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?

I'm 49 and I'm the same, I'm often told I look younger than my age too. I only wear sunscreen when I'm actually out in the sun and I use a moisturising body wash every day in the shower. Maybe that will change over the next few years but time will tell.

If my skin felt dry I would probably use a moisturiser but it never does.
I work in a quite dirty environment and comute by train and the first thing I do when I get home is cleanse my face. But it feels counter intuitive to add a cream or oil when it feels quite greasy anyway

If I never moisturised I wouldn't look horrendous, I would just look a bit dry and dull. I enjoy taking care of my skin, hair and body, it's pleasurable to me, same as doing a yoga class or eating fruit and veg. I don't want my skin to look dull I want it to be glowing.

I think a basic moisturizer acts as a protective barrier to prevent skin drying out. But have to be careful not to choose the wrong type. I think cetaphil or cerave or even Nivea would be just enough. No need for expensive ones.

I have always been hit and miss with moisturising and for about the last 15 years practically never moisturise my face and only occasionally my body.

I have oily skin and am 69. I have hardly any wrinkles on my face and people are always surprised when I tell them how old I am as they think I am quite a bit younger.

My sister, who is 8 years younger than me, spends a lot on moisturisers. She has dry skin and does have quite a few wrinkles. People often think she my older sister.

It's up to you but it's not anti-ageing issues so much for me as comfort.

I'm not using an SPF one even until spring as I think we need to worry more about vitamin D than skin cancer and ageing effects of the feeble sunshine we get in winter in the UK.

What you put on your skin can only do so much anyway. For me it's more about a healthy lifestyle and getting a good night's sleep as often as possible.

@RosesAndHellebores has pretty much got a point, there's an awful lot of marketing, but yes, moisturiser makes most of us feel more comfortable. Expensive products make bigger claims and smell nicer generally, but I once read, years ago, that you shouldn't use anything you weren't able to slap on with abandon if you needed it, so I've gone gradually from Olay to Lacura, with great results.

SPF every day since my teens means no wrinkles. Some of it must be genetics, but I did have to laugh (inwardly) when hospital staff thought my friend was my mother!

Oh no. I was hoping for more of consensus. Now I'm again not sure what to do. Should I bother with a moisturizer or not??

So if I use a moisturizer can anyone recommend something?

1. Should it be day or night or both?

1. Should it contain retinol or hyaluronic acid or any other vital ingredients? As I said I'm mid forties and starting to wrinkle...

1. Is SPF really required on weekdays (or cloudy autumn or winter weekends) when I spend most of my time at home? I suppose if I use a moisturizer with SPF 15 that would be enough?

1. I've seen on here good reviews for the Aldi caviar cream range. It doesn't contain SPF, retinol or any of the other ingredients that apparently do make a difference. I assume it would be fairly cheap though and I like cheap.

Lacura is Aldi right? Which one would you recommend from the lacura range, please?

Yes I saw another thread on here that said to start with a low concentration of retinoids or. Low frequency as it can irritate your skin.

Thank you so much everyone for helping me figure this out. I feel a bit like an idiot asking such Basic questions but I couldn't make up my mind based on my own research. I did try to look at peer reviewed papers yesterday but didn't find anything that condensed all the information into one easy to understand but comprehensive literature survey.

I would look for a sensitive moisturiser to try.
My brand is Olay.
Some include a spf.
I bought a travel pot of a more expensive Olay moisturiser. I like it but the price.
If you have time, have a look online or in store to decide.
Does any department store near you offer advice.

The problem is I'm super busy (or maybe just super inefficient) and rarely go into town without the kids. For this reason I'd need something that I can either order online or buy in a supermarket.

Oh no. I was hoping for more of consensus. Now I'm again not sure what to do. Should I bother with a moisturizer or not??
Do you want to? That's the only answer. There's no rule about it. I don't because I don't care how old my skin looks and I have no idea if it glows or looks dull. I don't really know what that means. And it's never felt uncomfortable or tight or any of those things except when my rosacea is flaring up and extra stuff only makes that worse anyway.

If you feel uncomfortable and want to do something about it wear moisturiser. If you don't, don't.

I’d say at the very least use sunscreen daily and drink plenty of water. I’ve never used anything on my face and I drink Diet Coke all day (absolutely no water!) I’m in my 30s but I look 40 - wish I could go back and do these things. My face now looks like a dried prune.

I have never touched a moisturiser in my life and am regularly mistaken for decades younger than I am.

Why would moisturiser have any long term effect on your skin? You are applying it to dead skin, which will come off, its like saying nail varnish now protects next year's nails - it doesn't have the slightest effect

I don't want to but I do care how old my skin looks. I don't care massively so I'm not ready to invest a lot of time or money but I care enough to not mind slapping on something quickly once or twice a day if it is likely to have good results.

I'm 48, regularly get comments on my skin being great and have never moisturised my face apart from about 6 months when I got really in to skincare

If you don't smoke, haven't sunbathed, have naturally oily skin and don't wear makeup it doesn't matter.

I am prone to ezcema but stopped that by changing to fragrance free products and no SLS. So relieved when I didn't have to put emollient all over my body twice a day, it was such a faff.

I don't know about diet coke but sugar definitely makes me break out.

I was in India for a month now and I noticed that with the increased humidity in the air my skin looked a million times better. However, I was also drinking 2-3 litres of water more than I do here so maybe it was that.

Maybe you guys are right. Maybe there are much more obvious ways to improve my appearance like making sure I drink enough water and have a generally healthy life style.

decades younger?

sure.

I've never seen anyone, in real life or in celebrity land, who looks decades younger than their actual age. So it's funny to me that there are apparently many such people on Mumsnet.

I really don’t think it would hurt to pick up a moisturiser in Aldi and try it would it? You seem very interested in trying retinol and prescription strength tret will make your skin peel so you’d need to have a moisturiser figured out before you tried that anyway.

And spf! Start with whatever takes your fancy in Aldi