The other day a young neighbor complimented my skin and asked for my skin regime. She is 42, she said. I know it hurt to hear, but I was blunt in my response: thereās no magic wizard behind the marketing curtain.
Since that encounter Iāve thought of the many fruitless āregimesā I had embraced over the years - each with such hope! Like her, at 42 I started sweating (inevitable) signs of aging. I dove into Erno Laszlo. I embraced Obaji. A new serum? I was the first to order. I did organic and I did ācosmeceuticals.ā I visited facialists, I slathered on masks, ingested āskinā vitamins. I slept on my back, slept on satin pillowcases, and bought specially shaped pillows. Yes, Botox, too, until an injection caused my eyebrows to go flat. I waited six months for that to wear off and still didnāt question the idiocy of my search.
I am nearly 72 now. It was the birth of my first grandchild that woke me up. I was 64. I was a granny! His birth was a gift for so many reasons, one being a personal freedom Iād never known before. I let go of two traps Iād created: I stopped coloring my hair. And I stopped seeking youth in a bottle.
This doesnāt mean I donāt focus on my appearance - I do. Iām vain, still. My silver hair gets an expert cut. I religiously use a sunscreen (Trader Joeās). I wear hats and shades. I use a standard moisturizer (by Skinceuticals). I wear a bold lipstick. (I am aware of the efficacy of retinoids and vitamin C but both irritate my skin so I use neither.) I exercise regularly. I donāt eat processed foods. I sleep 8-9 hours each night. I thank the gods for my good genes.
I urge young women reading this to not waste time, like I did. I regret modeling youth-seeking behavior for the two women I raised. I hate how much money I spent, and how much shelf space I devoted to utter nonsense. I am beautiful today not because I finally found the right product but because Iām free and happy and content.
I second everything you said and would add drinking lots of water and buying a supply of cheap, then washcloths. I go through two or three a day. Occasionally, I buy fresh juice in lovely rectangular bottles which I reuse as water bottles. I take a little bottle of water every where, and to bed at night. Finally, I keep a bottle of Avion Ć³r Rochelle spray water, and spritz my face three or four times a day. Hydrate is my mantra.
I read a post from a dermatologist with similar suggestion re skincare a long time ago, and have been content ever since. I do moisturiser, sometimes Vit C serum, retinol, basic mild cleanser and SPF every day year around. I almost did Botox this year (Iām 38), but chickened out last minute. I just donāt want another expense and self-improvement chore!! But I did laser hair removal this year, and it was life changing. Best thing money can buy, wish I did it earlier.
I think venturing onto diet territory is dangerous though. While some people may benefit from excluding certain foods, rarely people eat so much sugar that it negatively impacts their skin. And rarely they can maintain the strict eliminating diet. Not to mention diary and gluten. I really like Christy Harrisonās Rethinking Wellness newsletter on the subject, which helps me to think critically of all the incompetent nutrition and wellness advice out there. Dr. Chavez is helpful, too, but a bit too prescriptive and can induce disordered eating for some readers. Iām on board with eliminating or significantly limiting alcohol though!
Adequate sleep and body movement also do wonders for the skin, Iām sure!
Yes, good point! Any diet stuff should only be carefully explored under the supervision of a dietician or other expert. I worked with a naturopath initially and then with a dietician. It's easy to slip into unhealthy eating patterns while trying to pursue health. Thank you for the reminder!
I appreciate your warning about restricting diets, but can assure you that sugar really does trigger rosacea in me, and chocolate does in quick time, showing up in a couple of hours as a pustule somewhere on my nose that takes days to get rid of.
I donāt disagree with you. Iām just saying that for many people restricting foods can trigger eating disorders, which can be much more dangerous than rosacea. And itās a fine balance to strike. As Rebecca mentioned above, dietary related choices and restrictions are best to be discussed with a professional, and in my opinion- preferably HAES (health at every size) aware / friendly professional, meaning the one who wonāt blame all health problems on weight or dietary choices.
