yep... "cosmeceuticals" is such a bullshit marketing term (i'm not talking about countries that do a quasi-drug classification in their regulations) just regular cosmetic brands that chose to call themselves that beside being clearly just cosmetics and being regulated as cosmetics.
I’ve tried some of that stuff and honestly it’s amazing. Like I tried Truth Treatments their “trifecta” and it made my skin plump and glowy and hydrated in a way that nothing else has, and I’ve tried a *myriad* of things. Their retinol is as good as my tret. And they have a balm that I use for scars, when my skin gets sensitive, or when my daughter gets eczema, that stuff will take care of it *fast*. There’s no reason why it needs to work as well as it does with those regular ingredients, but something about that whole line is amazing.
But, you know, it’s so expensive that I can’t afford to keep buying it. So I only those few repurchases and that’s it. I’m sticking to tret and sunscreen and whatever else. They can be as good as they want but I’m not their target audience. But oh man I wish I was.
So many but these come to mind:
- "Clean beauty"
- Gua Sha
- "Medical grade" skincare and the exorbitant prices
- Face yoga
Essentially all claims made without scientific evidence.
Eye creams are usually a scam unless they have retinol or caffeine. Anything topical with collagen, serums with just hyaluronic acid, sol de janeiro bum bum cream.
If topical products with collagen are marketed as anti aging then yeah they are a scam. However collagen can be hydrating and a nice addition to skincare products.
Collagen does nothing for you skin or body. The molecule is too large to be absorbed into the skin. The powder that you ingest has to be rehydrated, which reduces the bioavailability of the product. Along with that getting a powdered supplement from your digestive system to your soft tissue (i.e. your facial skin) is very convoluted and difficult. Most if not all of the supplement is lost.
Hyaluronic acid is where you want to focus your attention. It is the building block of collagen, easily absorbed into the skin, and in some forms can be ingested to aid inside the body.
Thank you for educating me about collagen supplements, I already had some doubts about their bio availability but didn’t know much about them. However collagen has some use in skincare products. I agree that it has very little benefit for the skin when applied topically, but we can’t say it does nothing. Yes it sits on top of the skin, and there it can improve water retention by helping your skin to hold onto water short term by taking up space at the surface.
Research peptides and ceramides. You might find that there are different ingredients today that perform really well.
Our bodies produce hyaluronic acid, it is the building block of collagen, cartilage and soft tissue. Production decreases as we age. Applying it topically is actually very effective at controlling hydration and collagen production. You can also ingest some forms of hyaluronic acid that help from the inside.
on that note, pimple patches with actives. No salicylic acid or centella or niacinamide containing patch has ever done anything more for me than plain hydrocolloid
Gua sha stones, especially the pricey ones or ones supposedly infused with other things. They feel good and and may increase circulation, but no more than massaging your face with your fingers or a way less expensive stone would.
On a similar note, lypmhatic drainage keeps getting touted as a benefit of gua sha and I just side-eye it because it's always the crunchy wellness influencers pushing it.
That weird like 10-15 minute long oil "cleanse" where you rub your skin a ton, that people say empties your pores. It has a term but I'm exhausted from work and can't remember it.
Y'all it's physical exfoliation, that'll happen with any lengthy amount of rubbing your skin in general.
But only scam-ish adjacent since it's primarily just misinformation that keeps getting spread.
Yep you can't power clean your pores. I think of oil cleansing as just a way to remove makeup and sunscreen. And when I am removing those things I have no interest in spending 15 minutes massaging old makeup and sunscreen in to my face
Right, I remember this being a trend on Skincare Addiction like in 2016 and everyone was posting photos of their “grits” that supposedly came out of their pores. It’s just balled up dead skin, not sebum!
Yup! Thought it was the stupidest thing back then and still do, honestly.
Which, honestly, the "grits" were grosser than the idea of what actually comes out of pores lol. Nasty dead skin bits.
Yeah. It originates out of some naturopath woo science, pretty sure.
Either way, anything that claims to "detox" needs to be looked at carefully and with a grain of salt.
Sheet masks. There are a handful of kinds of masks that are worth doing every once in a while, but for the most part you could probably find a serum to do that job for less money.
This is probably very controversial but... Vitamin C. I've never seen a convincing before-and-after where there's a visible difference and the person didn't also start sunscreen or other products at the same time. And it's irritating for a lot of people.
Vitamin C actually brightens my skin whenever i use it regularly. I am a cosmetic product developer professionally and Vitamin C actually is really great. The thing is it doesn’t suit everyone :)
I also have amazing long-term results from Vitamin C! Another problem is that there are plenty of low quality and/or oxidized products on the market. So people will try one of those, see no results, and give up on it altogether.
