Poll: what's the worst part of getting old?

I use E45 on my eczema breakouts on both my arse and my face. I don't if it is actually technically eczema on my face, but I get dry irritated skin around my eyes and it becomes itchy and turns into an eye rubbing nightmare if I don't get on top of it quick.

I get cracked heels and it sucks. My natural tendency is to run around barefoot, and I hate any kind of lotion. But now I wear socks around the house and put gross goop on my feet and I hate it.

i became a lotion freak after working at a lotion store for a few years— my skin looks shockingly good for someone my age who used to smoke. lotion and moisturizer are the way.

Yeah I've added face/forehead moisturizing to my daily routine after decades of not thinking about it. If I don't, the skin gets really dry within a day or two. That aging epidermis just doesn't take care of itself like it used to.

One of my favorite life lessons I remember was in a gym locker room in my 20s. There was a guy in I'd guess his early 60s happily slathering lotion on his feet. He saw me noticing and grinned and said, "Gotta get 20 more years out of these feet." That may be the first time I'd thought about the body in such a concrete, time-limited way.

Gym locker room guy OTM

I’ve noticed that my skin feels drier and drier as I age - gotta find a good, dependable body butter product and lock myself into the habit of regular use.

Ugh, hate all goops. I won’t use lip goo until my lips are cracked and bleeding.

Ideally, my skin would always be as dry as wasp wings. The lotion I use on my feet is in stick form so I don’t have to get it on my hands. My wife gave me some more liquidy goo for my feet and she caught me squeezing it out onto my heels and awkwardly rubbing my feet together so I wouldn’t have to touch it with my hands. She called me a big baby.

Yeah I’m team hate all goop.

https://i.imgur.com/7gCPYSV.jpg

HI DERE

Gym locker room guy OTM

Since 2019 I've had three different basal cell carcinomas frozen off of my head. Do that enough times and you'll finally wear a hat outside and use the goop when necessary. When Southern California gets super-dry, my feet dry out and crack like black canyons - gotta take care of that constantly.

I have a kneejerk "get over it" reaction to "I don't like it" as an excuse for not-doing something that needs to be done. Guess what, it's not up to you to like or dislike. Either moisturize your skin or see what happens when you don't. That is the choice. No one, including your skin, cares whether you like it or not.

The list of things you have to/must do that you may not like will continue to grow as you age so it's best to give in now to the simple things like moisturizing your skin imo.

(Note: the "i don't like it" excuse was very popular among my parents and I have seen what it did to them, hence my triggered reaction to "I don't like it")

I just had three basal cell carcinomas carved out my torso, arm and forehead (losing part of my eyebrow) this year! I now keep a wide-brimmed floppy archeologist's hat in the TJ's bag that I carry with me and use it whenever I'm in the sun.

xp Wait, when the hell did my wife join ILX?

Your skin looking at your anti-goop propaganda

https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2016/02/Gwyneth-Paltrow-Iron-Man.jpg

I developed a mild case of eczema on my legs a few years ago, and started moisturizing for the first time in my life on the advice of the dermatologist. It's been transformative.

Yeah sorry sensory issues with creams and lotions can be anywhere from mildly unpleasant to excruciating. I’m sure some people can just get over it, but for others, not so simple. But I guess we’ll learn our lesson in the end!

I'm with you. If lotion were sticky rather than goopy, I'd continue scratching.

As I get older, I can tell the weather is changing because I get these little cuts on my fingers and thumbs. They're tiny nicks, really, usually where the nail meets the skin at either edge of the digit. The thing is, they interfere with all sorts of finicky tasks (typing, tying a tie etc) and, as such, I'm constantly widening the cut or reopening them. They also seem to hurt an inordinate amount for what they are, the fuckers.

― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Monday, October 2, 2023 12:37 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

This year, the first cuts appeared in September ffs. Soon, I'm going to be one big open wound 3/4 of the year.

― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Monday, October 2, 2023

I hate that so much. Reaching into my pocket is the worst. I just end up with bandages on all my fingers.

― Jeff, Monday, October 2, 2023 12:39 PM

Yeah sorry sensory issues with creams and lotions can be anywhere from mildly unpleasant to excruciating. I’m sure some people can just get over it, but for others, not so simple. But I guess we’ll learn our lesson in the end!

― Jeff, Monday, October 2, 2023

good troll posts

i've been getting by on my natural moistness, which is good because i'm too lazy to do otherwise

I'm very good and using lotions and potions on my face but nowhere else. I don't have sensory issues that's juSt one step too many in the am. The in shower body lotion really works and somehow it doesn't feel like an extra step even though it still is. I do think those who don't like lotion would like it because you rinse it off and it's a totally diff sensation in the shower.