I have rosacea and it's increasingly proven that it's diet related (alcohol is the culprit for me but I also saw a lot of improvement when I was a vegetarian). However, oddly enough and out of all the products I've tried, a beef tallow based regimen of products has worked incredibly well in calming outbreaks. So that and hyaluronic acid for my dry climate seems to work best for me.
I can also recommend washing you face with a simple Aveeno bar- no soap, but a gentle clean. I use this at night and miscellaneous water in the morning (and to remove foundation on the rare occasions when I use it.) I do use a serum for rosacea, although what really helps for that is to limit my sugar intake, especially eliminating chocolate.
Iām 65 and never used a lot of products on my skin because itās sensitive to most everything. I used Cetaphil for almost 40 years but once they changed the formula it burned my skin. The only thing that doesnāt irritate me at the moment is Simple cleansing cloths. I use Olay for sensitive skin as a daytime moisturizer and Vaseline around my eyes and lips at night. Thatās it!
Same. Some of the store brand knock offs for cetaphil cleanser didnāt change formula when cetaphil did. I plan to switch to those when the stockpile I laid in at Costco just after the reformulation was released finally runs out.
For reference when shopping the store brands, the original cetaphil cleanser ingredients are: water, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben.
I was never a skincare girlie (and I had great skin!) but in my mid 20s, I let skincare blogs convince me I needed to be. That is when I developed painful cystic acne that took wouldnāt go away no matter what products I used.
I finally put two and two together and stopped the over the top routines and the cystic acne gone away and hasnāt ever returned in the 7 or so years since.
Now apply moisturizer to my face now once every other day after a shower. And my skin is significantly better.
Though this post is convincing me to re-up my SPF game, which I usually slack on come fall.
My skin care regimen is Dr. Bronnerās Castile soap and ROC Retinol/SPF day cream for my face and Cetaphil cream for arms/legs/dry spots on my shoulders. Thatās it. I donāt use sunscreensāI cover up with a big hat and linen long-sleeved shirts and pants when outside. I should use sunscreen but I canāt stand the stickiness.
My mom always had amazing skin and she taught the importance of scrubbingādonāt use anything harshāa basic terry washcloth will do except on feetābut using a rough-ish cloth with a mild soap and actually scritching yourself all over when in the shower helps wash away dead skin and all the nasty pore-clogging stuff. Use a fresh cloth every timeādonāt ever re-use a washcloth. I follow that with the Cetaphil cream and my skin looks great.
I have similar issues with sunscreen so don't use it. I live in the PNW so we don't have constant relentless sun, but there are times when I need to cover-up. My daughter just got back from Paris and she was planning to go to a big drugstore for sunscreen because they have better ones than we do, but I think they didn't stay long enough. Can anyone recommend a good sunscreen?? Vitamin D is an issue here but my understanding is that you get significant amounts through your eyes.
I second the neutrogena recommendation. Also try supergoop unseen sunscreen which is more expensive but truly the least sticky sunscreen Iāve ever encountered. It feels a bit weird and velvety when I first put it on but once it sinks in I canāt really tell it is there.
Heads up that Trader Joeās has an amazing dupe of the Supergoop sunscreen (at least during the summer time). Itās half the price, I cannot tell the difference when I use them side by side.
Neutrogena sunscreens are the least nasty in terms of texture for me anywayāwhen I do have to use sunscreen thatās what I use. I am also in the PNW, but on the dry side where cloud cover isnāt much so sun is very strong.
Be careful about eyesāUV can contribute to cataracts. Sunglasses are important, especially up here in WA state where the angles of the sun are lower and glare is a bigger problem. A big hat can help with glareāsometimes itās bad even with sunglasses.
Absolutely about the sun glare here. I've actually developed a light sensitivity living in the Seattle area, and use sunglasses all the time, plus big hats.
I tried so many sunscreens, burning red skin from all of them. Finally found one that doesnāt burn- La Roche Posay Anthelios. Plus it works well under makeup.
