No Moisturizer

[Liya]

Until 3 years ago, I hardly ever moisturized my skin and it was perfect- no breakouts, dryness, oiliness, just well balanced. I became more concerned about taking better care of my skin, started using sunscreen, moisturizing, exfoliating etc. Since then, my skin has been a nightmare (mostly redness and clogged pores that turn into cysts) and I've tried everything to make it perfect again, except reverting back to my old ways. I've recently started washing with Cetaphil cleanser and trying to leave my skin alone- basic as possible. I refuse to stop wearing sunscreen, but I'm considering stopping with moisturizer. I read an interview recently with Scarlett Johansson and she doesn't moisturize. Here's an excerpt:

"Someone once told me that it's better to not use creams every day and just let your skin do its thing. I do use masks, though. I alternate between Jurlique's Purifying Mask, which feels kind of leafy and organic but is really good, and a hydrating one like the Clarins HydraQuench Cream-Mask." (elle.com)

I tend to agree with her approach, esp because my skin is also very sensitive. Does anyone else here use this approach? Any opinions and adivce would be greatly appreciated

 

[Gandharvika]

Sorry to hear about your problem. I am also somewhat of a minimalist. I am actually very suspicious of sunscreen products cause I have read the guidelines for measuring its actual blocking power & effectiveness arent that well defined. I also stay away from chemicals. So I always go with natural products, sometimes buy spf & such in Whole Foods. I live in S.FL & my skin is just fine. I read Miami is shockingly a city with the lowest # of skin cancer cases o)
Pure Coconut oil (SPF 9) & almond are my fave, but don't like too oily skin, so I don't put them on my face too often (mainly almond). I really like MyChelle products, great moisurizer without added perfumes.
My daily ritual is washing with back soap, and putting Aveda intensive hydrating masque on my face overnight, it's light & with aloe.

 

[tigerrouge]

I have oily skin, and moisturisers only seem to interfere with its natural condition. It only becomes dry if I overexfoliate, so I try to respect my skin by leaving it alone as much as I can, and I try to make sure the oil that my skin produces is based on a balanced diet.

 

[saann]

I wish this was the case for me, but I've always had problems with my skin.

However I do have several friends who do nothing to their skin and despite this, it's perfect. But I did have one friend who only used that classic Nivea blue box creme (on her face!!) and it was only when she started taking care of her skin by doing a 3 step cleanse, tone, moisturizer that her skin started acting weird.

So if you naturally have good skin, I do think using products can make it worse as it rubs the balance. But if your skin is already somewhat bad, finding the right products can do wonders.

 

[LittleMsSunshine]

I love Clinque, alot of products have perfumes, and my skin HATES HATES HATES those, i just turned 37 and people tell me i look like im in my late 20's, i tend to steer clear from little or no makeup, but really take care of your under eye area, thats a real tricky area for women, no matter the age, and clinque has a good record for my skin, it looks its best when i used their foaming face wash, & mostizer, alittle on the pricer side but SOOOO worth it

 

[MulletProof]

I have oily skin, and moisturisers only seem to interfere with its natural condition. It only becomes dry if I overexfoliate, so I try to respect my skin by leaving it alone as much as I can, and I try to make sure the oil that my skin produces is based on a balanced diet.

Similar approach/story here.

I resort to rosehip oil or aloe vera sometimes, mostly when the weather's too harsh (middle of winter/summer) or I have so much work and develop weird sleeping patterns. Other than that it seems like my skin thanks me when I let it do its own thing too..

 

[DumbBlonde]

I use a gentle cleanser, like Cetaphil, and I only use moisturizer when I feel that need it, but I wear a light sunscreen everyday, like Anthelios. When I need hydration I use Nivea Soft or Pond's Cold Cream, not every day. My grandmother have the same routine and her skin is great, so I believe that most of the time less is more with your skin, unless it it really dry or acne prone.

 

[Liya]

Thanks for all the opinions/tips! I'm going to keep up with the no moisturizer thing and see how it goes

 

[Esprit]

bump..can you keep us updated on this?

my skin seems better when I don't use moisturiser, yet all beauty articles/blogs/etc tell us to use it every day! am interested to hear a different view

 

[pixiedust1603]

I think it really depends on your skin type. Mine is oily so I don't really have to moisturise that much but I do cleanse and tone. I think it's important to just work with your skin as it will let you know if your doing too much or too little.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Liya]

I've been doing this no moisturizer thing for 2 weeks now..Seems to be working well. My skin is balancing itself naturally and I'm not breakout out like I used to when I applied moisturizer. I'm going to keep doing this and hopfully it'll be beneficial.

