Do you disclose all about your skincare/beauty routine?

[nutmegtea]

I am curious how much other skincare aficionados reveal to others , when asked of course about their skincare routines, treatments and so on. For me good skin has always been the most beautiful (physical) attribute anyone can have and as a result I have always really looked after my skin ( with varying degrees of success) since I was very young.

I get a lot of complements on my skin and it is in great shape but when people ask me about my routine I am often wary about saying too much for various reasons. Over the years I have found a strong routine that works for me but there was a lot of trial and error where I spend money on things that worked for other people but not for me and I don't want to perpetuate that myth of a holy grail product for all. Then there is the fact that I have been using sunscreen all my life and retin a since my teens, avoiding the sun, never smoking, never drinking alcohol (I didn't want to do those things anyway and as a bonus it has been good for my skin) I am not sure anyone starting retin a and sunscreen at 40 is going to get the same result as a long term user. Then there is money I have never had botox or filler as i don't need them but I have had fraxel in the past which I loved and I have some home use devices like the tria face laser and the eye laser and I've an led mask, a nuface, dermalneedling device all of which are probably not nessecery but nice to have access to.

If people ask unless its a close friend of someone i know is really intersted i just usually say I use a gentle cleanser, serum and spf (which is sort of true). I supposed I'd be a bit embaressed if people knew how into skincare I really am and how much I've spend on it although I can afford it.

So tell me do you reveal all about your skincare routines?

" she hasn't a wrinkle or a hint of sag but she looks every one of her 50 odd years"

That's because all the Botox etc. she's had looks odd.

There are definitely women who look more than 5 years younger than their age.
Here's one:

[quote Gwenhwyfar]There are definitely women who look more than 5 years younger than their age.
Here's one: [/quote]
She looks like she’s in her early thirties!!!

Up until my late forties my skin looked great - pretty smooth and not too many blemishes. I wear sunscreen all year round, but only started in my early thirties. Then the menopause happened. I wouldn't say I'm particularly wrinkly, but I barely recognise the shape of my face anymore. It is now rectangular like my dad's was!

My half sister is 56, so 3 years older than me and she looks younger than me because she takes after our mother. Her bone structure is such that it has maintained her smooth jawline and overall face shape. Our mother has never used an SPF - that generation usually didn't - and had to have three skin cancers removed from her face in her early eighties. However, weirdly, her skin was amazingly smooth. The plastic surgeon who patched up one of the damaged areas (the others didn't need surgery) said that he had to remove skin from her neck to graft on to her nose because her jawline, which would have been the preferred area from which to take the graft, was too taut. Her father also had incredible skin tone right into his eighties.

So, I believe, from my limited anecdotal evidence, that good skin can be very much down to genetics. Unfortunately, as I said, I take after my dad!

Its definitely genetics. I do very little (except moisturiser and sun cream) and have good skin. So does my mum and so did my late granny. My other advantage is moving to a sunny countries in my 40s after living all my life in the UK and Ireland. Damp countries are wonderful for the skin, and sun damage is terrible. My skin has gone downhill since moving here, but I still look younger than my peers who have 40 years more sun damage than me.

Even if someone looks good in their face for their age you can still tell by their neck, hands etc. Lips start to get thinner too. Some people do look amazing but not half their age!

I've had compliments on my skin into my 40s. Always slept in makeup and just used a bit of shampoo in the morning topped by Nivea in big blue jar.

Now I'm in my 50s I've graduated to baby wipes at night and Astral

Too embarrassed to admit how lazy I am

I don't look half my age though! Just lucky to have good skin. It's on the dry side though which is not great as I age...

I can see me looking older in photos as the years go by but I can't pinpoint why? Ageing obviously just looking "older" - fading a bit. I used to dye my eyebrows black but had to stop as they were beginning to wear me rather than other way around!

I use a flannel with water and simple moisturiser.
Don’t wear make-up.

Happy to share my trade secrets to spending less money on gimmicks, focusing on other things than my appearance and generally having more time!

I don’t talk about my Botox or filler. Generally. I look 185 at the moment anyway, so nobody asks! I have great eyebrows, I do get asked about them - tint and wax every 3 weeks.

"She looks like she’s in her early thirties!!!"

When you just look at her, yes. When she speaks, I think I'd give her about 40, certainly not 60.

"Lips start to get thinner too. Some people do look amazing but not half their age!"

My lips have been getting thinner since my 30s.
However, when you look at someone's lips you don't know how full they were to begin with so it's not as reliable a way of judging someone's age as looking at their neck and hands. You can get treatments for them though...