Do we really need all these 'steps' in our routines?

Elizabeth_Braun

I feel the most important skincare comes from our lifestyle - often what we eat and drink, and how much we sleep.

I use a Lush scrub in the morning, followed by a homemade toner (aromatherapy grade witch hazel and lavendar flower water with some essential oils in), then a Lush cream and usually some antiseptic cream around the corners of my mouth and nose as they tend to crack otherwise. At night, I use a Boots foaming wash, the same toner, a Lush cream or serum bar and eye cream. I like a Lush fresh face mask in the shower sometimes too. That's about it. Relatively simple, but I like it.

gemmajenkins0208

That does sound simple, but also very easy to stick to

Maybe i should detail my skincare routine, since i was asking about it in the OP:

Morning - cleanse with my Simple face wash using my cheapy manual clarisonic-type brush i picked up in Primark while in the shower. When i return to my room, use my Simple cream cleanser with cotton pads followed by my No. 7 toner again with cotton pads.

Night - cleanse with Simple cream cleanser with cotton pads followed by the toner and cotton pads.

That's my routine as it stands right now, but i know i need to at least add an SPF with summer round the corner

BrassicWoman

I do micellar water, then moisturise - that's it. My skin is good when I eat well and sleep, and awful when I eat rubbish and stay up late.

gemmajenkins0208

Yeah BrassicWoman, they do say "beauty is on the inside"

P.S. I love your username! My mum always says she's brassic when she has no money left!

paddyrg

Gunk costs money, and wrinkles are natural. Fearmongering about ageing is all about selling gunk.

Maybe some have a marginal or transient effect, but it's ALL about selling gunk.

Elizabeth_Braun

I'm curious Gemma: You have a wet face wash in the shower, then a cream cleanser afterwards? That's a new angle for me. I've done it the other way around a few times as I can't get my skin comfy with a non-wash product - I have to thoroughly rinse off any makeup remover. Even with copious toner, my face would still be badly irritated. What I'm going to do in a few years when I really can't find a suitable foaming wash anymore I dread to think....

gemmajenkins0208

Yes, Elizabeth, that's because I like to double cleanse in the mornings before I go out for the day to work or leisure activities and have to meet people as I'm a drooler when I sleep! :eek: So I like to make sure I'm properly clean!

I think my bedsheets go outside on the line more than I go out the house! :rotfl:

Also varying other factors mean that sometimes the wash I use in the shower makes my skin a little dry, and the cleanser actually says on the bottle 'cleansing lotion' so it's very moisturising

savingfortomorrow

My skincare routine is highly variable.
When I use micellar water and oil in the morning it is fine. At night I cleanse with micellar water, oil and moisturizer. I remove the make up with a balm or creamy cleanser. Every few days I use a serum abeille royale from guerlain or a cheap one. I tend to be very haphazard in what is applied and when.

However, the most important thing is acids- if I miss it for a fortnight my face looks dull and prone to stress related fine lines when I am exhausted and tired.

If I wash my face with water alone my face will be pure red for the day. my face reacts so badly to water all the shower heads are lowered and i avoid it like the plague. As long as I use the acids my skin looks great- if I stop, when I am exhausted or stressed or poorly it will look dull and lack radiance. I need the chemical exfoliation to allow any other product to work. If I use a scrub my face is beetroot red for a week.

While diet, sleep and avoiding the nasties (smoking, drink, noxious compounds and excess sun) do play a role- I find that this alone is not enough. If I am eating right and getting lots of sleep the skin will look good for 2-3 weeks after stopping skin care but if I stop when I am super exhausted and eating more sugar my skin will look rubbish in 3-4 days.

gemmajenkins0208

Very interesting savingfortomorrow.

My mum is 54 and she still has to use various products to keep her skin in tip top shape. I can't remember the proper term but she had her menopause brought on, it wasn't left to happen naturally. If she doesn't follow her regime to the letter then her skin looks rubbish in a matter of days.

busiscoming2

My skin is pretty good. Whether that's genetic or because I don't ever wear foundation/other gunk, I don't know. I wash with just water in the shower in the mornings and a face wipe or rinse in the bath at night. I use a cheap factor 50 in the summer and Aldi's moisturiser with SPF 15 in the Winter.

I just couldn't be bothered with all the faffing or the expense!