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The world of skincare can be confusing. One minute, we’re told we need a complicated 10-step routine; the next, we’re encouraged to strip everything back. New ingredients seem to appear all the time, each promising smoother, firmer-looking skin.
With so much information, and misinformation out there, it can be difficult to know which advice is worth listening to. The good news is that when it comes to caring for mature skin, there are some things we know much more about than others.
So, to help make sense of it all, we’ve partnered with Renew + Me, a medical skincare brand offering personalised treatments for skin changes that come with age. From whether more products really deliver better results to what happens to our skin during menopause, here are seven common skincare myths and what the science actually says.
1. Myth – your skin needs the same things at 60 as it did at 30
If products you’ve relied on for years suddenly don’t seem to be working as well, it probably isn’t your imagination. Our skin changes throughout our lives and, for women, the hormonal changes surrounding menopause can be particularly significant. Oestrogen plays several important roles in skin health, and falling levels are linked with changes in collagen, elasticity, and moisture.
A 2025 review found that declining oestrogen during menopause contributes to reduced collagen production and elasticity, as well as moisture loss, dryness, and changes in skin texture. Earlier research similarly found a strong relationship between the loss of skin collagen and oestrogen deficiency around menopause.
These changes can mean that the skincare routine that worked well for you years ago may no longer feel right. You might find your skin is drier, for example, or that products that once felt nourishing are no longer rich enough.
This is also why age alone doesn’t necessarily tell you what your skin needs. Renew + Me’s Nightly Active Treatment takes into account your individual skin, health, and lifestyle – because while ageing happens to all of us, our skin doesn’t age in exactly the same way.
2. Myth – the more products you use, the better your results
It’s easy to assume that an effective skincare routine should involve a bathroom shelf packed with fancy products. But more isn’t necessarily better.
A complicated routine can make it difficult to work out which products are actually benefiting your skin – and using several active ingredients at once can make it trickier to tell which one is responsible if your skin becomes irritated.
Rather than focusing on the number of steps, it can be more helpful to think about what each product is doing. A simple routine built around cleansing, moisturising, sun protection, and carefully chosen active ingredients is often enough for many people.
Renew + Me’s Nightly Active Treatment is built with simplicity in mind. Rather than having to choose and layer several products yourself, multiple active ingredients are combined in one personalised nightly treatment.
So, if you’re unsure, it may be worth thinking less about how many products you’re using and more about whether the ingredients you’re applying actually have a reason to be there.
3. Myth – lines are simply down to getting older
Lines are a normal part of ageing, and no skincare product can stop the passage of time, nor should it. But age isn’t the only reason our skin changes.
Skin changes with age are generally divided into two types: intrinsic ageing, which happens naturally over time, and extrinsic ageing, which is influenced by outside factors. One of the biggest extrinsic influences is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, which contributes to what’s known as ‘photoageing’.
This means that while ageing is a natural process, some outside factors, like sun exposure, can affect how our skin changes over time. And one of the simplest ways to look after your skin as it changes is by wearing sunscreen regularly.
In one Australian randomised controlled trial, researchers followed 903 adults under 55 for four-and-a-half years. Those instructed to use broad-spectrum sunscreen every day were 24% less likely to show increased signs of age-related skin changes than those told to use it at their discretion.
So, if you’re investing in skincare but skipping SPF, this is something worth thinking about. Regularly using a broad-spectrum sunscreen won’t change the lines you already have, which are a natural part of ageing, but it can help protect your skin from further UV-related damage.
One nightly step for glowing skin
Take the guesswork out of your routine with a personalised treatment subscription, designed to deliver glowing skin in one simple nightly Twist + Click®. Try from £6.99.
£6.99 for the first month, £19.99 for the second month, then £29.99 per month ongoing. Subscription terms apply.
4. Myth – retinol is the strongest ingredient available for mature skin
If you’ve taken an interest in skincare, you’ll almost certainly have heard of retinol. It’s become one of the beauty industry’s most talked-about ingredients. But retinol is actually just one member of a much bigger family.
Retinoids are derivatives of vitamin A, and they come in different forms and strengths. Retinol is the most widely used, but it sits at the gentler end of the family, and there are far more potent retinoids out there.
