Moisturiser not necessary ??

[sonata1]

I read in the Daily Fail yesterday that a facialist says that we don't need to be clogging up our pores with moisturiser and all that you need is an exfoliating chemical serum, dark spot corrector and a sunscreen. After a while your skin will rebalance itself and produce it's own moisture.What do MN 'ers think.

I stopped wearing night cream, skin greatly improved.

I barely ever use moisturiser and I always get comments on my great skin. But I have recently started using a serum, hmm do I need to stop?

Well i think that would be right. Why would we? Millions of people dont wear it [think about many men] but it depends upon what you value.
If you want your skin to look better for longer i think it will help.

I have never got on with night cream. It brings me out in spots.

Here's the story. My skin improved and adult acne went away when I stopped regular moisturizers. Still need a bit of hydration but find that watery serums and Asian gel-creams work much better on my skin than greasy moisturizers.

Do we have to spend that amount of money on the products they suggest ? Are there any cheaper alternatives on the high end of the High Street?

All depends on your skin type, I definitely need moisturiser. I do think though that moisturiser is probably the least important part of a skincare regime and there's no need to spend £££ on one.

I have combination skin and have to put moisturiser on my cheeks at least, to avoid having dry skin there to "complement" my oily spotty t zone

Well I'm convinced we put a lot of stuff on our faces that just isn't necessary and arguably does as much harm as good. However I'm not inclined to take the word of someone who recommends spending £80 on something called 'Advanced Radical Night Repair'

Flo YY the "don't use a cheap product that has been used for centuries, use my expensive gunk" thing also has me .
I used olive oil over freshly showered face/neck once a day for years.

My skin would feel very tight without a moisturiser but I have moved away from very rich ones onto much lighter, hydrating ones and my skin tone and texture is better for it. I agree that a good serum and sunscreen is more important.

E45 for me if I feel the need.

I use Nivea blue pot day and night and my skin drinks it up. So while I agree with this in principle, I'm not prepared to suffer sore dry skin for however long it takes to 'rebalance'!

It does clog my pores though - if anyone knows something that is non comedegenic but still very rich, I'd be grateful for a tip.

I reckon you can over moisturise and I rarely use moisturiser at night, but my skin is dryish and I don't think I'll be giving up day cream any time soon. I get the point that you shouldn't just slap some thick cream onto your never-exfoliated face, but that's reasonably obvious. And no, there is no need to spend £80 on any face cream/serum, unless you want to for some reason.

Gerti....could you explain acid tone and hydrating tone to a newbie please. I am starting to acquire lots of new products but am a bit confused as to when to use them.
I have Alpha H Liquid Gold as well as their Microcleanse and their Smoothing and perfecting mask (glycolics). I have been using them for a while and they certainly make for smooth skin.
Then I bought the Bravura salicylic acid after recommendations on MN.I have used that once (good results) but am going away for a few days next week and it will be hot so I am holding fire with the acids for now.
I also have a Clarins nightime oil.
What I need is for someone to kindly give me a step by step regime for all of them !!
I do double cleanse with a hot cloth but with the same cleanser. I use either Akin or Alpha H.

So skin doesn't need moisturiser but it does need 2 cleansers, 2 toners and serum?

Yeah Floisme, I just don't get the two cleansers thing.

For me it's the simpler the better if I complicate tmy skin care regime my face breaks out. I saw a dermatologist years ago and he said as I have oily skin my face doesn't need moisturiser.

However, since I turned 40 I use Balance Me Serum and I have no breakouts my skin loves it. Prior to that I use a SLS free face wash with my Clarisonic brush and sunscreen during the day. I don't bother with double cleaning and acid toners my skin doesn't need it.

My skin certainly doesn't need double cleansing and acid toners.

I double cleanse, once to get my makeup off and once to clean my skin. Acid toner is my equivalent of a physical scrub, plus it helps my acne prone skin

Moisturizers mix up three things, oil (emollients) and water-attracting substances (humectants) and often also occlusives (a layer that seals in the other ingredients to prevent water from leaking out; you can sometimes feel it as a film, mineral oil is the best occlusive out there but other oils and silicones also have occlusive properties).

Your skin can need different things. It can be structurally defective (atopic skin) and need lipids because it cannot make them. It may need water and humectants, or it may need a protective barrier that keeps everything in (atopic people also have leaky barriers). So each person is a bit unique and your environment (humidity, temperature, A/C) also has an impact. This is why different things work for different people. Oils are usually not particularly hydrating, more emollient and occlusive, that's many need a separate water-attracting product.

Where do you get acid toner from? Is it called that on the label?
What serums do you all recommend?