Do fancy expensive creams and potions work?

[SharingMichelle]

My face is getting old.

Is it worth me buying some sort of fancy unguent that will make me look 20 again? Or is it all a load of balls?

I've noticed the queen has beautiful skin and i bet she uses expensive creams.

Current regime is Olay factor 15 every day. No make up.

I have been following a skin care regime for a couple of months (Caroline Hirons esque), it's not that my wrinkles are less but my skin is a bit brighter and pores smaller. I definitely look better without make-up.

So not reversing anything but looking the best it can. I am think the biggest impact has been an exfoliating toner as my moisturiser isn't very expensive.

Where can you buy retin a?

Thanks everyone. You stopped me spending £££££ on a Clarins face cream. But i did still buy some sort of face mask.

I don't want to look 20 really.

I think drinking too much alcohol ages you.

Oils are meant to be good for your skin because they may penetrate deeper.

Agree about the building allegory.

Her maj does of course have wrinkles. I dont think she has ever smoked and she probably didnt stake herself out in the sun so hasnt ended up resembling her handbag. That and lucky genes.

It wont be a tube of snake oil. As you see it doesnt do the Boots ballerina much good, the woman looks mid sixties facially despite her enviable figure.

Rosehp oil is good, but it needs to be used for a while.
Natures retinol.

Who is the boots ballerina?

My Grandmother died at 95 with the most beautiful skin.

She used Oil of Ulay (as it was then) her whole life.

Didn't smoke or drink.

Didn't sun bathe.

My Mum is 70 and has gorgeous skin.

Uses Olay

Doesn't smoke or drink

Doesn't sunbathe and uses sun screen every day.

It may be genetics but I'm working on the basis that if it worked for them...

The biggest ager is UV light. That's why even old people often have smooth bums!

If you don't use sunscreen daily, start now. Cut out /down on booze. Eat well with loads of good fats: avocado, oily fish, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, - and anything you slap on your face will just stop the moisture evaporating whether it costs £1 or £200.

no.
if they would work they would need to be licensed as medicines (retin-a for example).

I have Charlotte tilburys magic cream at a whopping £70. Makes absolutely no difference! I alternate between that and a £5 Nivea cream - they're basically the same.

I've always used expensive creams and cleansers but have settled on- wilko eye make up remover for a quid(!!) which is the best I've ever used and is fantastic for sensitive eyes- waitrose sensitive soap ( I know but it really is like a creamy cleanser and not drying at all!) plus Aveeno cream to moisturiser.

Skin has never been better, ever!

I've recently bought the new Aldi Cuvée range and really like it. The serum sinks in nicely and is a good base for make up and I use the mousse one on my neck although there was one specially for the neck and décolletage that I should have got instead. Anyway they are £7.99 each and I wilds finitely be buying again - I'm 41 btw and looking it.

No expensive creams don't do half of that they claim

Speak to a beautician they can have a proper look at your skin.
I always treated my skin like it was oily and when they looked they found dehydrated patches.

At the moment I am using body shop. It's works for me although I have been told body shop facial products can be harsher on the skin than others.

Caroline Hirons has a good post on what actually works anti ageing wise. Can't do links but the gist is:

1. SPF - every day (you need more than you think - a very thick layer - and to reapply every few hours - v important if you have pigmentations)
2. Tretinoin/retin-A (same thing) - prescription only but any private dermatologist will prescribe - key of any anti-ageing 'regime'. Careful how you use it. Not very expensive but a consultation with a dermatologist can be... If you are happy with a weaker anti-ageing agent, retinol in loads of beauty products works but less effective.
3. vitamin c serum works as an antioxidant - apply in morning straight after cleansing (and toning if you do that) - needs to be stable (really hard to stop it oxidising before it hits your face and can suck up other oxidants) so this can be very expensive.
4. Niacinamide proven to help a bit - Olay regenerist (? - red one anyway) has it in its eye cream.

And glycolic or salycic acid are good for exfoliating - our skin doesn't renew itself as quickly as a 20 year old's so it needs help to slough off the old thick lumpy stuff and make it look smooth so the light reflects better off it - making it look younger. Google acid toning!

Be careful not to irritate it and cause inflammation though - look at Hotandflashy website about how to use tretinoin/retin-A.

And use a moisturiser for sensitive skin if you are using tretinoin. French pharmacy brands are good and not ridiculously expensive. Moisturiser is just good for hydrating - no need to spend lots, especially if you are using serums/tretinoin etc.

Actually niacinamide is in a cheaper Olay product than that - it's at 2% in the basic night cream which is cheap as chips.

I buy Cerave PM from Amazon cos it's 4/5% in that, but I don't think you can get that concentration on the shelves this site of the Atlantic so the Olay is probably as much as you can get.

So the consensus seems to be the Aldi range or Olay for off the shelf help, plus SPF cream, diet and water.

Can anyone comment on the Boots No 7 range? I heard a few years ago that their anti-aging stuff ran clinical trials and found it made a difference to wrinkles (obv. not enough to render it a medicine, though).

Interesting about Olay, thanks! I just look at how high up the ingredients list things are.

Boots protect and perfect stuff probably works because it has retinol in. Is that right? Not sure - never did much for me but my main issue is melasma.

Moisturiser is good, but there's little difference between a cheaper cream and the expensive ones. None can reach that deeply into the skin. The skin is a pretty effective barrier (or we'd be very dead very fast.)

A word on retinols they are incredibly powerful teratogens and should NEVER be used by anyone who may possibly become pregnant

The keys to good skin are:

Genetics. Not much you can do about this
Stay out of the sun.
Drink enough water (8 glasses a day is a myth though.)
Eat well - plenty of good fats, low sugar diet
Never ever smoke
Don't drink much if at all.

Mainly rubbish but I have just found one hideously expensive brnad which I think actually do something - Revive

That said, who knows how long the effects will last ....

Im 42 and i think the absolute worst thing for your skin is to smoke....i frequently see other girls i went to school with and its the smokers who have aged really badly.

I met a top dermatologist recently in a work context, he said Boots No 7 all the way. Or a prescription cream from a derma, some do work - can't remember the names he said, though ...
Though Revive which is £££ is said to be good.