40 something skincare - am baffled

[PepeLePew]

I've always gone for the quick wash and a bit of moisturiser if it's handy. Sun cream on a sunny day (I know, I know). And I got away with it. The rest of me is a disaster but my skin has always been fine.

But I'm getting old, dammit. Wrinkles. Occasional spots. A sense that I need to grow up and be responsible about this stuff.

But I don't know where to start. A skincare assistant in a beauty hall would surely just sell me the stuff they sell. And lots of it. A dermatologist? How do I decide what I need and can you try products first? Money isn't really the issue - I'll spend what I need for the right stuff. Retin-thingys? Sun cream
then moisturiser or integrated? Does anyone still use toner? What's serum?

I know I can rely on MN for this sort of thing. My friends are all terrifyingly beautiful without any help as far as I can tell so they are no use!

Sun screen.
I'm sure there will be others along soon who will disagree but as far as I'm concerned (and I'm considerably over 40), that's it.

I will disagree.
Suncream, ok, in the summer, or if you insist all year round, and that's it? Although quite why in the greyest of British Winters. or Summers, for that matter, I do not know.

Once a day, maybe reapply once or twice, and that's it?
You don't think moisturising or keeping clean is important?

I see that people insist on suncream, but I really think insisting this is all you need is very disingenuous.

Look at Caroline Hirons website - she has an anti-ageing cheat sheet. I'd get a good serum (not necessarily expensive) in between washing face and moisturising and start always using sunscreen. You can start thinking about retin-thingy at night later if you want! Best thing for wrinkles. Try 'Redermic R'. It's not prescription Vit A so gentler but works well if you use it for a couple of months consistently. If you use it though (or any retinol/tretinoin, which is the name for Vit A on prescription) you MUST use sunscreen in the day. And only use it a couple of times a week at first as it can make your skin sensitive/flakey. Good luck!

I have melasma so have to wear sunscreen every day or it gets worse... Even visible light can exacerbate it. And I reapply too, especially on sunny days (now). Annoyingly. I use Avene high protection compact over make-up. But even without melasma, I think sunscreen from May-Sept (on not totally grey days) makes sense - sun is the biggest cause of premature wrinkling.

Someone on this forum raved about Aldi caviar night cream. As a life long Clinique addict, with a few other products thrown in, I decided to give it a try.

I still use Clinique face wash, and I think I always will, then their clarifying lotion, which is a mild exfoliator. For the past few days I've used the caviar night cream and day cream, which has an SPF15 (imo SPF is vital) and my skin looks better already.

It's not expensive at £6.99 per cream so it's not a huge investment wasted if it doesn't suit you.

May to September, OK.

On a sunny winter day in the mountains, OK.

But that's not everyday. It's just another product we're sold to.

I'd start with a good cleanser. Regular hot cloth cleansing made such a difference to my skin. The body shop chamomile cleansing balm is very nice as is Clinique take the day off. A mild exfoliating toner like pixi glow tonic or Olay do a nice one too for anti aging which mild and good value for money. I'd recommend a serum. Maybe start with a more general one like olay 3 point serum followed by a moisturiser for your skin type. Hope that helps!

Hi,
This is my first post on Mumsnet!
Yes, going to counters can be intimidating and a bit overwhelming. Plus many people selling skincare at counters are not skincare experts - they are just people who have been given information about the products they sell. So although they may not purposely mislead you - they may do so accidently.
I'm pretty hardcore with skincare (I have a Japanese mum) so have a variety of cleansers, masks, toners, essences, serums, moisturisers etc.

However I think the most important thing is to create a routine that you're happy with - there's no point in investing a lot of money into products that you're not sure how to use.
In my opinion, I think a good cleanser, moisturiser, and SPF product. If you're happy with more than that then a toner (Pixi Glow Tonic is good (no alcohol which can dry skin and gentle glycolic acid to provide very gentle exfoliation)), an eye cream, and maybe a hydration product (Indeed Labs Hydraluron from Boots or The Hero Project Hyasoft which is very similar to Hydraluron but with the addition of vitamin B5).
If you purchase a good nourishing moisturiser then it will help prevent moisture loss.
Obviously it can't do it's job properly if you put it on dirty skin so a good cleanser is important - especially if you wear SPF.
SPF is important even on cloudy days as UV rays still reach the earth's surface. Don't forget that it's UVB that you will notice (the rays that lead to burning) but there are other rays that affect your skin too eg. UVA which is what contributes to the 'aging' of the skin.

