Do we really need all the skincare products professionals claim we need?

[ChampagneWorries]

I hate my skin. I have dark circles, lines round the eyes when i smile, spot issues etc…

So i have had numerous facials by a beautician who looked at my face and told me what my skin needs.

So the conclusion is I’m to …

• Pre Cleanse
• Cleanse
• Use a daily exfoliant
• Apply anti aging eye cream
• Toner
• Serum
• Moisturiser

All of the above twice a day. These are what a Dermalogica skin trained beautician as advised. All the products above are around £60 each.

I still get spots, redness, blemishes etc.

So i decided i would try an even more premium brand La Mer…

So i bought their cleanser - too harsh
Used their lifting contour serum (it was fine but i still got spots) its also really expensive
Used their eye cream that claimed to reduce dark circles - i didn't notice a difference.
Bought the creme la mer and soft moisturising cream ( they take a while to sink in)

I still have spots, blemishes, marks on my face etc..

So now i have bought La. Prairie Skin Cavier White eye and face cream.

This claims to reduce redness, dark circles, blemishes the lot…

Now i ve been using this a week and now i have sore areas on my face and my skin feels tight. Its extremely heavily fragranced.

Im 33, yet people often think im around 37. Dark circles run in the family.

My mum is very obsessed with not looking old and is always comparing herself to people her own age who she feels look alot older than they are. This obsession with not looking your age has really rubbed off on me over the years.

So do you all use toners, serums etc every day?

Im thinking of just using a cleaner and then moisturiser and thats it, will i regret it in years to come?

No. I use only Retin A and a Neutrogena moisturiser. My skin is fine.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

Main thing is spf.

//// This. Really, this. I'm mid flurries and spent most of my adult life a total mug buying Clarins and honestly? You really can't tell, I should have stuck to soap and water.

That's possibly a bit harsh as there are good brands out there but you really don't need to spend a fortune. The SPF thing? I think it's so important (I say this as an idiot who sun worshipped in her twenties. I'm so angry at my stupidity now ). I actually think it should be taught in school!

I recently discovered a chap called James Welsh on YouTube gosh he's a beautiful creature who had lots of sensible advice about brands.

Slap on that SPF OP! La Roche Posey do a good one (orange bottle) for daily use. Or Ambre Solaire also do a light F50 which sits beautifully under make up, about £7.

Have you seen their twin channel? It makes me laugh so much

Eh? Twin channel? Ooooh, I'm going to look.

If I am not wrong , Tretinoin is the only thing proved to work. Everything else is expensive hogwash. I am nearly 50.

My skin is really sensitive so the less the better for me. It's just more stuff to wash off again, in the end.

I’m nearly fifty and I keep it pretty simple. My skin love hyaluronic acid, so I buy serum and the sheet masks. I use Astral and Tret and a factor 50 sunscreen daily That’s pretty much it. I have rosacea but none of this aggravates it. My skin is prone to break outs but the Tret keeps the skin turning over quickly so they heal and face very quickly.

*fade

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz it's the Welsh twins (Robert Welsh his twin is a makeup artist and has a channel too)

Oh and my advice is anything that makes your skin burn is bad, bad, bad. Just stop using immediately.

I get the pain of spotty sensitive skin, I seem to mostly have it under control using:

• Neutrogena Hydroboost cleanser/ Garnier miceller water (morning/night)

• The ordinary niacinamide + matrixyl (morning + night)

• Cerave moisturising lotion (morning + night)

• P20 SPF30 face cream (morning)

• Acnecide Benzoyl Peroxide gel for spot treatment (when required)

They add up but overall not too pricey for how good they’ve been for me, unfortunately I’m not sure what can be done for dark under eyes.

The acnecide has been great for me however it does need to be approved (I get mine from boots online) and I find if I use it on anywhere other then directly on the spot twice a day it can irritate skin quite quickly.

Chopping and changing is bad. Pick simple products and stick to a basic routine. SPF is essential. Agree genetics play a big part and therefore products have limited effect (either you’d look great anyway or they don’t do much, either way a waste of money).

I’d spend your money on prescription skincare.

