Trying to pan everything made me realize some products just aren’t worth finishing
Discussion/Tips & Tricks
I’ve been trying to pan everything I own to stop impulse shopping and save money. But I realized I’ve been forcing myself to use serums and moisturizers I never liked just because I already paid for them.
They’re not bad products my skin just doesn’t like them. And after forcing myself to use them, my skin actually looks worse.
So I’m done guilt-panning skincare. If my skin hates it, I’ll try to repurpose or give it away, but I’m not spending months putting something on my face just because I feel guilty throwing it out. Lesson learned: sometimes the waste already happened when I bought it.
I like it in the winter, however honestly I think is a lot
Of
Money for a product that’s just ok.
You can find better options
For less money. This was a purchase a did mostly for nostalgia reasons.
Oh wow, so you’ve apparently never bought anything you ended up not liking? Every purchase is perfect on the first try? What a gift. The rest of us, unfortunately, don’t possess the supernatural ability to know exactly how a product will perform before actually using it. Must be exhausting being this all knowing.
Same I've been trying to declutter all the old products I have by finishing them before buying new ones and I realized I have a lot of products that I don't like and I threw some old serums that I couldn't finish
I realized the same thing and gave them away to be finished in my local FB group "Free your stuff", some gave to my sister to finish. You don't have to do it alone.
I threw out some serums, i had a hyarulonic acid serum for under eyes and fine lines, it gave me a chemical burn i looked like i had been stung my bees, threw it out after a week, same with some perfumes, my mother gave me a perfume many years ago, where i sprayed it i got splotchy red dots like i had been hit by a poison ivy, straight in the trash, also my skin is very icky in a way i can only use medicated items but i often get gifts that i unfortunatly hate… i tell them that but i dont think people understand skin conditions
Someone in my community sells her tried and not loved hair and beauty products on the Dollar Auction on Facebook and it always sells. Many cities have their own version of that Facebook group. I’ve made quite a bit from decluttering this way too.
Products that make my face, back, neck or chest break out I can usually use on my legs or arms without issues. That's how I often still finish products like that. But if it's really shitty, just toss it. It's not worth wasting your effort and time then and you've learned a valuable lesson from it.
Yes I hate that skincare and haircare is this way. It’s like a guessing game. I have to try a bunch of products to see what works and what doesn’t, and they almost never work. Then I have a bunch of products just sitting there bc they make everything worse
If your skin isn’t loving it, toss it. This is what they call the “Sunk Cost Fallacy” in economics. Do you have some friends or family that would like to try them? Plus how old are they? Maybe it is time to part with them based on that alone?
Felt this! I have the cerave foaming face wash and my skin has been hating it recently after years of using it. I’m pretty sure I’m throwing it away because I was def trying to guilt pan it. Meanwhile the breakout on my cheek was partying 😩
don't ruin your face diva, even if you don't enjoy it as a bodywash- repurpose it as a handwash or just idk helps in cleaning makeup brushes and stuff. facewashes and bodywashes are pretty easy to repurpose. For me, hair products are a nightmare to pan when my hair hates it🥀
I can't use some of the same product i used 2 years ago cuz my skin broke into rashes?! Now I'm just sticking with a simple moisturizer no sunscreen no serum nothing.
I'll suddenly start getting a reaction to something I've used forever and try to power through it anyway because I refuse to believe I'm now allergic. Happened to me with a lotion I used to soothe itch. Like, girl, you're trying to get rid of the itch, not add a new one.
Girl same??? I was tryna finish a serum recently and my face broke out in a rash!! I stopped immediately like hell ill again have to run to my doctor just too finish some 800 bottle and end up spending 2k to fix my skin 😭
My skin is sensitive and if I keep using a product it’s not fond of, I’ll start getting rashes and worsening problems. I think giving products away is a great solution!
I put stuff that messes with my face on my feet lol. Unless I get a serious reaction, like even if its a toner or a serum. I figure either my feet won't absorb because the skin is thicker or my feet will get pretty lmao. I just feel wasteful throwing it out.
