Basic skincare?

[Tinks15]

Does anyone have really good skin from just a basic simple skincare? I’ve read recently that sometimes piling & putting all these products on actually can make your skin worse.

I think in my instance less is definitely more, however I’m still trying to find things that I’m happy with & that agrees with my skin.

Looking for advice too. I have loads of different products to dip in and out of. vit c, acids, retinol alternatives, serums, oils, creams with and without SPF, separate SPF, nighttime sleep masks. I fell for hype that they would improve my skin and what have I got to show for this? A face full of spots!!

I can't find anything to suit my skin at the moment so will be following this thread with interest.

I drink lots of water and use a fragrance free moisturiser with SPF15. That's it. I'm in my 50s and I'm happy with my skin.

I used to use lots of expensive potions and lotions, but I'm in my 50s now and just use Simple skin care and it seems to be fine - no worse or better than it was with the fancy stuff. SPF matters but mostly as you get older your skin is down to how much water you drink, how healthy your diet is and how stressful a life you live.

Honestly the best my skin ever looked was when I used a full face of Kiehl’s. As years have passed, I switched out the products for new or cheaper alternatives but can never replicate that initial amazing skin!

Just cleanser and moisturiser isn’t enough for me. I’m early 20s. When I was like 18, my skin was simultaneously dry and oily so I had dry skin and blocked pores. I think the Kiehls routine gave it a complete transformation and made a huge difference.

I don't use creams at all. My routine is quite simple really - flower toner, followed by serum ( I change them depending on my needs) and a drop of chia seed oil. When I work from home I don't wash my face in the morning and don't put anything on it apart from rose water. Never had better skin.

My current routine is:

Cleanser (I use the Clinique micellar milk, it’s just a general creamy hydrating cleanser)

Hyaluronic Acid (The ordinary)
Dark spot correction serum (eg Kiehl’s clearly corrective serum or similar)
Moisturiser (kiehl’s ultra facial)
Sunscreen (Kiehl’s, but I like the LRP gel sunscreen too)

For PM I use the same products sans sunscreen. I don’t need a dedicated makeup remover with this cleanser.

It’s not a faff but gives me bright and hydrated skin. If I have a breakout I’ll use salicylic acid at night.

I would only use serums to deal with certain issues.
So if you want skin to appear plumper as it's looking dehydrated- HA
If suffering with spots - nicinamide
Etc

The rest of the time I would
AM - cleanse, moisterizer and separate spf.

PM Oil cleanser, skin cleanser, retinol, moisterizer

I would dot in serums for any issues I wanted to address. Also use a chemical exfoliant a couple times a week.

If it's 'anti aging' your after I think only retinol and Vit C have been (so far) shown to be effective at increasing cell turnover

Thanks everyone.

My first problem is I don’t drink enough water, so definitely need to up my water intake.

I just want a really simple routine maybe with the occasional mask/exfoliate (I guess you should do this) that works but I don’t even know where to start. I think what bothers me is the fact I break out easily & I have the horrible bumps under my skin in areas which never seem to budge. I’ve always struggled finding a moisturiser to stick with that suits my skin, then people tell me oils might be better but then there’s so many to choose from.

Watched lots of videos on people saying you shouldn’t ever spend a lot of money on cleansers as quite frankly they are on your skin for the least amount of time & then they get washed away so I’m currently just using a neutrogena one as my second cleanse - before that I use a micellar water to remove make up.

I must say I always use an SPF 50 in the AM which suits my skin so will continue to buy that. As for hyaluronic acid I’ve only ever tried two but they’ve both broke me out so I didn’t bother after that. I mean how important is that? So many people rave about it.

I spend so much time looking online at skincare but still come away so undecided.

I echo those who say it's about diet and water! And sleep!!!

I have naturally very clear skin but also drink tons of water. My skin has been at its absolute peak when I managed to get down to my goal weight a few years ago before my baby, and did it through tons of water and literally pure clean eating, with some good sweaty exercise sessions 3 times a week. No rubbish at all.

Since having a baby and being sleep deprived I notice a dull look to my skin, although it's still very clear. On days where I've slept well and had 8 glasses of water it's much better and on days where I've eaten junk it's dry and dull the next day.

That being said, to keep my dry, sensitive and eczema prone skin I use:

DAILY:
Bioderma micellar
Embryolisse lait creme concentrate
Burts bees intensive overnight lip balm
Eucerin intensive repair for my body and neck

WEEKLY:
Either pixi glow toner OR Charlotte Tilbury goddess mask OR The ordinary AHA and BHA acid peel (red one) - can't do them all more than once a week and only one as I have v sensitive skin.

Also, I drink water, eat fruit and veg and mostly a fish and plant based diet (red meat once every 10/14 days). I also rarely drink alcohol.

(I'm late 20s)

Personally I think it's genetics although good habits help improve things a bit but I eat rubbish & don't get spots - as a teenager only a few under the skin.

In the morning I just use water & welda skin food, sometimes with HA before.

Night time cream cleanser, alcohol free toner & then moisturiser with maybe a retinol mask (using fresh & glow products at the mo).

Might be worth trying SA cerave cleanser and moisturizer.

If HA doesn't work for you then don't bother with it. It's a kind of magnetic for water and plumps the skin. But it's just for appearances, if doesn't actually plump the skin, it just gives that impression iyswim.

I would agree to not spend much on cleanser/moisturizer. I spend on serums/retinol.

You should maybe have a look at skin + me or similar.