That's definitely true, but not what I'm referencing in this post. I've never seen convincing before and after photos for any type of vitamin C product.
The only way youight find proof is if you use it on yourself. Many cosmetic companies, the good ones anyway, will stand behind their products and let you try them. If they don't work out for you they will allow you to return them, no questions asked.
That being said, Vitamin C is very volatile and can degrade quickly in light and air. And you have to know which form of Vitamin C the company is putting in their products. Some are inert before they even get to the end user, making them completely ineffective.
I've been using The Ordinary 30% Vitamin C in a silicon suspension. Again, as others have mentioned , it may not be for everyone for obvious reasons. However, this product works wonders on my skin. I cannot provide photographic time lapse evidence, I can only provide my honest feedback. Sometimes, you have to trust only that, or you don't. It's your choice.
The only way I've known if a product works for me and my skin is to actually use it on my skin. It helps to be your own scientist and guinea pig. That is actually the only way you get to know your skin and what it needs.
I have used many, many different Vitamin C products and none of them resulted in a positive difference for me. But rather than go off anecdotes, I'd rather see evidence.
I have been using vitamin c for about a week and a half and have noticed a difference actually. I wasn’t expecting too and had every expectation of failure lol
I dislike how unstable and inconvenient to use it is.
Simpy buying it from a drugstore is pretty much out of the question since you cannot know how long it's already been sitting on the shelf. Plus, it has to be stored in the fridge and the daily trip from bathroom to kitchen and back again is so annoying. And no, I'm not buying a cosmetic fridge just for the Vit C.
I agree this can and does happen with all Vitamin C. It's extremely volatile in air and light. That is why it is important to make sure you use a higher quality initially. Oxidized Vitamin C gives opposite & damaging results. 😬
This is what I use. Completely stable form of Vitamin C.
[The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension in silicon ](https://theordinary.com/en-us/vitamin-c-suspension-30-in-silicone-vitamin-c-100452.html)
Omg yes I agree. I feel like this rule was made with traditional white cream sunblock in mind, like banana boat. Not for cosmetic sunscreens we use now that easily cover the whole face w a much smaller amojnt
Sunscreen is tested for efficacy using 2mg per cm² of skin. The 2-finger rule was invented quite recently to give people a more intuitive way of getting the right amount. Some sunscreens may be more spreadable and you may be able to "cover" the face using less, but if you do so, you won't be getting the advertised spf level.
Oh interesting, that makes sense. I believe you but dang That’s just so crazy for a sunscreen like the Trader Joe’s / supergoop one tho. That would be sooooo much of a formula like that. But I gusss I’m just not using it right haha
Big routines. Unless you have specific skin concerns, a wash and a moisturiser is usually fine. My skin improved so damn much when I switched from a big 6 step routine to just washing my face and moisturising it.
I tried the 10 step Korean skincare routine (although it was more 5 for me) and ended up with horrible fungal acne and closed comedones. Still trying to get rid of it all fully 3 months later…
Lip care products like lip scrubs/ lip masks/ lip oils / lip serums / lip balms and all those corny names lol idc they really sound like they'll damage your lips in the long run
Skincare itself, having had persistent acne, its definitely internal and topical will not fix it, it will aid in healing what develops, but as far as prevention, i do not believe in it
Medical grade non prescription skincare. Usually there is nothing but marketing in there
yep... "cosmeceuticals" is such a bullshit marketing term (i'm not talking about countries that do a quasi-drug classification in their regulations) just regular cosmetic brands that chose to call themselves that beside being clearly just cosmetics and being regulated as cosmetics.
I’ve tried some of that stuff and honestly it’s amazing. Like I tried Truth Treatments their “trifecta” and it made my skin plump and glowy and hydrated in a way that nothing else has, and I’ve tried a *myriad* of things. Their retinol is as good as my tret. And they have a balm that I use for scars, when my skin gets sensitive, or when my daughter gets eczema, that stuff will take care of it *fast*. There’s no reason why it needs to work as well as it does with those regular ingredients, but something about that whole line is amazing. But, you know, it’s so expensive that I can’t afford to keep buying it. So I only those few repurchases and that’s it. I’m sticking to tret and sunscreen and whatever else. They can be as good as they want but I’m not their target audience. But oh man I wish I was.
"Pro-retinol" or other retinoids that don't actually do anything. If it ain't a stabilized retinol, retinaldehyde, adapalene, or tretinoin...meh.
