What Does the Optimal Anti-Aging Skin Care Routine Cost?

[This serial article started in response to Tracy’s Excellent Question which appeared Monday.]

Remember at the outset, before I put together the best possible anti-aging skin care routines, I pointed out that:

• Not all women need or want to use toner;
• Not all need both a serum and a moisturizer; and
• As for eye creams and serums, the choice depends on what conditions are present (dark circles, bags, lines and/or wrinkles).

IF one were to use the entire Budget Conscious program, the cost would be about $2.49 a day. The Money is No Object program would amount to about $15.11 a day.

My expectation is that most women will choose the pricier product(s) for areas of particular concern and fill in with items from the budget list.

For example, at 64, my biggest skin concern is sagging and loss of volume. Therefore I splurge on Retin-A and Peter Thomas Roth UnWrinkle Serum; but most of my other anti-aging products are by Olay.

My routine works out to $1.60 a day. I feel I’m worth it ;-)

The assumptions I used to calculate daily cost are:

• 1 oz. (30 ml) face cream or serum lasts 30 days;
• 1 oz. (30 ml) eye cream or serum lasts 60 days;
• 1 oz. (30 ml) cleanser or toner used twice daily lasts 15 days;
• 1 oz. (30 ml) sunscreen lasts 30 days;
• 1 oz. (30 ml) exfoliating product used on alternate days lasts 60 days;
• OTC products only; and
• Prices used are the ones found at the product link landing page and include some sales.

Finally if you have any special skin concerns, you may want to add a targeted product to address those. For example, Tracy mentioned some hyperpigmentation on her forehead. I’ll review her choice of Cosmedix Lightning tomorrow.

Tags: Step Up Your Skin Care, anti-aging skin care, drugstore skincare bargains, real deal vs. good deal, Top Ten Anti-Aging Products, cosmeceutical peptides, skin lifting, skin firming