This type of thing: https://www.superdrug.com/skin/body-moisturisers/body-lotions/nivea-in-shower-body-moisturiser-for-dry-skin-250ml/p/659455?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1OmoBhDXARIsAAAYGSFLvCwA14Ewf8muKR4gx8xYLNa8sI6wqWL_qpDcocIP8y666VfLb3YaAoJzEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Just ordered some of that. I can maybe handle that.

I do not wish to police anyone else's skincare routine, but I am personally on team no goop.

People somehow managed for thousands of years before moisturizers were invented. And some sources say that if you use a product, you are training your body to need that product instead of doing things on its own. I can neither confirm nor deny that theory but it is out there.

What IS certain us that humans preexist the cosmetic industry.

Yeah and they were prob dry and leathery af.

;) Yes, that is a theory that is out there and who knows. There are also people who don't bathe because it disrupts the natural bacteria on the skin. I mean, it probably does. For natural body moisturizers coconut oil is amazing it can just be incredibly messy.

I hope the in-shower stuff is more tolerable! If it is, there are a few different brands that make a similar thing.

also just here to point out that many team no goop people are gendered as male, and part of the no goop thing is deeply ingrained ideas about who uses goop and who doesn’t.

i will be the first to tell you that the reason why many gay men look fabulous into their older years isn’t just because many never had children— it’s because binary ideas of who uses cosmetics don’t matter to us become they don’t, period.

Oh definitely. No question in my mind that all of that is sadly true.

I’m pretty happily gooped up so it’s not all sadly true.

I cook a lot so I am always washing my hands 27 times an evening. I use the goop nightly.

anyone want to recommend a good, relatively cheap, relatively "natural" moisturizer?

The thing I love about O'Keefe's working hands is it is not goopy. It's mainly humectants and salts that pull moisture from the air into your skin vs. being a goopy oily mess that tries to seal existing moisture in.

goop, goop beh doop

Map if you can handle being greasy and make sure you're careful in the shower etc - coconut oil is fantastic. Also anything with shea butter. Skin food by Weleda also great though smells v Herby which I like.

I am pretty sure that it's moisturizing that predates the industry. Oils, shea butter, masks etc have been used by women since the dawn of time.

V good point! Shea really is amazing.

good troll posts. Eh?

I didn't moisturise for years but started about five years ago and yep, it's definitely noticeable. I have naturally quite oily skin so only do cheeks and forehead at the moment but want to try legs this year. I've used aqueous cream in the past, which is good.

I guess what Jeff might be getting at is that goop related issues are more “worst part of getting middle-aged” rather than “getting old”… Old age has far worse indignities in store.

(Dan S rather)

Well, it is about getting old, not being old.

Right then, as a 61 year old smoker and drinker who regularly gets mistaken for being in his forties, I think it’s time I shared my Beauty Secrets! I wash my face every morning and evening with Kiehls Facial Fuel face wash, and I moisturise every morning with Kiehls Facial Fuel moisturiser (important: NOT the version with SPF protection, as that does feel like goop). They are both excellent products that don’t feel gross to use (ugh, Nivea, vile stuff), and I’ve been using them for years. Not the cheapest, but even when money has been tight, I’ve stuck with them (sometimes as birthday/Xmas presents from relatives, as they are perfect for putting on wish lists).

kiehls is good shit. i forgot i had this burt's bees sensitive skin body lotion. i done been puttin it on ma face. feels good!

nivea is super gross. it's what my mom always used. i like jojoba / argan for my beard. some kind of coconut / shea thing is probably good for me as a moisturizer. looking at the ingredients on the burt's bees - seems like a lot of weird stuff in there? though it does feel good. i might have to do some "research" lol.

My partner uses Argan oil on his face, and is almost evangelical about it. Still sticking with my Kiehls though!

I used to melt together shea butter, coconut oil, and a little jojoba (and let it set) for a homemade moisturizer although it can be a little greasy. You can also buy shea butter on its own and use that. There are a lot of natural options.

I'm bald and my beard is more salt than pepper. No amount of Kiehls miracle elixir is going to work. Plus, 40 notes for 125ml!

I was gonna say, Kiehl's is nice stuff (still have a couple of sachets from a gift pack years ago) but it's around 7-8x more expensive than supermarket brands like Nivea.
Captain Save-a-Nivea here.

haha. yeah i'm not gonna shell out for kiehls tbh. argan is probably my favorite of these 'skin stuff' oils tbh - i think i'll try it.

If you have a Nordstrom near you, the July yearly sale has Kiehl’s at a 30% discount. The 33.8 oz size Facial Fuel, usually $64, was $40ish. Needing a dime size or less, that’ll last a year for me.

Sunny out today. Should have worn my hat like Elvis Telecom.