3 Anti-Aging Products You Don’t Need

1. A Cleanser That Claims to Do More Than Clean

Cleanser stays on your face for about six seconds—no anti-aging ingredient can affect your skin in six seconds. Almost every skin doctor we know washes her face with a basic drugstore cleanser—they’re simple, cheap and do what a cleanser should: clean your skin. Save your money for skincare products that you don’t immediately wash down the drain.

2. A Cream That Comes with a Tiny Spoon

Moisturizers with triple-digit price tags and fancy trappings—layers of elegant wrapping, glass jars that weigh more than a newborn, Lilliputian gold spoons—do the same job as the basic drugstore versions. Whether the moisturizer costs $200 or $20, it uses the same basic ingredients to do that.

3. A Neck Cream

The cream you use on your face at night is likely rich enough to soften and smooth the skin on your neck. There’s no need to invest in a separate product. However, there is one exception: If you have oily skin and use a very lightweight moisturizer (or none at all), you should get a separate cream for your neck (which has fewer oil glands and needs more hydration than your face). You don’t need to buy a pricey cream marketed as a neck product, though, which has a high concentration of skin-softening shea butter.