Do you really need to moisturise?

[FriedEggOnMyFace]

I stopped using any kind of moisturiser on my face years ago. I used to have oily skin and I found it makes my face look more greasy. Now I've started worrying though that my skin will age and get wrinkles faster. I'm reading conflicting information online about whether a moisturiser is necessary at all or of it could even cause more harm than good.

I'm 45 and my skin definitely looks dull and not that tight anymore. I tried using a night cream for a few days but it made my skin break out.

I've read that the only thing that helps with wrinkles are prescription creams with retinoid, ie vitamin A. Do I need that or which moisturiser do you recommend?

Do I need anything else? I don't wear sunscreen either. Somehow I can't imagine it's necessary in the UK (though I religiously apply it on the kids) and I work from home anyway so don't spend much time outdoors anyway during the week.

Sorry, this sounds like an idiotic question but I'm just wondering if a few years down the line I'll be kicking myself for not doing something as simple as moisturizing. Do I really need to?

Hell yeah, if I didn't moisturise I'd look like a dried walnut.

What type of skin do you have?

Course you do and definitely need sun cream. Glad you put it on the kids.

That tickled me 🤣🤣

SPF IS so essential. People get skin cancer on their face and have to have it sliced out

I never used moisturiser and I'm 49. Not a single wrinkle yet. I do have to use it in the last year though. My skin is just drier. Not wrinkly dry, but flaky uncomfortable dry. Age creeping up I guess.

I'm not sure. What do you mean? I mean what are the options?

It's like typical mixed skin, I think. Too dry in some places with an oily t zone though it hasn't been that oily since I hit my forties I think.

(Wondering now if I look like a dried walnut....and also what a moisturiser walnut would look like..)

I'd definitely wear something with sunscreen in daily to protect skin from ageing regardless of the strength of the sun in this country.

I am 60 and have been moisturising my face since I was 12. Have never missed and am very, very glad about that. Do it, OP, it makes a world of difference.

I oil my face and then wash it off in the shower once a week, does that count? I certainly don’t use sunscreen in the uk in October. My skin isn’t particularly wrinkly, definitely much less so than my school friends. I think it’s probably luck.

Sounds like you have combination skin, same as me. Dry with oily t zone.

You should definitely use moisturiser at the very least. Does it not feel really dry and tight after washing? My entire eye area shrivels up unless I cream within minutes.

Then again I am mid 40s. I was taught to moisturise from aged about 14.

I work from home and have very little exposure to direct natural sunlight on most weekdays. I usually don't get out before 3-4pm when I do the school run. I do go out on the weekends but it's usually cloudy so it doesn't seem to warrant sunscreen.

Also, I'm from India so I don't burn easily. Do I still need sunscreen? I have never found any that doesn't either leave white streaks on my face or makes my face look super greasy.

I don't know. I'm just used to how it feels I guess. I suck at stuff like this. My hands are super dry and look three decades older but I still can't moisturise them.

My mum never moisturised her face at all, probably just splashed it with water. In her 40s, her skin was incredibly leathery and weathered looking. I’ve moisturised since I got given an Avon set when I was 13. I’m in my 50s and my skin is starting to wrinkle but is still soft, nothing like my mum’s. So yes, I think it’s best to moisturise. Just use one that’s good for oily skin.

Yes you still need it!

There's an spf in my foundation.
Use clinique cream to remove make-up at night. Fab stuff, dot it on, rub it in, wash off with a warm flannel.

I'm 63 and fairly wrinkle free. I use a bit of moisturiser once a flood when I remember.

It's genetic and it's mostly a marketing wheeze.

Late 40's, dry skin. I use few drops of Organic Rosehip Seed Oil by The Ordinary every evening and Dr Hauschka Rose Cream for the daytime, with an SPF if I'm outside. My skin's pretty good.

I've never moisturised. I have no idea if my skin looks older than I am. I think it looks fine. I'm 44, think I look about that. Maybe if I'd always moisturised I'd look 30 but why would I want to?

I'm completely unbothered about looking younger - I just want comfortable, non-tight feeling skin.

Which moisturiser should I use? Is there anything that won't make my skin break out? I mean beyond non comedogenic, which these days I think they all are. If it doesn't contain retin A is there a point at all? And is it enough to use one in the night?

Regarding sunscreen is it enough if I use a day moisturiser with SPF 15? I honestly can't imagine having to put two things on my face.

I've had too much going on all these years to really bother what I look like but honestly I don't want my skin to age quicker than it needs to and I wish it didn't look so dull. I do want to have nice skin but unfortunately I don't want it enough to actually put any effort into it especially if the outcome isn't proven.

I really don't believe we do, I've never used it nor has my sister, both in our 40's but honestly don't look it (not to blow my own trumpet) my mother never has either & has barely any wrinkles and certainly not deep lines.

I'm 45 and look ok for my age. I have greasy/oily skin and I rarely use moisturiser or spf (I put it on religiously on holiday but barely think about it in the uk)
I hate the idea of adding anything greasy (like moisturiser or sun cream!) to my face...when it is already quite greasy. I don't wear make up often, and I use a clearasil type cleanser and just wash it with water.
17 year old DD uses about 10 different creams/potions and her skin looks amazing! but I've always been lazy about skincare

You absolutely need to moisturise. The skin you had 20, 10, or even 5 years ago is not the skin you have now. Peri-menopause changes everything.

I think it’s now accepted that moisturiser per se is really only there to make your skin feel more comfortable rather than to prevent the signs of aging.

retinol and acids do make an actual
difference, and of course the most critical thing is sunscreen.