To spend or not to spend.

[SunnyD84]

Hello, despite being 38, I am very new to skincare. I’m trying to work out what my skin needs and have been looking at lots of skincare videos and of course everyone uses lots of different products ranging from Boots own brand to Sturm and I guess I’m a bit unsure whether price really equals quality for every product?

For example is The Inky Lists oat cleansing balm just as good as the Elemis cleansing balm? Or are they just completely different products and I’m just being thick? They have lots of the same ingredients so I don’t know if the extra £25 for the Elemis one is worth it?

This is just one example of course but do I buy a couple of the more spenny products or can I just have a little spree at Boots and get more products for my money?

Are expensive products worth it?

In general no, not worth paying extra for. About 99% of skincare products are about the sensorial experience with limited effect to the actual health of your skin. If someone really enjoys that sensorial experience the added expense can definitely be worth it to them.

The roughly 1% of skincare that does perceivably do something (as much as skincare can, legally, anything that really treats anything would require a prescription, skincare is about managing skin health), often referred to as active skincare, tends to be of the no frills variety and sometimes not so pleasant smelling.

When it comes to active skincare, for some of those ingredients the formulation and/or packaging really matters for the stability of the product and it's therefore sometimes better to pay more, but as a rough guide £30 max is probably what you should spend per product.

Start with the cheapest. Unless you want retinol or vitamin c - then do your research