During pregnancy my skin was immaculate and glowing, but afterwards I had melasma and rosacea and so to the dermatologist I went. Now Iām using cleanser + moisturizer + SPF and prescription treatments that actually work for my skin and nothing else. My skin has never quite looked as good as when I was pregnant but itās pretty close š
I'm 44, and only this past summer began any skincare regimen of any kind. I now use a really lovely-feeling SPF-moisturizing combo before putting on makeup for the day and I use a drugstore retinol moisturizer before bed most nights. So, thank you for this, as I'm feeling validated in my long wait to start anything, and in keeping it minimal once I did!
yay! i actually never talk about how little, the so very little I do, because it gets a funny reaction (doubt, irritation, concern, etc)
and people are often exclaiming how nice my skin is - I'm 50 and yet to have any wrinkles. Dunno why exactly - it's not like I can do the last 25+ years over using a ton of skin care and makeup. I just don't bother.
I did way back when use clinic products, in late highschool/university, but some where along the way I was broke, it was expensive and i just couldn't be bothered, and just eased out of it.
these days I splash cold water on my face in the morning, and some days put a bit of carasoin's cream on.
and that's all.
a few times a year i do a body scrub with sea salt and do that on my face too, that feels nice.
so if anyone's wondering if they can liberate themselves from all this, it's worth trying and see how it goes for you. somewhere along the way I read an article how woman in the US (i'm in canada but hey, similar) spend on average $300,000 in their lifetime on grooming, and I was like no fucking way. it pissed me off that women have been made to feel like they have to fix themselves to go out into the world, that they way they are naturally is not ok. so that for sure played a part in my decision. if someone likes to have fun with makeup and such, go for it of course! but i hope you don't feel obligated to do so. i've worked in very corporate places and still refused to conform. also side note, it was easier at work if i looked a bit less attractive as less batshit things occurred - totally fucked up but also true.
I 100% agree with this! I had cystic acne all through my teens and twenties, into my early 30s. What finally cleared it up? I stopped washing my face. At the end of the day, I'll use a washcloth and water to clean off anything that I put on it (sunscreen and any makeup), and I like a nice oil as a moisturizer and a retinol (or retinol substitute when I've been pregnant/breastfeeding). But that's really it. And my skin is better now that it has been since I was... probably in elementary school. It's great.
Before seeing this in my inbox, I went through my pile of skincare products and threw almost all of them away today. It felt so freeing. I love simple! The one question I always have on the SPF thing is it wears off after about 80 mins (right?) so is the idea to just reapply all throughout the day?!
I think so! I try to remember to re-apply at lunchtime especially if Iām going to be outside. Itās hit and miss for me but I figure some reapplication is better than none
I wash my face with water, dry it with a towel, moisturize with CeraVe, the end. This regimen has always worked just fine for me and Iāve probably saved many thousands of dollars over the years. My mom has always been a minimalist no make up person, and I suspect that a lot of our beliefs about skin care, and body maintenance more generally, come from whoever raised us.
People compliment me and ask what I use on my skin. Very little!
I've always made my own pure, natural beauty products. I use clay to wash my face - that's it and not even everyday. I use a hydrosol (water extract) of rose or orange blossom on my face and, in winter I make a facial oil with argan and essential oils.
I love this post because it's such a psy-op that we have to use millions of products to be 'clean' or take care of our skin. The body knows what it's doing!! This post has me re-thinking even my modest skin routine.
The other day a young neighbor complimented my skin and asked for my skin regime. She is 42, she said. I know it hurt to hear, but I was blunt in my response: thereās no magic wizard behind the marketing curtain.
Since that encounter Iāve thought of the many fruitless āregimesā I had embraced over the years - each with such hope! Like her, at 42 I started sweating (inevitable) signs of aging. I dove into Erno Laszlo. I embraced Obaji. A new serum? I was the first to order. I did organic and I did ācosmeceuticals.ā I visited facialists, I slathered on masks, ingested āskinā vitamins. I slept on my back, slept on satin pillowcases, and bought specially shaped pillows. Yes, Botox, too, until an injection caused my eyebrows to go flat. I waited six months for that to wear off and still didnāt question the idiocy of my search.
