I Can't Believe I Fell for It


I always internally scoffed at skin “serums” and the suckers who paid a premium for them. You can buy a face cream for $8, but call it a serum and it goes for $24—for a fraction of the amount. (And that’s the cheap drug store serum.) What a racket! Who would fall for this scam? Haha!

Then I read about hyaluronic acid. Google it if you’re unfamiliar—there are too many articles to link. This sounded quite legitimate to me. This substance naturally found in the skin attracts and retains water, making it an excellent moisturizer. Like everything else in the body, we lose it as we age. But it’s OK, because you can buy a serum with hyaluronic acid in it! The reviews are amazing!




So I did it. I bought Neutrogena Hydro Boost because it was only $20, I could get it at Rite Aid, and it’s “#1 dermatologist recommended.” It smells and feels wonderful. It’s lovely to use. The thing is, I still look 49. See, I made a strategic error: As previously noted, I do not possess a “skin care regimen.” My regimen is washing my face in the shower (sometimes with soap—yikes) two or three times a week and using a random assortment of budget face creams. No product that you apply to your skin twice a week is going to make a noticeable difference (duh). Also, and this is how they get you, the serum was a reasonable $20, but you’re supposed to use the whole LINE of Hydro Boost products to get results. Oh.

I always used to say I’d never get sucked into wasting $$$ on expensive “anti-aging” skin products. When your skin truly starts to look its age, though, it can be rather disconcerting. People mistook me for a teenager until my late twenties, but my skin has caught up to my chronological age, and I now understand the impulse. At the rate I’m using it, this serum will last at least a year, and I won’t replace it. I’m going to work on my mindset instead. Acceptance is free.

Comments

  1. You (and I) come by this naturally. After Mom died when we were cleaning out her bathroom, I found a stash of "eye cream" (one just opened and one brand new). She had apparently bought it online, based on some advertising that promised her youthful looks. I also found notes on her desk about how she called to try and cancel some recurring product purchase she had "inadvertently" subscribed to. I gathered that it was the eye cream. I kind of appreciated that even at age 78, she believed that an eye cream would... do things to make her look "youthful."

    I scooped up the eye stuff and started using it, but I don't know what kind of difference I"m supposed to see. I don't notice anything. I just wash morning and night with drug store face wash and moisturize twice a day with drug store creams (Olay brand). One of the creams has SPF and the other promises it will fight "wrinkles." But at a certain point I do wonder, who am I trying to fool and why do I care?? Well, if we're going by mom's example, I have at least 25 more years to "care."

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  2. I'm gonna try SO HARD not to fall into this trap. Moisturizing is important, but what are you gonna do: make old skin not old? No.

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