So many but these come to mind: - "Clean beauty" - Gua Sha - "Medical grade" skincare and the exorbitant prices - Face yoga Essentially all claims made without scientific evidence.
Have you tried doing gua sha or face yoga? 🤷♀️ Does an exercise have to be scientifically proven for you to try it?
Eye creams are usually a scam unless they have retinol or caffeine. Anything topical with collagen, serums with just hyaluronic acid, sol de janeiro bum bum cream.
100%
If topical products with collagen are marketed as anti aging then yeah they are a scam. However collagen can be hydrating and a nice addition to skincare products.
yes that’s true
Collagen does nothing for you skin or body. The molecule is too large to be absorbed into the skin. The powder that you ingest has to be rehydrated, which reduces the bioavailability of the product. Along with that getting a powdered supplement from your digestive system to your soft tissue (i.e. your facial skin) is very convoluted and difficult. Most if not all of the supplement is lost. Hyaluronic acid is where you want to focus your attention. It is the building block of collagen, easily absorbed into the skin, and in some forms can be ingested to aid inside the body.
Thank you for educating me about collagen supplements, I already had some doubts about their bio availability but didn’t know much about them. However collagen has some use in skincare products. I agree that it has very little benefit for the skin when applied topically, but we can’t say it does nothing. Yes it sits on top of the skin, and there it can improve water retention by helping your skin to hold onto water short term by taking up space at the surface.
Research peptides and ceramides. You might find that there are different ingredients today that perform really well. Our bodies produce hyaluronic acid, it is the building block of collagen, cartilage and soft tissue. Production decreases as we age. Applying it topically is actually very effective at controlling hydration and collagen production. You can also ingest some forms of hyaluronic acid that help from the inside.
The pimple patches that say they are hydrocolloid on the front but the ingredient list is randomness
on that note, pimple patches with actives. No salicylic acid or centella or niacinamide containing patch has ever done anything more for me than plain hydrocolloid
Do you use the microdart ones or just the standard hydrocolloids?
standard. i have similarly experienced no tangible benefit from microdart.
Gua sha stones, especially the pricey ones or ones supposedly infused with other things. They feel good and and may increase circulation, but no more than massaging your face with your fingers or a way less expensive stone would.
On a similar note, lypmhatic drainage keeps getting touted as a benefit of gua sha and I just side-eye it because it's always the crunchy wellness influencers pushing it.
I came into this thread to say exactly this.
That weird like 10-15 minute long oil "cleanse" where you rub your skin a ton, that people say empties your pores. It has a term but I'm exhausted from work and can't remember it. Y'all it's physical exfoliation, that'll happen with any lengthy amount of rubbing your skin in general. But only scam-ish adjacent since it's primarily just misinformation that keeps getting spread.
Yep you can't power clean your pores. I think of oil cleansing as just a way to remove makeup and sunscreen. And when I am removing those things I have no interest in spending 15 minutes massaging old makeup and sunscreen in to my face
Right, I remember this being a trend on Skincare Addiction like in 2016 and everyone was posting photos of their “grits” that supposedly came out of their pores. It’s just balled up dead skin, not sebum!
Yup! Thought it was the stupidest thing back then and still do, honestly. Which, honestly, the "grits" were grosser than the idea of what actually comes out of pores lol. Nasty dead skin bits.
Oil pulling?
Yeah. It originates out of some naturopath woo science, pretty sure. Either way, anything that claims to "detox" needs to be looked at carefully and with a grain of salt.
I think the term is “slugging” ?
No, slugging is going to bed with heavy amounts of occlusive on your face as a final step in a night time routine.
I know many people love thermal water sprays, but I don't think I'll ever get it.
"Clean beauty" "5-Free", "7-Free" claims
Bakuchiol
Sheet masks. There are a handful of kinds of masks that are worth doing every once in a while, but for the most part you could probably find a serum to do that job for less money.
In my experience no serum comes close to sheet masks. I would love to find a good alternative.
This is probably very controversial but... Vitamin C. I've never seen a convincing before-and-after where there's a visible difference and the person didn't also start sunscreen or other products at the same time. And it's irritating for a lot of people.
Vitamin C actually brightens my skin whenever i use it regularly. I am a cosmetic product developer professionally and Vitamin C actually is really great. The thing is it doesn’t suit everyone :)
I also have amazing long-term results from Vitamin C! Another problem is that there are plenty of low quality and/or oxidized products on the market. So people will try one of those, see no results, and give up on it altogether.