I am nearly 72 now. It was the birth of my first grandchild that woke me up. I was 64. I was a granny! His birth was a gift for so many reasons, one being a personal freedom Iād never known before. I let go of two traps Iād created: I stopped coloring my hair. And I stopped seeking youth in a bottle.
This doesnāt mean I donāt focus on my appearance - I do. Iām vain, still. My silver hair gets an expert cut. I religiously use a sunscreen (Trader Joeās). I wear hats and shades. I use a standard moisturizer (by Skinceuticals). I wear a bold lipstick. (I am aware of the efficacy of retinoids and vitamin C but both irritate my skin so I use neither.) I exercise regularly. I donāt eat processed foods. I sleep 8-9 hours each night. I thank the gods for my good genes.
I urge young women reading this to not waste time, like I did. I regret modeling youth-seeking behavior for the two women I raised. I hate how much money I spent, and how much shelf space I devoted to utter nonsense. I am beautiful today not because I finally found the right product but because Iām free and happy and content.
Xo Jane
I second everything you said and would add drinking lots of water and buying a supply of cheap, then washcloths. I go through two or three a day. Occasionally, I buy fresh juice in lovely rectangular bottles which I reuse as water bottles. I take a little bottle of water every where, and to bed at night. Finally, I keep a bottle of Avion Ć³r Rochelle spray water, and spritz my face three or four times a day. Hydrate is my mantra.
Erno Laszlo! I had forgotten that name. He had a weird rinsing method that took like 10 minutes and got water all over my bathroom surfaces. š
This comment section is convincing me to do even less to my face! You all out-minimalist'd me, well done!
I read a post from a dermatologist with similar suggestion re skincare a long time ago, and have been content ever since. I do moisturiser, sometimes Vit C serum, retinol, basic mild cleanser and SPF every day year around. I almost did Botox this year (Iām 38), but chickened out last minute. I just donāt want another expense and self-improvement chore!! But I did laser hair removal this year, and it was life changing. Best thing money can buy, wish I did it earlier.
I think venturing onto diet territory is dangerous though. While some people may benefit from excluding certain foods, rarely people eat so much sugar that it negatively impacts their skin. And rarely they can maintain the strict eliminating diet. Not to mention diary and gluten. I really like Christy Harrisonās Rethinking Wellness newsletter on the subject, which helps me to think critically of all the incompetent nutrition and wellness advice out there. Dr. Chavez is helpful, too, but a bit too prescriptive and can induce disordered eating for some readers. Iām on board with eliminating or significantly limiting alcohol though!
Adequate sleep and body movement also do wonders for the skin, Iām sure!
Yes, good point! Any diet stuff should only be carefully explored under the supervision of a dietician or other expert. I worked with a naturopath initially and then with a dietician. It's easy to slip into unhealthy eating patterns while trying to pursue health. Thank you for the reminder!
I appreciate your warning about restricting diets, but can assure you that sugar really does trigger rosacea in me, and chocolate does in quick time, showing up in a couple of hours as a pustule somewhere on my nose that takes days to get rid of.
I donāt disagree with you. Iām just saying that for many people restricting foods can trigger eating disorders, which can be much more dangerous than rosacea. And itās a fine balance to strike. As Rebecca mentioned above, dietary related choices and restrictions are best to be discussed with a professional, and in my opinion- preferably HAES (health at every size) aware / friendly professional, meaning the one who wonāt blame all health problems on weight or dietary choices.
I have rosacea and it's increasingly proven that it's diet related (alcohol is the culprit for me but I also saw a lot of improvement when I was a vegetarian). However, oddly enough and out of all the products I've tried, a beef tallow based regimen of products has worked incredibly well in calming outbreaks. So that and hyaluronic acid for my dry climate seems to work best for me.
