Alice’s Skincare Journey: What’s Changed Over The Years

I feel as if I’ve been using skincare all my life. But when the Tweakments team challenged me to write about how my skincare has changed over time, well, this is what I came up with… 

12-16 – no idea

In stark contrast to today’s teens, I was blissfully ignorant about skincare. But, I had blackheads on my nose, which bothered my mother, so she got me a face wash called Phisohex. I used it dutifully, and it made my skin feel horribly dry and tight but did nothing for the blackheads.

Recently, I’ve discovered it contained hexachlorophene – a skin-stripping germicide that was used as a surgical scrub. It was discontinued in the States in 1972 when the FDA halted the production of anything with more than 1% of the stuff* (because they said it could be absorbed through the skin and cause neurological damage), but it was widely available in the UK through the mid-1970s. Hey, my skin survived this though, and other common teen practices like putting toothpaste on our spots, turning our faces orange with Quick Tan, and covering ourselves in baby oil whenever we got a chance to sunbathe. We had no idea.

Late Teens – use-when-necessary

Once I started using makeup, I took to using Anne French Deep Cleansing Milk to get it off, which felt wildly sophisticated, and somewhere along the line I became fond of Astral moisturiser (still a great product. Joanna Lumley is a fan). My mum had Oil of Ulay, as it was then called, on her dressing table, but I didn’t like it. It was pale pink and felt weedy. I much preferred the sturdier texture of Astral’s whipped cream.

Twenties: the Clarins years

I’m sure that royal blue pot of Astral was the only skincare product on my sink at uni in the early 1980s but once I had secured not just a job but also a salary, I was lured to the Selfridges beauty counters. There mesmerised by the luxurious ambiance and beautiful salespeople on the Clarins counter I became a devotee of their glorious cleansers, toners, moisturisers and oils, which became my staples for the next 10 years.

Sunscreen? Only on holiday, and then only a factor 6. Now, I flinch, but back then, even that seemed pretty responsible.

Late 30s: The ‘magic creams’ phase

This all changed when I began writing about beauty, wellness and aesthetics, some 25 years ago. I joined Cosmetic Executive Women, the networking group for beauty professionals and was overwhelmed to discover a whole industry full of super-smart women who didn’t just think face creams were hope in a jar. Their companies had products with ingredients that had been shown to do extraordinary things for the skin; plant extracts and minerals that could have transformative effects. I was beyond excited when my boss slipped me a pot of the newly launched Crème de la Mer (she had been sent an extra one). It was scandalously expensive at £100, and it gave me spots, but the excitement of using it was intense. Dr Perricone’s Face Firming Activator, even more scandalously expensive, gave me rather better results.

Forties: The ‘anti-ageing’ era.

By now, I was using everything that came my way, with enthusiasm, particularly the new ‘anti-ageing’ potions, which offered proof, or at least a scientific rationale, for how well they worked. There was even one created by a real rocket scientist. Anyone remember Beta-Alistine?  By the time the new No7 Protect & Perfect serum hit the headlines in 2007 I was already onto stronger stuff, like SkinCeuticals’ CE Ferulic Acid (still a favourite) and retinoids from brands that my practitioner-friends were keen on, like Neostrata. Oh. And sunscreen! All the dermatologists I’d ever met banged on about the importance of protecting the skin from UV rays, and eventually, the message sank in.

Fifties: the stuff that really works.

It’s quite simple really. Use effective products – ones with decent active ingredients, with effective delivery mechanisms to get them into the skin, which are put together in thoughtful formulations – and your skin will thank you. And don’t overuse them. More is not more with skincare.

I haven’t adapted my skincare as I went through menopause; I’ve had hormone supplementation since my late forties, and the knock-on effect of that is that my skin has stayed much the same (still a bit oily down the middle, still prone to blackheads). If your skin is changing with the years, adapt your products to suit. If menopause is making your skin drier, double down on hydration. It doesn’t have to be a special menopause serum in a purple package to do this.

Once I’d found a regime that worked for me – a vitamin C serum, a hydrating serum, a retinoid, something glycolic for non-retinoid days, maybe some peptides for collagen-boosting, with a supporting cast of cleansers, moisturisers and sunscreens – I was all set. I’ve linked to some of my favourites below which are in The Tweakments Guide shop (where we have 20% off right now!). For sure, I love trying out the wide variety of products that land on my desk, and some of these newcomers join my inner circle, but I know what works for me and try to stick with it.

The shopping list (with 20% off)

The vitamin C serum: Revision C+ Correcting Complex 30%, £164.80

The hydrating serum: Alastin HA-Immerse Serum, £80

The peptide serum: Meder Beauty Arma-Lift Age Well Firming Concentrate, £92

The retinoid: Medik8 Crystal Retinal, £36

The glycolic: NeoStrata Foaming Glycolic Wash, £18.40

The moisturiser: Profhilo Haenkenium Cream, £62.40

The cleanser: Epionce Milky Lotion Cleanser, £24.80

The sunscreen: Intradermology Synergy 6 NX-Gen SPF 50, £67.20

Sixties: sticking with results-led products

What have I learned from all this? That being consistent with skincare is key to keeping your skin in good health, which is what it’s all about. You want your skin to have a good barrier, to be calm, to generally behave itself. That skincare doesn’t have to be complicated (I’ve written a whole book, Start with Skincare, about keeping things simple and practical in the face of the hugely confusing mass of skincare information that confronts us all online.)  And if you use only one product, make it a hydrating sunscreen that you pop on every morning. That would be my desert-island product, and I reckon it would see me through.

*Note on hexachlorophene: Products with more than 1% hexachlorophene were removed from sale in 1972, after a batch of baby powder in France was mistakenly manufactured with 6% hexachlorophene, and proved to be toxic (39 babies died and many more suffered central nervous system damage).