Renew + Me’s Nightly-Active-Treatment is built around an advanced retinoid that works 20x harder than standard retinols to accelerate skin renewal. Each treatment is personalised: you complete an online consultation, which is reviewed by the brand’s Dermatology Team, and your formula is tailored to your skin. It can include supporting ingredients such as niacinamide.
These evidence-backed ingredients are designed to support skin renewal and can help with concerns some people have about pigmentation, uneven texture and the look of fine lines.
5. Myth – if your skincare stings or peels, it means it’s working
We’ve probably all heard some version of “no pain, no gain”. But when it comes to skincare, discomfort isn’t a sign that a product is doing a particularly good job.
Some potent active ingredients, including retinoids, can cause dryness, redness, peeling, or irritation – but that irritation isn’t what makes them effective. And if a product leaves your skin so uncomfortable that you stop using it, you won’t get much benefit in the long run.
That’s why supporting your skin barrier and finding a treatment you can tolerate are important, too – particularly when you’re using retinoids.
With this in mind, Renew + Me recently reformulated the base cream used in its Nightly Active Treatment, making it richer. The aim is to make the treatment more hydrating and easier for skin to tolerate, while helping to minimise irritation.
It’s important not to judge your skincare by how much you can feel it, and remember that when it comes to active ingredients, stronger sensations don’t necessarily mean stronger results.
6. Myth – it’s too late to start skincare once your skin has changed
Prevention matters, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to look after your skin. Skincare isn’t about hiding ageing, and it’s worth being wary of anything promising to erase lines overnight. But if you’d like to support your skin’s texture and tone, some ingredients have been shown to improve the appearance of sun-related skin changes when used consistently.
As we’ve already seen, advanced retinoids can improve the look and feel of sun-affected skin, including its texture and pigmentation. But there’s evidence that regular sun protection may improve some visible signs of sun damage, too. In a year-long study, people who used an SPF30 sunscreen every day showed improvements, particularly in skin texture, clarity, and pigmentation.
The important thing, though, is time. Skin changes don’t happen overnight, and neither do the results from skincare. So, rather than constantly switching products in search of a quick fix, it can be better to find a routine that works for your skin and then give it time to do its job.
Skincare that can keep up with you
A personalised treatment subscription designed by dermatologists to evolve with your skin’s changing needs, with ongoing expert support along the way. Try from £6.99.
£6.99 for the first month, £19.99 for the second month, then £29.99 per month ongoing. Subscription terms apply.
7. Myth – there’s one ‘best’ skincare ingredient for mature skin
If you spend enough time reading about skincare, you’ll encounter plenty of ingredients described as the one thing everybody over a certain age should be using. But it’s important to remind yourself that mature skin isn’t a single skin type.
For one person, the biggest concern might be fine lines; for another, it could be pigmentation, dryness, redness, uneven texture, or adult acne. Skin sensitivity varies too, and an ingredient or strength that suits one person perfectly may be too much for somebody else.
This is where expert advice can be useful – particularly if you’ve reached the point where you’re buying one promising serum after another without really knowing what your skin needs.
Renew + Me takes a personalised approach. After you’ve completed an online consultation covering your skin, health, and lifestyle and submitted makeup-free photos, its Dermatology Team reviews your information. If treatment is suitable for you, they’ll create a Nightly Active Treatment with a formulation selected for your skin. You’ll also have access to ongoing support from skincare specialists, so you can discuss your formulation if your skin changes.
In other words, the answer may not be finding the ingredient everyone else is talking about; it’s finding the evidence-backed ingredients that make sense for your skin specifically.
Final thoughts…
When it comes to caring for mature skin, more complicated doesn’t necessarily mean more effective. What matters is choosing ingredients with evidence behind them, protecting your skin from further sun damage, and finding a routine that not only works for your skin but that you can stick to, too.
Created by the experts behind Skin + Me, Renew + Me is designed to take some of the guesswork out of that process. Its personalised Nightly Active Treatment combines proven age-renewal ingredients in one nightly formulation, with expert support available if you need it.
Even better is that Rest Less members can currently try it for less. Your first month costs £6.99, the second £19.99, then £29.99 a month thereafter (usually £35). The offer includes your online consultation, expert skin analysis, personalised treatment, one-to-one support, and free delivery.