I would like to know what your routine is in general, but I'm also specifically curious about what products you use, if you use them, and what the rationale is behind each product.
My routine:
Morning
- Rinse face with warm water.
- Scrub face and neck with warm, wet washcloth.
- Apply facial moisturizer with SPF (I use CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30) to face, neck, and hands.
Evening
- Shower.
- While in shower, scrub entire body with an exfoliating mitt (ie this one).
- Apply a retinol (I use Retin-A (tretinoin 0.05%)) to face, neck, and hands.
- Apply facial moisturizer (I use CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion) to face, neck, and hands
- Apply body lotion (I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream) to whole body, excluding hands and face.
I have used, and considered continuing using a BHA (also AHA?) liquid exfoliant (I have read that it shouldn't be used at the same time as retinol due to PH requirements, ie use it in the morning and retinol in the evening) (I previously used Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, but I no longer because I have lost trust in Paula's Choice overall due to their borderline false advertising regarding their retinol product [1]), but I am unsure of what a good product would be, and the rationale behind it. I have also heard about Vitamin E, though I've never used it.
References
- "[Research] Study: The Ordinary and Paula's Choice retinols are unstable". toa20. r/SkincareAddiction. Reddit. Published: 2023-01-26T17:49:01.223Z. Accessed: 2024-10-29T05:16Z. https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/10lxshy/research_study_the_ordinary_and_paulas_choice/.
You use too many products, no way that can be good for your skin. Even showering every day is imo unnecessary, once every other day or once a week is good enough if the only thing you did was sitting in an office all day. And if you do shower that often, most of the time you should only use water, not any other products.
I really don't understand the current trend of using an extreme amount of products on your skin, to the poiint of calling it a "routine".
What? OP's routine is fairly minimal.
I agree with you about showering every day but you really should use at bare minimum a cleanser, a moisturizer, and sunscreen.
The first gets dirt and grime and the world off your face, the second replenishes the moisture in your skin, and the last protects your skin. Pretty simple.
Adding in an active like an AHA or tretinoin is only if you have problems (acne would be an example but there are other issues) or if you care about anti-aging.
Some people have like 20 step routines and more and I think THAT is excessive and sometimes can irritate skin more. I once when down the rabbit hole of too many products and had horrible rebound issues because of it.
I used to have bad acne until I found a routine similar to OPs and the right combination of skincare can dramatically improve your skin. For health reasons mostly but healthy skin looks better too.
I'm not trying to attack you, I just ask that you don't knock it just because you've never tried it. Maybe you were genetically blessed to not need anything except water and bar soap. Lucky you! I'm envious , truly.
But some people need extra help or just like to pamper their skin. Taking special care of your hygiene isn't something to dig on someone about, or say it's not healthy when you're not well versed in the world of skincare.
I agree with the sunscreen, although I wouldn't use it if I wasn't planning to stay out in the sun for long, but that's about it for an average person. Your body is supposed to hydrate itself, and getting dirt and grime off is the function of a shower. I'm sure not everybody's skin hydrates itself enough so they would probably need to use a moisturizer, sure, but that doesn't mean everybody should do it all the time.
Same for acne, that's a case where it makes sense to use some products because your skin is clearly failing to maintain itself, but again that doesn't mean you should do the same thing if you don't have such issues.
What causes skin cancer, UV radiation, can be higher on cloudy days. Dermatologists across the board recommend sunscreen every day.
But I agree some people don't need to do anything except sunscreen and they're fine. Some people choose to do extra even if they maybe don't need it, for a variety of reasons. My whole point is that there's no need to dunk on someone who chooses to take care of their skin in a different way than you need to. You don't know what OP faces and you yourself said more products can be warranted if you have any problems like acne or whatever.
I acknowledge that your point is some people don't need to do anything extra though I believe we disagree about the frequency of people who need more skin care products and who might benefit from a basic routine similar to OP's. I think most would benefit and you think it's not necessary for most people. We can genuinely agree to disagree without ragging on OP or people who have skincare routines in general.
It's because people have been using these products since childhood and they don't think about it anymore.
I agree with you personally. I don't use any products and my skin smells very good. And first thing people say when I say that is "people don't tell me I smell bad", because they can't imagine that someone can actually smell good without using any products.
Faulty generalization.
That and effective marketing campaigns, especially using influencers. It's Dutch but a local TV show recently had a good section about it, https://youtu.be/Ey8yvF6m5AU?t=1
Are you only here to spread negativity, or do you have any proof behind your claims? I'm not interested in opinions.
I think this is one of those cases where the burden of proof is on the person using the products, not on the one not using them. Your post is basically an advertising campaign for several of these products.
You do realize your body is supposed to maintain itself right? Of course some people will actually need some stuff because their body doesn't do it well enough, but if your body doesn't have actual problems there is no need to use any of these products.
You have answered your own epiplexis.
You missed the word "some". The human body had millions of years to evolve to a point where companies seem to think they can replace essential functions of it? Where is the logic in that? Some people (I'll make sure to emphasize it) have skin issues yes, because nature isn't perfect. They might need some product to help out. But by far the majority will be just fine without them.
That's partially the purpose of modern medicine [1].
References
No, I didn't.
This is conjecture.
Nah, we didn't evolve to live to 90, and people are maintaining so much better now. I think some intervention is appropriate. Everyone agrees you should brush your teeth, right? Not just rinse your mouth with water. The body is self maintaining only to a certain point and I can tell (from the way my mom and her mom, and my dad's parents and brothers) that the stuff I am doing is helping.
I do agree it's not ideal to exfoliate mechanically every day though, or to put cleanser all over you every day.
It would be, were I advocating for the products, which I am not. Perhaps you misread @[email protected]'s comment: They were making conjectured claims, which I called out.
Is it? I only stated the products that I use for the purpose of clarity, example, and critique.
Why don't you go and read scientific papers if you are not interested in opinions and claims?
Humans beings like to exchange ideas and experiences with eachother without being forced to show scientific evidence. Maybe you don't, which is fine, but maybe not tell others what to discuss then?
This is not a scientific journal, if you haven't noticed and picked the wrong url...
The burden of proof lies with the claimant.
I'm not forcing anybody to do anything. If one chooses to engage in conjecture, then that is their own prerogative, though, of course, I will dismiss it as such. There is also the ethical dilemma of choosing to not be a servant of Truth.
I think it's great that you have such good friends they're too polite to tell you how bad you smell 😊
Don't worry, they will tell me if I smell. I think it's interesting that you think you know me or my friends.