moisteriser conundrum.......

[mimififi]

Hi guys,

I am going to be thirty this year and whereas I know this is not old, I don't feel I can ignore the importance of adequate moisterising any longer. I thought about this a year ago and decided that I didn't want to end up looking like the emporer (return of the jedi) when I was 80 and so bought some lovely Channel moisteriser and eye cream. However, after a few weeks I realised that I was actually allergice to it and it made my eyes sore and stream and made me very itchy.

So Question Time:

What is the best moisteriser out there? Criteria: smells nice, goes a long way (preferably), can be worn under make-up and is hypoallergenic.

I don't mind seperate day/ night creams, I just want to make sure I'm looking after my skin......

cheers m'dears!

[Goodsoulette]

smells nice unfortunately should be last on your list. I would recommend all skin care products to be Clinique, they are the best out there.Cliniques Dramamtically different moisturising lotion, is brilliant as you use how much you need its so good you can feel it quenching your skin. Use less for greast skin more for dry tis easy. If you really want one that smells nice hydra zen by Lancome is delicious to sniff, it comes in a cream and a lotion so you can use which consitency you prefer, I like stuff light but my friend prefers a cream which is heavier,

The cheaper high street stuff just doesnt cut it. Go to a department store and find out what you need from the clinique lady they are very good. Exfoliating is just as important in line prevention as moisturising by the way.

[lady_p_gold]

well I am a 'mature' lady and people say to me that I look younger than my years - personally I think it is mostly a load of complete hogwash and it don't make a hap'worth of difference. To keep younger looking there are two cardinal rules . ... don't smoke and stay out of the sun or use a high protection factor. Something cheap and cheerful will be fine as a moisturiser - Nivea, Superdrugs own make, any old thing - all those fancy expensive creams are just a waste IMHO - however obviously if you start going down the road of facial scrubs and collagen and things that is a whole different story.

[lady_p_gold]

Well that's the good thing about this site .. you get different opinions !

[Hermia]

I use Clinique as it suits my skin better than any others, but I don't like any of the other premium brands (they all upset my sensitive skin). I also think Nivea is really excellent and know lots of people that use it. There are also a good selection of different Nivea creams for differerent skin types.

[mimififi]

ummm, interesting, two conflicting ideas. I do use a clinique facial wash, so maybe I will stick with them. I do exfoliate too. I always wear sunblock as I burn really easily (have red hair, says it all really!).

I know that perfume shouldn't be on my list ( though I didn't actually write them in priority order, but I do have issues with smells, I have a very sensitive sense of smell......and well, there are some creams out there do smell gross.

I have used high street stuff before, but I do tend to react to a lot of them; Nivea is the worst, brings me out in terrible hives! Still, I shall think about it and see if anyone else has any other advice before making up my mind.

Big thank you to you two ladies (I think?) for taking the time to answer. I do appreciate it.

[shaneystar2]

I swear by what my Mum always did. Every day night and morning I cream my face with Boots cold cream. I then take a clean face flannel which is slightly rough ( I never put my flannels in the drier)wring it out in a hot a water as possible and really scrub all the cream off. Then use cold water to close the pores and a good moisturiser afterwards.My choice is Nivea. It's a cheap form of exfoliation really . I have a good complexion for my age and my Mum had lovely skin even up until she died at 92.

[Litchick]

I use all Nivea products (face and body). While it's on the lower end of price I love it -- I love the smell, the texture, and it really does the job!

[maxd]

I use the Liz Earle range of skincare stuff, which was actually recommended to me by someone on this site ages ago, and I love it. I have very sensitive skin which was also oily and spotty but it's a LOT better since I started using Liz Earle. It's priced somewhere in between Clinique/Lancome and Nivea and it lasts for ages. On the downside, you can only buy it in a few places in London, on the Isle of Wight or on QVC or t'internet.

[Impret-Sir]

As th outer layer of your skin, the epidermis, is essentially dead smearing goo onto it, however expensive that goo is, will have no real effect whatsoever. You can not moisturise skin from the outside, anymore than you can hair with conditioner, its all just marketing hype and preying on peoples fears of looking their age, wrapped up in phoney science mumbo-jumbo. Healthy skin is achieved, as lady-p-gold has said, by not smoking, eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water every day. Plus, some of us just have to learn to accept the fact that as we age this will be reflected in our skin. The best you can do is clean it thoughoughly to remove dirt, grease (sebum) and dead skin cells from the surface, then spend the money you saved in Debenhams on some fruit and veg!

[mimififi]

ummm, that's true I suppose, but why then do Doctors prescribe cream for exzma, dermatitus, psoriasis, etc. There has been significant research also into the drugs and creams they now prescribe to burns victims etc etc. Why would they do this if spreading goo on skin was pointless? Also, if skin is dead, it wouldn't matter if it got sunburned would it. I agree that the very top layers probably are, but you can absorb through your skin (the body's largest organ) all sorts of things, so you would absorb any nutrients in creams. Also, if it were true cream didn't help at all, why does diprobase really help my extremely dry skin? Why do emolients have any effect at all? You skin is a living organ I think. If cream had zero effect on skin, why would I react to it adversely?

I do eat a good diet (I'm coeliac so have to be very careful and eat probably, a better selection of foods than most people) I take vitimin and fish oil supplements and wear sunblock- even if Im out walking on a sunny winter's day!.

I appreciate your comments, but feel I have to disagree with you in there being no merit at all in moisterising. (Sorry, I hate disagreeing with people.) :-(

[Impret-Sir]

The medicinal creams you mention contain active ingredients, in other words drugs, and so yes, of course they will be absorbed through the lower skin levels, the dermis, into the blood. But 'moisture' is quite a different matter, and can not be added to the skin by rubbing it on. Sun burn is dangerous because it effects changes in skin cells deep in the dermis, well below the oter layers. To use the hair conditioner example again, adding cream to the surface of the skin, (like diprobase) gives the effect of your skin feeling soft, like your hair feeling smooth after using conditioner, but your skin is simply full of the cream, rather like filling a sponge with water, its not actually changing the constitution of the skin, thats why you have to keep re-aplying it, it just gets absorbed and/or evaporated. There was a large scientific trial done some years ago on all the high street anti-aging creams and their elaborate scientific claims, this concluded that basically it was all hog-wash, and simple soap and water was as much use as any of them, plus the aformentioned good diet etc. But hey! Im not trying to dissuuade you from using these products, if you can afford it and it makes you feel better then I say go for it!

[Kay]

I began using Nivea Cream in my 20's and I still use it although I use the lotion now. Im told I have "Young Looking Skin". I never said it:-) Im 57 btw.

[mycatis]

My mum is 49 and doesnt have any lines etc that show her age (I know it's not exactly old) she uses Nivea everynight and has done for years. She has also always told me to start young so I did. I started using Nivea soft when I was in my early 20s (the normal stuff is to heavy for me)

[joko]

I am 34 but most people think i am about 20-22.

I have used e45 cream for about 15 years.

on windy or rainy days i use a very fine layer of vaseline over my face - not my nose though - blackheads.

most expensive creams are just a rip off

[scorpio17]

if i was just to use simple soap and water like Impret-Sir suggested my skin would feel very dry and feel tight so i have to use some kind of moisturization

[lady_p_gold]

That is because you are using soap!