Do you need a skin care routine or is it just a marketing ploy?

[pannikin]

I am constantly caught out by marketing campaigns, all kinds of products etc that makes me think, do I actually need a skincare routine or is it just to make you buy all these potions and potions? I do very bare basics. I never really have any problems with my skin, the occasional dry patch which is sorted out by extra moisturising and maybe a few spots around my period.
My 'routine' is as follows:
Moisturise on a morning
Do make up

At end of day, remove make up either with make up wipes or if I can be bothered, cotton wool and eye make up remover and cleansing water.
Moisturise again, and usually again before bed.

Use facial wash and facial scrub followed by a face mask once or twice a week.

Does this sound ok or should I be doing more?

I recently read an article by a beauty editor who admitted that all you really need to do is to keep your skin clean and protected from the sun. She hadn't worn moisturiser for over a year, and in researching this she found articles from dermatologists who think moisturiser is a bad thing as it stops the skin from working properly

goose that is interesting! I wonder if it depends on what skin type you have. My face feels 'tight' if I don't wear moisturiser, but for example I don't have to moisturise DC face, they have lovely soft skin.

so many people, especially girls my age (in 20s) are so obsessed with what they’re putting on their skin, but not caring what they put in their bodes and realising that will effect their skin. so they barely eat fruit/veg and drink lots of alcohol.

ive been really into health/nutrition since i was about 16, which is why i think i have good skin (that and genetics). i take vitamins/supplements, moisturise, exercise, drink water, barely touch alcohol etc.

i dont wear make up everyday, i usually just exfoliate with something like garnier 2-3 times a week and moisturise with palmers coco butter i use micellar water to take off makeup. the absolute worst thing for my skin is stress, so i try and avoid that.

so yes, i do think 99% of products are BS

Do you need skincare? Yes.
Do you need 45 different treatments from The Ordinary? As recommended by The Ordinary funny that probably not.

The routine you need is:

Don’t smoke, ever
Protect your skin from the sun, always.

That’s the two big things.

Eat reasonably ok and dont drink shitloads.
Don’t use too much makeup.
Moisturise, but whatever you use is fine - cheap Nivea or olay is just as good as anything.

All the pseudosciencey shit is bollocks. Don’t burn or tan, don’t shove tons of makeup on (you tug and stretch the skin putting it on and off) and shove some moisturiser on.

Everything else is luck and genetics.

No idea what the ordinary is, sorry!
Don't smoke, might have the odd glass of wine on a weekend. Do go away somewhere hot a couple of times a year but tend to spend my time under a shady tree or parasol with a book!
Make up is my downfall, I think.
I probably wear a bit too much!

It depends on your skin too .
My skin is so dry and sensitive too much messing with it just doesn't suit it.
I wash my face with soap in the shower and use la Roche Posay Cipliplast as a moisturizer which I don't think is its use.
My skin is the best it can be.I have tried other brandsbut when you react to e45 it just gets easier to stick with what works.

I remember watching a tv programme years ago. It was This Morning/the One Show or something similar. They had a woman on who, for reasons known only to herself, moisturised only one side of her face for over 10 years. They then got a couple of dermatologists to examine her face to see if they could see which side of her face had been moisturised. Neither of them could tell. I haven't bothered with a skin car regime since that day! I wash my face daily with water only and use sun cream in the summer but that's it. I have lovely skin, even if I do say so myself!