When it comes to skin care, expensive doesn't necessarily equal better, says Lancer. Oftentimes these super fancy-schmancy products are loaded with snazzy ingredients (stem cells, anyone?), which can yield allergic reactions and/or are typically way more than your skin needs, he adds. A good analogy for this is vitamins: If you're a generally healthy person, a daily vitamin should suffice, right? For example, you don't need thousands and thousands of extra units of Vitamin D per day, unless you know for a fact that you are deficient in it — which is often not the case. So basic moisturizers, cleansers and SPF products should work just fine for everyone.
The average woman who is interested in anti-aging benefits can take or leave toner, says Lancer. In general, toner is best for people with enlarged pores and excessive oil production; and for those with Rosacea-prone skin, a gentle toner is worth using, he adds. Otherwise, it's just an extra step and more money out of your pocket.
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Hydrating serum
When we ask Lancer about hydrating serums, he says, "for daily use, it's fluff." Basically it's "fluff" because alone it doesn't do too much. He explains that serum seals skin after an invasive procedure, so it is best used post-treatment. However, if you have sensitive, reactive skin all of the time, then using a serum will help soothe your skin.
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Creams designed for specific body parts
Try not to get sucked into the marketing ploy that you need different creams for each and every body part. Lancer says that a good body lotion can be used on all parts of your body — no special body-part-specific creams necessary. Try something like Nivea Cream, $3.79, which is effective on dry areas like hands, legs, elbows and feet.
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Age-reversing products
Anti-aging prevention is one thing, but trying to reverse signs of aging with a product is another story. People who already have fine lines and wrinkles will see minimal improvement (about 2-5 percent), by using over-the-counter anti-aging products, says Lancer, and will only see a drastic improvement in their lines and wrinkles via a surgical procedure or by using a prescription for something like a retinoic acid.
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We live in the infomercial era. As vulnerable consumers, we are lead to believe that something is wrong with us if we don't resemble a celebrity or supermodel, but that there is something we can buy to fix whatever is "wrong" with us. And worldwide, there are probably over 10,000 skin care companies trying to convince us that we need a different cream for each body part — from our pinky toes to our upper lip. But hey, we're not saying these skin care products are total hogwash and that you should stop using them stat, we're just saying that less really is more, and if you want to keep it simple, you can by ditching superfluous products and just using a few key items.
We gave dermatologist Dr. Harold Lancer a ring to help us figure out which skin care products (general product types, not necessarily specific products) for our face or body are totally unnecessary. With so many gimmicky things out there, we should at least be able to knock a few off our list, right?
Other than just buying and using his entire line (kidding), Lancer says that what most people really need is a good face and body wash and moisturizing sunblock — that's it. In fact, he says that the method of how you use a skin care product is actually more important than the actual product.