As long as you don't skimp on the amount you apply, a combined moisturiser/SPF is fine. If you do this then I'd purchase a separate moisturiser without SPF for night time use.
I think Alpha-H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50 is great as it spreads well, offers good protection, and doesn't feel sticky and heavy on the skin.

Once a day, maybe reapply once or twice, and that's it?
You don't think moisturising or keeping clean is important?

The op already cleanses and moisturises. I assumed that she was asking about additional products.

I use sunscreen every day, for reasons to do with both vanity and health. I guess I could have added, 'don't smoke, sunbathe, go easy on alcohol and eat a good diet.' But cleanse, moisturise, sunscreen is my skincare routine and I recommend it as something that works well for me.

I'm not sure why you are calling this disingenuous. Why on earth would I pretend?

Aldi's Lacura serums are really good, and £4. I use it instead of moisturiser, though.

I tiddled with different stuff as I noticed that my previous easy good skin was aging
I now use and love (coz it's easy and has majorly improved my skin)
Nip and fab skin deep cleansing fix (a big pot of cream)- slather on and rub.leave for 10 mins or more (sometimes overnight) take off with hot wet flannel or muslin then I put aldi caviar cream on.
I'm lazy and love the results

Funnily enough, I found myself in an Aldi earlier (none near where I live) and bought the night cream as I had a vague memory of someone saying it was good. So good to see it recommended.
I have some cleaning balm somewhere - will dig it out and use it diligently with hot cloths instead of lazy wipes or teen dd's face wash. That, plus some Kiehls night oil and Aldi stuff at night, and the same with sunscreen and Aldi stuff in the morning, and I will see how I get on.

Clinique city block is good? Also Origins "never a dull moment" really makes a difference to my skin and I use that every other day. Both products seem to last forever too.

The secret to good skin is to cleanse it in the morning and the evening with warm water and a flannel. If you wear SPF or makeup cleanse it twice in the evening once to take off make up /SPF second time to clean your skin. Use pixi glow tonic as your exfoliating toner followed by either just a moisturiser or a serum then moisturiser.
Basically what jab2012 advises.

And kiwikay

Cleanse, tone and moisturise twice a day. Facial scrub twice a week. I use Clarins. It really works on me. I love their one step facial cleanser, the orange facial scrub and the extra firming eye cream and face cream. And then you're done. Do that for a week and you might be surprised at the difference. Hopefully pleasantly surprised.

I'm 39 soon and using;

Merumeya cleansing balm. Double cleansing with it at night but once in the morning. I cleanse for at least 10 minutes at night.

Nip&Fab extreme glycolic acid pads every other night.

Nip fab snake venom eye roll on twice a day.

La Roche posay effaclar duo cream twice a day.

Aldi soy day and night creams for my neck and chest.

La Roche posay anti shine SPF 50 every day.

I have oily skin though so any spots get magnesium sulphate put on them.

This is all very helpful. The plan is this:

Hot cloth cleansing - have some Superdrug stuff to use up then an Eve Lom free gift then will decide whether to spend ££££ in future or get the cheap stuff

Some of the Liquid Gold Alpha H stuff twice a week at night (have bottle in cupboard)

Night time - Kiehls oil and the Aldi night cream
Day time - Boots serum and Aldi day cream then sunblock.

Mostly am using stuff in the cupboard then will reassess as things get used up. But the Aldi cream is lovely - thick and rubs in well with no horrible smell.

Some people seem to use an awful lot of products.

I'm 46 but my skin is pretty decent. Here's what I'm currently using:

Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser (highly recommend these)
Boots Botanics toner - every other day or so depending on how often I remember/can be bothered

Things I like but haven't replaced yet:
Superdrug glycolic face mask
Superdrug glycolic overnight serum thing
Nip and Fab pads
Out of those, the mask is the thing I'd probably be most inclined to repurchase.

Soap & Glory do a hot cloth cleanser called Ultimelt which is lovely and about a tenner so not too extravagant. I use that and then the Clinique mild clarifying lotion (not the numbered ones, they are quite harsh in comparison) I have an Origins serum and moisturiser which I like very much - they were a gift, Origins is a bit spendy for me normally

Just read your update. Sounds like you've got some good products in your cupboard!