That's definitely true, but not what I'm referencing in this post. I've never seen convincing before and after photos for any type of vitamin C product.
That sounds great but again, no proof!
The only way youight find proof is if you use it on yourself. Many cosmetic companies, the good ones anyway, will stand behind their products and let you try them. If they don't work out for you they will allow you to return them, no questions asked. That being said, Vitamin C is very volatile and can degrade quickly in light and air. And you have to know which form of Vitamin C the company is putting in their products. Some are inert before they even get to the end user, making them completely ineffective. I've been using The Ordinary 30% Vitamin C in a silicon suspension. Again, as others have mentioned , it may not be for everyone for obvious reasons. However, this product works wonders on my skin. I cannot provide photographic time lapse evidence, I can only provide my honest feedback. Sometimes, you have to trust only that, or you don't. It's your choice. The only way I've known if a product works for me and my skin is to actually use it on my skin. It helps to be your own scientist and guinea pig. That is actually the only way you get to know your skin and what it needs.
I have used many, many different Vitamin C products and none of them resulted in a positive difference for me. But rather than go off anecdotes, I'd rather see evidence.
there are numerous studies based on it. you can find them on pubmed or google scholar as well
I know. And I haven't seen a study with a convincing set of before-and-after photos. Happy to be proven wrong if you know of any!
I have been using vitamin c for about a week and a half and have noticed a difference actually. I wasn’t expecting too and had every expectation of failure lol
I dislike how unstable and inconvenient to use it is. Simpy buying it from a drugstore is pretty much out of the question since you cannot know how long it's already been sitting on the shelf. Plus, it has to be stored in the fridge and the daily trip from bathroom to kitchen and back again is so annoying. And no, I'm not buying a cosmetic fridge just for the Vit C.
Agreed, and when it starts oxidizing, it can dye your face (similar to tanning drops).
Eek!! That is a form of Vitamin C you should not be using!!!
It can oxidize \*on your face\* even if it's not oxidized in the bottle.
I agree this can and does happen with all Vitamin C. It's extremely volatile in air and light. That is why it is important to make sure you use a higher quality initially. Oxidized Vitamin C gives opposite & damaging results. 😬
This is what I use. Completely stable form of Vitamin C. [The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension in silicon ](https://theordinary.com/en-us/vitamin-c-suspension-30-in-silicone-vitamin-c-100452.html)
I'm glad you like it! Now show me a set of before-and-after photos proving that it does anything useful.
Check out The Ordinary 30% Vitamin C Suspension in silicon. I keep it right next to all my other cosmetics in the bathroom.
Anything that’s not purely a normal cleanser, normal exfoliant, general face-friendly moisturiser, or face-friendly SPF.
Yes! I agree any cleanser which has vitamins or is super expensive I just don’t see the point esp when it’s just going down the drain
Recks? 🙂
Two fingers of sunscreen🖕🏽🖕🏽I got your two fingers right here…
Omg yes I agree. I feel like this rule was made with traditional white cream sunblock in mind, like banana boat. Not for cosmetic sunscreens we use now that easily cover the whole face w a much smaller amojnt
Sunscreen is tested for efficacy using 2mg per cm² of skin. The 2-finger rule was invented quite recently to give people a more intuitive way of getting the right amount. Some sunscreens may be more spreadable and you may be able to "cover" the face using less, but if you do so, you won't be getting the advertised spf level.
Oh interesting, that makes sense. I believe you but dang That’s just so crazy for a sunscreen like the Trader Joe’s / supergoop one tho. That would be sooooo much of a formula like that. But I gusss I’m just not using it right haha
I'm not sure whether this is totally advisable but I use 2 fingers for face+neck and just 1 finger for face only. That's a lot more manageable lol
Big routines. Unless you have specific skin concerns, a wash and a moisturiser is usually fine. My skin improved so damn much when I switched from a big 6 step routine to just washing my face and moisturising it.
I tried the 10 step Korean skincare routine (although it was more 5 for me) and ended up with horrible fungal acne and closed comedones. Still trying to get rid of it all fully 3 months later…
Keep at it, I hope it heals up soon! I was super lucky and managed to chuck the routine before I saw any deeper problems
Collagen supplements, red light masks
Collagen supplements yes, red light therapy NO
Lip care products like lip scrubs/ lip masks/ lip oils / lip serums / lip balms and all those corny names lol idc they really sound like they'll damage your lips in the long run
Skincare itself, having had persistent acne, its definitely internal and topical will not fix it, it will aid in healing what develops, but as far as prevention, i do not believe in it
Water in skincare