[quote NotMyCat]@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz it's the Welsh twins (Robert Welsh his twin is a makeup artist and has a channel too) [/quote]
Never fail to laugh like a drain when watching their twin videos - such a pick me up!

@ChampagneWorries

Thanks all!

I have thousands of pounds worth of products on my dressing table so im very reluctant to add any extra thats why i was wondering if its so bad to just cleanse and moisturise and forget the rest?

I would have a go at nivea though as thats really cheap compared to alot of brands and would probably be no more than £50 for the full sensitive range.

If you're spending thousands on skincare anyway, you honestly may as well go and get Botox / fillers / other minor procedures with an aesthetician. You will see actual results that way.

Great advice here! I'm a skincare junkie and definitely overbuy but am learning what works for my skin and what I can do without. I still use quite a few products but mostly stick to cleanser, a limited number of acids, serum and moisturiser (+SPF)

One thing I've realised is regularly swapping products causes my skin to react so I'm doing less of that or introducing just one product slowly at a time. I have sensitive skin too and rosacea and sadly react to a lot of scented lovely products.

Really recommend Avene as mentioned above and LRP for sensitivity. I also really rate MooGoo products for sensitive skin.

I agree the Ambre solaire light spf is great under make-up.

Also has anyone tried skin+me?

It's a subscription service where you send off a questionnaire and photos and a dermatologist looks at your skin and prescribes you a cream. It comes in a small package lasting one month. Cost is £20.

Mine contains: Tretinoin, niacinamide and azelaic acid.

Seems to be working well.

I do nothing- damp flannel wipe some days, water scrub in the shower others.
I don't use any face wash, cleanser or moisturiser. My skin is fine. Not insta fabulous but fine.

A good SPF every day, even in winter, and a healthy lifestyle: Exercise, good diet (e.g. minimal ultra processed food, low alcohol intake/lots of water, veg, etc) & don't smoke.

A basic CC cream & concealer will even out dark rings and blotchiness.

I find it better to keep skincare simple - an oil cleanser at night; bar soap and SPF in the morning. I get sensitive and dry skin whenever I try "good" brands or complicated skincare routines.

It depends but the short answer is no. I use a facial scrub in the shower with exfoliant followed by moisturiser in the morning. In the evening I use cleanser, toner, serum and night moisturiser unless I've been swimming in which case I use the shower scrub instead plus night moisturiser

Ps I use Aldi products btw, no different in results from the £££ brands

I use some of those but not all. I don't double cleanse or use a separate eye cream.

My routine is:
Wash off cleanser
Toner (I use an acid toner at night - Pixi Glow)
Serum
Cream or oil

I think a consistent routine is more important than which products you use. If you are going to spend money on anything, I would spend it on the serum.

Keep it simple and use a brand dermatologists recommend. La Roche Posay is amazing, not cheap but nowhere near £60 per item.

You need only 3 products for basic skincare:
Cleanser, moisturizer, SPF.

Also, exfoliating on a daily basis is guaranteed to destroy your skin in the long term. You’re removing the top layer and giving it not enough time to repair itself, making it extra sensitive and vulnerable to uv radiation. Once or twice per week is more then enough.

Dark circles can be allergy shiners. Have you tried cutting any food groups out like dairy?

A Dermatologica saleswoman is hardly a professional. She's a saleswoman!

You don't need to stick to one range for all your products (whether that be La Mer or Nivea).

If you are open to spending hundreds of pounds on getting good skin, then why not see a private dermatologist? They'll tell you what you need (and it won't be big name brands).

There is a middle ground between a 7 step routine twice a day (I bet the saleswoman was rubbing her hands) and just cleansing and moisturising.

The main things for me are
Cleanse
Moisturiser
SPF
Retinol

This ^

You also have to figure out what works with your skin and that will change as you get older. If you have sensitive skin, half the battle is finding a routine that won’t mess it up.

I buy a beauty advent calendar every other year to try some of the high end stuff. My skin hates bio effect EGF serum. It’s meh about Sarah Chapman, 111 Skin and Omorovicza. It loved a really pricey moisturiser but it does just as well on La Roche-Posay.