 

[Psylocke]

I didn't use moisturizer for about a year or so because I hated how much my skin got used to it. If I wouldn't use it twice a day my skin would get dried out immediately, to the extent where my nose and my chin got extremely flaky. That's why I then stopped using any other products besides cleansing gel and it did make my skin find its own balance after a few weeks. However, I felt that my pores had gotten bigger and my skin felt less smooth and looked more dull, so now I've gone back to using my favorite moisturizer for combination skin and I'm happy with how it makes my skin feel and look. I kind of want to go back to not using anything during winter though, since I know my skin will look awful anyway, haha.

 

[paspartou]

I have very dry, eczema-prone skin so I've been having to moisterize nearly my entire life to avoid flaking and itching. However, if I could go without moisterizer without having ugly flaky dry patches appear within a day I would in a heartbeat! My best friend only uses some moisterizer in winter when the weather/wind is really harsh, but otherwise she gets by with just a mild tonic to clean her face, and she really has amazing skin.

so yeah I agree with that if you have naturally good skin don't go messing with it because 'they' tell you you have to use moisterizer.

 

[Party_Vixen]

I ran out of my moisturizer a little while ago and ended up going a week without it but I started to breakout. Probably because my skin is combination and the extra bit of moisture I get from using a day cream really helps.

I don't moisturize at night though. Good to hear its working for you .

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

My skin is (usually) oily and I feel it can be more balanced out with moisturizer and seems to actually help me break out less. In recent days though my skin has been dried out which I though was because of something I used. Now I'm not sure because it hasn't really gone back to it's usual state and it's still pretty dry so now I really do have to moisturize. And I'm kind of annoyed that now that my skin is dryer is when I get breakouts. My skin had been good and clear in recent weeks.

 

[melikai]

I use Nivea in the blue tin around my eyes in the morning - only a little bit as it's very thick. I also love Embryolisse.
I also use Pond's cold cream sometimes too, mostly to remove makeup if I wear it (rarely).

I don't think you need moisturiser much if you don't wear makeup often. If you do, then you are usually "trapped" into needing moisturiser after you cleanse. That's why I like cold cream because it eliminates that step.

 

[Meym]

I quit using moisturizer about two months ago and while my skin is in no way perfect, it has gotten visibly less oily. My current routine is washing with Avéne Soapless Gel Cleanser morning and night, in the day just wear La Roche-Posay's Toleraine Teint Fluid Foundation and maybe a bit of blush, and if I feel my skin is a bit dry I'll sometimes put some plain almond oil on my face before going to sleep.

 

[Vega Magnus]

This may be something I'll try. My face gets very oily during the day and I don't recall it being quite so bad before I started using moisturizer. I'm not sure if the oiliness is caused by the moisturizer or by being outside more because it doesn't get so bad during the weekends when I stay inside. I may experiment with simply cleansing with Cetaphil in the morning and late afternoon and nothing else. I'm in the middle of trying to phase out most of my powerful anti-acne type stuff to make my skin less oily and red, so this could be a step in that process because my moisturizer has a little salicylic acid in it which probably does more harm than good.

 

[Kimkhuu]

I steer clear of moisturizers. Even Clinique oil free gel like moisturizer (that yellow thing) now breaks me out. And I read in a derm article from Vogue Paris that being in my 20s, putting creams is just way too much toxins you put in your skin. The only damn moisture I put is around my eyes (Dior youth something) cause I can't break out there, and Clarins eye sunscreen during daytime. That's it that's all cause I don't need it anywhere else.

Every once in a while if my skin is way too dry and white, I'll dab a bit of the clinique gel.

 

[Liya]

Bump!

So it's been 2 years since I started this thread haha. Still not using moisturizer and it's working for me. I make sure to take care of my body from the inside out, lots of green veggies, fruit, healthy fats. I stay away from refined sugar and processed foods. I drink tons of water and wear hats outside to protect my face from the sun (no sunscreen). It's made a huge difference in the quality of my skin, it's soft and it glows. This might sound gross, but I rarely put water on my face either. I just leave it alone. I only wear a bit of mascara, but no foundation at all, and rarely any blush - so I can get away with not washing my face. I think I'll start using aloe vera gel or something under my eyes though, since I'm 28 and should be taking care of that area.

How's everyone else?