Yes, same for me. See my reply to Anastasiia above.
I was too quick off the mark- my CBD serum is your beef tallow. š
I can also recommend washing you face with a simple Aveeno bar- no soap, but a gentle clean. I use this at night and miscellaneous water in the morning (and to remove foundation on the rare occasions when I use it.) I do use a serum for rosacea, although what really helps for that is to limit my sugar intake, especially eliminating chocolate.
Iām 65 and never used a lot of products on my skin because itās sensitive to most everything. I used Cetaphil for almost 40 years but once they changed the formula it burned my skin. The only thing that doesnāt irritate me at the moment is Simple cleansing cloths. I use Olay for sensitive skin as a daytime moisturizer and Vaseline around my eyes and lips at night. Thatās it!
Same. Some of the store brand knock offs for cetaphil cleanser didnāt change formula when cetaphil did. I plan to switch to those when the stockpile I laid in at Costco just after the reformulation was released finally runs out.
For reference when shopping the store brands, the original cetaphil cleanser ingredients are: water, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben.
Thank you so much. Iāll start checking my local pharmacies.
I'm 73, and have found the value in Vaseline as well. Counter-intuitive but there it is.
I was never a skincare girlie (and I had great skin!) but in my mid 20s, I let skincare blogs convince me I needed to be. That is when I developed painful cystic acne that took wouldnāt go away no matter what products I used.
I finally put two and two together and stopped the over the top routines and the cystic acne gone away and hasnāt ever returned in the 7 or so years since.
Now apply moisturizer to my face now once every other day after a shower. And my skin is significantly better.
Though this post is convincing me to re-up my SPF game, which I usually slack on come fall.
Finallyā¦being cheap and lazy pays off.
My skin care regimen is Dr. Bronnerās Castile soap and ROC Retinol/SPF day cream for my face and Cetaphil cream for arms/legs/dry spots on my shoulders. Thatās it. I donāt use sunscreensāI cover up with a big hat and linen long-sleeved shirts and pants when outside. I should use sunscreen but I canāt stand the stickiness.
My mom always had amazing skin and she taught the importance of scrubbingādonāt use anything harshāa basic terry washcloth will do except on feetābut using a rough-ish cloth with a mild soap and actually scritching yourself all over when in the shower helps wash away dead skin and all the nasty pore-clogging stuff. Use a fresh cloth every timeādonāt ever re-use a washcloth. I follow that with the Cetaphil cream and my skin looks great.
I have similar issues with sunscreen so don't use it. I live in the PNW so we don't have constant relentless sun, but there are times when I need to cover-up. My daughter just got back from Paris and she was planning to go to a big drugstore for sunscreen because they have better ones than we do, but I think they didn't stay long enough. Can anyone recommend a good sunscreen?? Vitamin D is an issue here but my understanding is that you get significant amounts through your eyes.
I second the neutrogena recommendation. Also try supergoop unseen sunscreen which is more expensive but truly the least sticky sunscreen Iāve ever encountered. It feels a bit weird and velvety when I first put it on but once it sinks in I canāt really tell it is there.
Heads up that Trader Joeās has an amazing dupe of the Supergoop sunscreen (at least during the summer time). Itās half the price, I cannot tell the difference when I use them side by side.
Thatās a great tip! Do you know what itās called? Or is it pretty obvious when you see it?
Itās the Daily Facial Sunscreen, SPF 40; comes in kind of a yellowy orange box. Saved me so much money!
I found a .5 oz tube of the supergoop at Amazon I'm going to try. I'm supersensitive and look for samples or small sizes to test carefully
I love elta MD sunscreen. Itās literally the only product I use on my skin.
Neutrogena sunscreens are the least nasty in terms of texture for me anywayāwhen I do have to use sunscreen thatās what I use. I am also in the PNW, but on the dry side where cloud cover isnāt much so sun is very strong.
