Are we all ruining our skin with our so called skin care ?

[Elasticatedwaist]

I’ve had time on my hands today and ended up idly reading up on skincare ingredients. I always use a cleanser , moisturiser sometimes a serum but without really knowing what’s in them . So I looked into the ingredients ( I know I’m late to the party !)
At first I read about how vitamin c , hyaluronic acid , vitamin A etc etc are good for your skin. Then I got a bit bored and googled ‘ is vitamin c actually bad for your skin ?’ And did it For all the things that were supposedly good . By the end of it I didn’t want to put much of it on my face and it got me thinking that we might all be doing more harm than good with all these products .
I know uv protection is important but still , I mean , I’ve seen many men ( and some women ) who wash and go with fine looking skin .
What do you think ?

Every few months or so I think I should try a skincare regime with additional ingredients as I’m of an age where my skin is looking a bit dull. Every time I try my skin never feels moisturised & is more prone to spots. I’m currently using the ordinary which I do like but my skin is occasionally a bit more blotchy. I never have this when I just use plain Nivea. I’ve also never found a foundation I can use everyday without making my skin go dry so if anyone has any recommendations let me know.

I don't use anything on my skin except water and sunscreen. I do have very good skin which is less lined than most of my friends but that may be down to genetics. Id definitely say those of us who stayed out of the sun have fared better thus far when it comes to aging!

The key is to not care if your skin has lines on it or not!

I care about my skin. And as for the poster who thinks we're being superior well ha ha ha - I'm as vain as anyone on this thread, and shallow to my soul.
The discussion is simply around how some - not all - of us find that a minimalist routine suits our skin much better. If you want to take that as personal criticism then go right ahead but it's really not about you, at all.

I disagree 100%.

I started getting into serious skincare 5 years ago, tret, acid peels, Vit C, etc.
I was recently looking back at selfies pre skincare and my skin was dull, lined with tons of melasma. My skin is now bright, vibrant, very feint lines, no sun spots. It looks 5 years younger then my pictures 5 years ago, iykwim?

Pre skin care I was a soap and water girl.

I have no doubt using certain skin care products work, and work significantly.

I wash my face with dove in the shower and have never used any other cleansing/moisturising/skin routine product. I really don't understand the purpose.

I'm allergic to aqueous cream. I don't get toner but use moisturiser, and good cleansers, I don't understand the olive oil brigade. Drinking water is important.

I do think you can get into a vicious cycle and also think removing loads of makeup everyday can’t be good for your skin.

Everyone seams to be obsessed with dermablading at them moment, my hairdresser made me feel her face after it and to be honest it felt rougher than my face which rarely has more than water and a bit of moisturiser on it!

I too cannot use aqueous cream, I think its to do with the additive that is used to make the water and oil blend. I find it cheap rubbish tbh. Doctors prescribe it because its cheap and easy.

Some natural products are the most dangerous for skin.
Essential oils especially.
The woman who have worn the most make up - usually have the best skin ( in my experience) probably as they are quite educated in both.
I have been blessed with really nice skin - but l am not so stupid to think it’ll last forever without work.
So l use an effective chemical😆 based routine!

*women

Sadiesnakes, how did you get rid of the melanoma? My doc says it is hormonal, and stopping taking the pill would do more than any cream

Not melanoma, MELASMA

autocorrect

My skin is lovely. I drink mostly water, use cheap creams, and wash my face with soap and warm water.

I also have a very good diet and take exercise. No skin care routine can undo a poor lifestyle.

I use the clinique bar soap to clean my face in the shower and an unscented basic moisturiser afterwards. The thing that has made the biggest difference to my skin lately has been stopping drinking alcohol.

I have always used soap and Flannel alternating hot and cold morning and night. Never had skin problems. Normal skin no oily patches or dry patches and no spots etc. I am constantly telling my daughter that all the products set you up for reliance on them. You don't need them!

Your skin doesn't rely on them though. It's great just using simple stuff but your skin being normal is more than likely because it's normal
If you have acne or dry skin, you're going to need more, and that could be caused by hormones or genetics or environment... if you're in an outside job you're likely to need moisturiser in winter, and SPF in summer and then you need to take the SPF off with something
If I used soap and water my skin would be dry and I would have cystic acne again, my products all help my skin. I think the danger is if you start using loads of stuff and not knowing the ingredients or what they do

I don't understand the olive oil brigade.
What don't you understand?

I’ve recently moved from products to simple soap and SPF in the summer .... my skin is a lot less dry

I'm somewhere in the middle I think. I do use glycolic acid for exfoliation every few days as I like the feel and look of my skin when I use it, but apart from the I just use micellar water, buffet serum and weleda skin food (oh and SPF when I remember). I don't wear makeup day to day so that takes the pressure off a bit.

I do think that in years to come, people will look back with mild horror and be like 'do you remember when women were ordering prescription strength tretinoin from online Spanish pharmacies and just putting it on their face'?!!!!!

You can buy aqueous cream without SLS. That’s the rogue ingredient.

Retinol scares me. What are the long-term effects of putting a teratogen on your skin?

I'm happy using retinol because I use a small amount and not every day. But I inject myself with a drug that's likely to kill me way before retinol so I'm fairly relaxed about it

Posted too soon - retinol is vitamin a so same reason as you're advised no liver in pregnancy, not because it's terrifying, but because it can cause an overdose of vitamin A