Women endure 84 bad skin days a year

Women have on average seven bad skin days a month, totalling 84 days a year, according to new research.

The study commissioned by Dermalex, which polled 2,000 women, found that wrinkles, acne and dark circles are among the biggest skin concerns, with more than a third not feeling confident about their skin.

One fifth have even avoided leaving the house due to their skin condition while another 41% have refrained from having their photo taken.

A further quarter admitted to staying away from social media entirely while their skin is bad, while one third confessed to wearing long clothing to keep affected areas of their skin away from the public gaze.

Product issue

Women will spend more than £8,000 on average during their lifetime on products to improve the appearance of their skin, the report found, but will bin more than £600 worth of those items because they were ineffective or exacerbated the problem.   

However, the survey also discovered that most women expect to see positive results from new skincare products after a week, with four in 10 having thrown away products after just a few uses because they thought it wasn’t alleviating their symptoms.

Although 30% said they didn’t know where to turn for skincare advice, the other 70% of respondents said the internet is their first port of call for product reviews, followed by pharmacists and friends.

Confidence building

Healthy looking skin was noted to boost women’s overall confidence, with 30% feeling less self-conscious and 23% feeling less stressed when it’s in good condition.

Around a third of women also suffer from dry skin, while a further 26% endure dry skin and eczema. A quarter also don’t moisturise daily even though doing so could improve their symptoms.

“It’s concerning to see how much skin worries can impact our overall confidence and yet still many people aren’t regularly using a product that’s designed to help improve their symptoms,” said Laure De Brauer, from Dermalex. 

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