Budget Skin Care

Women can spend a small fortune on skin care products.

It's easy when you add up cleanser, toner, astringent, moisturizer, cosmetics, and make up removers, plus cotton balls, cotton swabs, make up sponges, make up brushes, and more.

Reading cosmetic advertisements in those glossy magazines can easily persuade you that for good skin care, you need to spend a lot of money on the luxury brand-name products. But do you really?

The necessities

Before you spend a single penny at the department store, drugstore, or grocery store, consider your skin care routine carefully. Are there any steps that you can eliminate or combine?

Many skin care products can do double duty now, like tinted moisturizers that may eliminate the need for a moisturizer and foundation separately, for example. Are there any steps that you practice religiously that really have little or no noticeable effect if you stopped doing it?

Then maybe that's a step you can drop. If you see a dermatologist, talk with him or her about your skin care routine. Get his or her opinion on your skin care routine necessities. Once you've narrowed your routine to the essential steps, then it's time to hit the store.

Shop around

Many times, skin care lines are sold by more than one retailer, like department stores, drugstores, and grocery stores. Shop around and see what prices are being charged for the different lines at different stores.

Check the weekly store circulars or flyers for ads, coupons, and special offers, like buy one get on free, or buy one get one half off.

Specialty cosmetic stores may offer their customers free memberships in a buying club of sorts, where if you spend a certain amount of money, you get a percentage off of your next sale, sample products, or other offers.

Depending on what skin care products you buy and how often you need to replace them, programs like this could benefit you.

Read the label

Change is scary, and changing your skin care products can be especially scary. If you're a loyal user of a certain brand, you may be anxious about switching skin care lines, even though your wallet may demand it. Reassure yourself by reading the label of your favorite product with a lower-priced alternative.

Keep reading labels and shopping around until you can find a suitable substitute, one that offers most, if not all, of the same ingredients. This will also make it easier for your skin to handle the transition to a new skin care product with a minimum of irritation and redness.

When you are looking to save money on skin care, there are three easy ways to get started. First, begin by streamlining your skin care habits until they're at their most efficient. Then, shop around to different stores, comparing ads, sales, and customer loyalty programs to get the best deals.

And finally, if you're switching skin care products, read the labels carefully to make sure the product you're switching to offers you a similar formula and similar results.