r/OKOASkin

Hi. So, I've used a whole bunch of different lifting creams, but none of them seem to do what I want or need or really what I expect at all. I spent a lot of money and feel like I tried pretty much every lifting cream out there. So, please tell me: Which ones work as you wanted them to, and what do lifting creams actually DO? some say they will give instant lift, but it never seems like they do this for me. Even for ones where others say they felt instant lift.

There is a tipping point in skincare that I think future skincare hobbyists should understand much earlier.

When you are younger, most skincare goals are about changing something you can already see. Acne, pigmentation, texture, dryness, redness. You use something, wait, and hopefully see improvement.

Firmness is different.

By the time you are actively noticing laxity, jowling, deeper folds or skin starting to sit differently on the face, topical skincare has a much more limited job. It may improve texture, hydration and the overall quality of the skin, but that is not the same thing as physically lifting tissue.

So if firmness matters to you long term, the more useful question in your 20s and 30s is probably not what product will lift my face.

It is what helps me preserve the skin I have now.

That means sunscreen consistently, retinoids if appropriate and tolerated, keeping the skin barrier healthy, avoiding unnecessary irritation, and not treating every new active like something that needs to be added immediately.

The frustrating part is that prevention does not give you a dramatic before and after. You cannot really photograph the collagen loss or photoaging that did not happen.

And that makes it much less exciting than a cream promising visible lifting in a few weeks.

But I think this is one of those areas where understanding the timeline changes how you approach skincare completely. In your 30s, you may not be trying to make your skin look tighter today. You may be trying to arrive in your 40s, 50s and 60s having preserved more of what you started with.

Improving skin quality and actually lifting lax skin are not the same goal!

Hi, I am just thinking of how overwhelming it is for girls these days with all the different brands and actives and whatever. I felt that even when there were less products available decades ago. But now it's even crazier! Anyway, I just wanted to encourage people to share their cheap/ free solutions for skincare, to remind people of every age that it's not always necessary to buy the most expensive products to get the best result that you want.

I'll start. So using stuff around the house can be risky but also very effective if you do it right:

-I've used diluted apple cider vinegar as a toner,

-aspirin paste to dry out red pimples

-green tea as a soothing wash.