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?

I use tea tree foam cleanser morning and night from home bargains. In the morning I use Vit C and SPF moisturiser. At night I alternate retinol and acid followed by moisturiser. Mostly from the ordinary with pricier moisturiser from eucerin. Only takes a few minutes per day. I think it definitely makes a difference to my skin. I wouldn't be paying more though.

You don't need to buy an entire range. You should only be trying one new thing at a time to find what works and bin what doesn't. I don't think I have more than one or two products from the same brand because they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Spf every single day even when inside is the most important.

In the morning
Cleanse
Vitamin c
Moisturiser

In the evening
Cleanse
Retinol (starting once a week and increasing as tolerated )
Moisturiser.

You can also add in a chemical exfoliant like glycolic acid or lactic acid if you have sensitive skin, once or twice a week

Also I recommend checking out the cerave range. It's very reasonably priced and is backed by numerous dermatologists worldwide

I think it’s mainly bollocks and down to genetics.

I’m 57, never had spots or many wrinkles. My skin is always smooth. I’ve only ever used Nivea.

It’s genes.

I used expensive cleansers toners and moisturisers for years but stopped and for over a year now I haven't used anything apart from soap and sometimes any cheap moisturiser I've got and my skin is literally no different so I would never bother buying expensive stuff again!

I don't use anything daily which is bad! I do have cleanser, toner and moisturiser but I don't have the time to do it once a day never mind twice! I sometimes moisturise but that's about it.
Maybe it's coz I look young for my age. I'm 35 but still get asked for ID when buying alcohol. Maybe that's why I don't bother but it'll catch up with me eventually 🙈

Go somewhere cheaper like the ordinary or the inkey list, on the inkey list you can do a quiz and find out what they recommend. You can figure out what you like then upgrade certain products.

I have a T-zone greasy skin. Prone to spots. Over the years tried lots of brands but found most moisturisers are too heavy or just sit on top if the skin. I did like using Clarins years back but it was immensely expensive and I couldn't afford to keep buying it.

I now use Superdrug tea tree oil face wipes and Simple moisturiser. Nothing else.

I think genetics plays a part. My skin is fine and teenage DD says "your face looks younger than you are" (I'm over fifty) she hates my boring clothes though... I use Olay face wash each day and moisturise with Olay basic moisturizer when I feel I need to. However I very rarely put any foundation on so my skin is almost always product free. Perhaps that helps?

Drink plenty of water
Cleanse
Moisturise
SPF

I learnt the importance of SPF recently when I had a phase of trying just using serum (no moisturiser) during the day. I hadn't noticed the serum had no SPF, unlike the moisturiser I normally used, so I wondered why I was getting melasma-type darker patches on my face during the warm weather... I've bought a good separate facial SPF now.

I used to use expensive-ish skincare products. Now I use Aldi's Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish dupe (rinse off and follow with soap and water, use muslin cloth only once or twice a week), Aldi day moisturiser and eye cream,and the thick Nivea in the blue pot at night. All works easily as well as any of the fancy stuff.

It never occurred to me to see a private dermatologist! That is something i could do with looking into.

I also have PCOS which doesnt help with skin issues i believe.

What are serums actually suppose to do? There is so much conflicting advice about skin care that i ve ended up jumping from one product to another.

A dermatologist told me to always clean any products off your face and moisturise daily. Whichever one suits and does not need to be expensive. Nivea will do the same job as many other expensive creams. It is all you need to do. Skin will age and you will get wrinkles. It's the circle of life. She also said that splashing your face with cold water is a good replacement for toner, I took her advice many years ago and just cleanse, tone and moisturise.

I have pcos too. It does affect skin for sure.

I don't do anything to my face - I never wear makeup, my face gets washed by default in the shower (I wash my hair every day) but I don't use anything to clean it. I only moisturise occasionally with a beeswax creme (lindesa). I started to get very dry lips in my early 40s so use a shea butter lip balm (most lip balms made my lips worse and it took some trial and error to find one that solves the dryness). Other than that I use nothing on my face. I have never smoked. I'm 46 and have clear skin and have only seen the first faint hint of wrinkles at the side of my eyes in the last month or so (I assume partly because I've lost weight and hit the top of a healthy weight for the first time in about 17 years). I don't mind that though.

I think its genetic but that most products and wearing makeup (and smoking) make skin worse not better, personally.

Losing weight was the trigger for my skin looking awful. I lost 4 stone after pregnancy, just through bf and eating biscuits and my skin has aged visibly.

I don’t have any products or makeup at all. I wash my face with soap when I’m in the shower and that is it. My skin is a a bit oily and I have a couple of marks - one tiny scar from an accident. But I just look like a person. If more people just looked ordinary, people would not feel this pressure to spend time and money on unnecessary stuff to look like some supposed ideal.

I’m in my mid forties and I look it. Not pretty, not terribly ugly. Just very ordinary. I don’t do anything to my hair either. Wash it, brush it. It is again completely ordinary.

Millions of men do nothing to their skin, they look fine. I don’t understand how the skin care/cosmetics industry has grown into such a giant.

I cleanse, tone and nourish twice a day. SPF in summer. That's it. If I go somewhere special I may wear foundation and lipstick, absolutely nothing else. These sales people are very likely on a commission and need to sell as much as they can to benefit themselves not you.

I don’t have PCOS but my cycle shines out of my face like a beacon - it’s less genetics and more hormones for me.

I often see posters on MN being quite scornful of skincare ranges but my skin is so greasy that left to it’s own devices I’d be covered in white heads for two weeks out of every four.

If you find something that works, stick with it.
If it doesn’t work (and you need to actually just try that thing so be sure) then leave it!

I live semi rurally and as such my skin doesn't get dirty so my skin regieme is really non existent apart from moisturiser. I do cleanse if I'm going into the city, other than that it gets done about twice a week. I I moisturise daily day and night and I've started using a collagen serum every other day as my skin was getting very dry on my forehead. It also hides my finer forehead wrinkles.

Can anyone reccomend a good and sensibly priced retinol? I've been using one from The Ordinary bit I'm not seeing results. Ta muchly

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

Can anyone reccomend a good and sensibly priced retinol? I've been using one from The Ordinary bit I'm not seeing results. Ta muchly

I use skin and me prescription

Caroline Hirons book “skin care” is well worth a read

@HelebethH

A dermatologist told me to always clean any products off your face and moisturise daily. Whichever one suits and does not need to be expensive. Nivea will do the same job as many other expensive creams. It is all you need to do. Skin will age and you will get wrinkles. It's the circle of life. She also said that splashing your face with cold water is a good replacement for toner, I took her advice many years ago and just cleanse, tone and moisturise.

This is what I do, too. Nivea moisturiser, cheap cleanser, coal tar soap to wash face with, and splash with cold water. Twice a day, and once a week, an facial scrub. I have dark circles, there’s bugger all you can do about those, but at 55, I don’t have many wrinkles…and if I did, I don’t think I’d care. Getting older is a privilege denied to many, and looking it just makes a face more interesting, as far as I’m concerned.

NotMyCat I've had a look at their website (code MVC gets your first monty free just pay £3.50 delivery, if anyone is looking too) and done their consultation however it's taking me straight to payment details before showing me their recommendation ... is that normal? Feels odd especially as it's a monthly thing.