Be careful about eyesāUV can contribute to cataracts. Sunglasses are important, especially up here in WA state where the angles of the sun are lower and glare is a bigger problem. A big hat can help with glareāsometimes itās bad even with sunglasses.
Absolutely about the sun glare here. I've actually developed a light sensitivity living in the Seattle area, and use sunglasses all the time, plus big hats.
I tried so many sunscreens, burning red skin from all of them. Finally found one that doesnāt burn- La Roche Posay Anthelios. Plus it works well under makeup.
During pregnancy my skin was immaculate and glowing, but afterwards I had melasma and rosacea and so to the dermatologist I went. Now Iām using cleanser + moisturizer + SPF and prescription treatments that actually work for my skin and nothing else. My skin has never quite looked as good as when I was pregnant but itās pretty close š
I'm 44, and only this past summer began any skincare regimen of any kind. I now use a really lovely-feeling SPF-moisturizing combo before putting on makeup for the day and I use a drugstore retinol moisturizer before bed most nights. So, thank you for this, as I'm feeling validated in my long wait to start anything, and in keeping it minimal once I did!
Oh, and bless you for driving home SPF. I need a kick in the pants on that.
yay! i actually never talk about how little, the so very little I do, because it gets a funny reaction (doubt, irritation, concern, etc)
and people are often exclaiming how nice my skin is - I'm 50 and yet to have any wrinkles. Dunno why exactly - it's not like I can do the last 25+ years over using a ton of skin care and makeup. I just don't bother.
I did way back when use clinic products, in late highschool/university, but some where along the way I was broke, it was expensive and i just couldn't be bothered, and just eased out of it.
these days I splash cold water on my face in the morning, and some days put a bit of carasoin's cream on.
and that's all.
a few times a year i do a body scrub with sea salt and do that on my face too, that feels nice.
so if anyone's wondering if they can liberate themselves from all this, it's worth trying and see how it goes for you. somewhere along the way I read an article how woman in the US (i'm in canada but hey, similar) spend on average $300,000 in their lifetime on grooming, and I was like no fucking way. it pissed me off that women have been made to feel like they have to fix themselves to go out into the world, that they way they are naturally is not ok. so that for sure played a part in my decision. if someone likes to have fun with makeup and such, go for it of course! but i hope you don't feel obligated to do so. i've worked in very corporate places and still refused to conform. also side note, it was easier at work if i looked a bit less attractive as less batshit things occurred - totally fucked up but also true.
I 100% agree with this! I had cystic acne all through my teens and twenties, into my early 30s. What finally cleared it up? I stopped washing my face. At the end of the day, I'll use a washcloth and water to clean off anything that I put on it (sunscreen and any makeup), and I like a nice oil as a moisturizer and a retinol (or retinol substitute when I've been pregnant/breastfeeding). But that's really it. And my skin is better now that it has been since I was... probably in elementary school. It's great.
Before seeing this in my inbox, I went through my pile of skincare products and threw almost all of them away today. It felt so freeing. I love simple! The one question I always have on the SPF thing is it wears off after about 80 mins (right?) so is the idea to just reapply all throughout the day?!
I think so! I try to remember to re-apply at lunchtime especially if Iām going to be outside. Itās hit and miss for me but I figure some reapplication is better than none
I wash my face with water, dry it with a towel, moisturize with CeraVe, the end. This regimen has always worked just fine for me and Iāve probably saved many thousands of dollars over the years. My mom has always been a minimalist no make up person, and I suspect that a lot of our beliefs about skin care, and body maintenance more generally, come from whoever raised us.
People compliment me and ask what I use on my skin. Very little!
I've always made my own pure, natural beauty products. I use clay to wash my face - that's it and not even everyday. I use a hydrosol (water extract) of rose or orange blossom on my face and, in winter I make a facial oil with argan and essential oils.
I love this post because it's such a psy-op that we have to use millions of products to be 'clean' or take care of our skin. The body knows what it's doing!! This post has me re-thinking even my modest skin routine.