the cycle continues

Coconut oil is great for some people but a known acne trigger so a nightmare for others.

And finally exfoliating face washes are another con - you can't really exfoliate with a face wash as it's on your face for such a short period of time. Any fancy pants ingredients are just being washed down the sink.

Johnson's top to toe baby wash is the cheapest non-SLS face wash I have found. That's what I use on my face now.
I must consider adding a flannel, though. Or a microfibre cloth?

There is a super silly woman called Carolyn something who advises people to wash their face in two different ways. That way, you double the money you pay to beauty companies. I expect your face looks much the same as it did before.

It's Caroline Hirons She has loads of great advice but I have the same feelings about double cleansing as you. However loads of people swear by it so must be something to it.

Dr Sam Bunting who is a proper dermatologist so to me a much more reliable source of advice, kicks off all her advice by banning foaming cleansers.

I think the fact that lots of people swear by it might illustrate that old saying that nobody lost money by underestimating the stupidity of the public (I paraphrase.)

I don't understand the big deal about parabens. Parabens are a preservative and unless I buy toiletries, haircare and skincare products in minute amounts I wouldn't be able finish a bottle quickly enough before it went off.

For me the small risk of developing breast cancer (as yet they can't prove an exact correlation) versus the risk of using a cream or shampoo full of bacteria and fungus is an easy decision for me.

SLS doesn't irritate my skin and there is no substantial evidence that it causes cancer, so while I like the idea of using products that are paraben and SLS free, I am quite happy to use products that contain them.

I don't really have a problem with parabens, but I just think a product containing so few other ingredients might be a bit lacking. I know Cetaphil is non-foaming, but it does still contain SLS, for those who are trying to avoid it altogether.

FWIW Caroline Hirons' advice saved my skin. I don't double cleanse as i don't wear foundation etc but if you wear a fill face of make up every day it makes sense. A lot of her advice does. She's not affiliated with any skin care brand at all and doesn't get paid to recommend or review any products.