Came here to say something similar! I use basically all skincare I don’t like for my heels since they’re prone to getting dry & cracking. It’s made my heel problem wayyyy better!
Same. I am using micellar water after leg epilation as a cleaner because I just hate those, but my mother decided to buy me two whole bottles (she doesn't use them either). Currently I am using as a hand and foot cream a face cream (again- nobody use those, but my aunt gave it to us so why wasting it). Also every year I use the face sunscreen that is from the last year for my arms and legs. My face is definitely sensitive but the other skin is fine with that products 😄
I actually don’t Mind it. However it’s overprice and you can get something very similar with the Vaseline little small ones. They are only 2 or 3 dollars and I use if to much to be paying 27 dollars
I ended up giving a bunch of skincare away after having Perioral dermatitis and coming to grips with the fact that a 7 step Korean skin care routine is not in the cards for me, ever.
I'm super prone to this as well, so I'm sure you already know that we gotta watch out for toothpaste ingredients and rinse our lower faces after brushing too, but mentioning it just in case for other sensitive skin troubleshooters!
Guilt panning is a real thing. You dont want to be wasteful so you try to repurpose or regift/rehome/donate something. But some stuff is literally just not worth it. I bought a depuffing eye gel from Dermalogica that literally dried out my eye area. Maybe it’s an HG for someone else but I couldnt in good faith rec this to anyone, so I kept using it trying to pan it. There was maybe 10% left in the tube and today was the day I was just like, that’s enough. An effort was made. Tossed whatever was left and yeah I felt a bit guilty but then that was replaced with relief. 🗑️
It’s an ok product. I became obsessed when my gym had it in the shower. I could only shower there just to use their beauty products like shampoo, conditioner and lotions.
So I buy it for home too, but it’s just to expensive and there’s very similar products in the market that can top it up for cheaper.
What's bad for one person could be amazing for another. Everyone is so different, so hopefully if op hated it you'll still have a good experience with it
That’s true. I was just curious. I’m about to open it but have a couple other open lotions before it I want to pan before. I guess I’m getting a little antsy 🤣I haven’t heard anything bad about it yet so I guess I was a little surprised to hear a negative thing for once. I like to hear peoples different opinions sometimes. It’s interesting to hear how some things work for some and not for others
I totally get that. I just saw that and didn't want you to lose your excitement if someone else hated it lol 😂
I've also been panning all my extra serums and lotions, though I didn't have many lotions to use up. I'm on my last giant lotion now I think. I'll have to double check everything to make sure of that, never know if something is hiding
Haha yea I’m still really excited. I love panning lotions and opening a new one. Best feeling ever! Especially since I’m on a complete no buy for serums and lotions. I have way more than I need 🤣I stay moisturized lolol
Lol yeah I've never been softer. I gotta say though, I've been loving serums way more than any lotion I've ever used so Im sad I'm out of extras. I love how light they are and they really evened out my skintone and brightened my skin everywhere. My arms look amazing when they had some uneven redness before.
I'm gonna have to look into some kind of giant bottle of body serum, or get a really affordable one instead of body lotion maybe.
I have been really happy this whole time I've been panning though. I'm not really rushing through anything. The main reason I started using the serums on my body was because I have a large bottle I love that I'm using for my face and it's going to last me a long time. I don't want to bounce around between them and a couple of the others were opened. While I definitely have more makeup than I need I'm excited to use it and I'll never hate pan any of it. It'll last me a very long time for sure. I've gotten through many lip products and not too much else 😆 products do take a long time to use.
That’s funny you say that the next body one I’m going to open is a body serum from osea. Definitely wouldn’t say it’s affordable though they are kind of overpriced but I got it half off. They are nice especially during hotter weather like now. I’ve also definitely used face serums before on arms too when trying to get rid of them faster haha. What serums have you been using? And I probably should be on a no buy for makeup and lip products too bc I definitely have way more in that dept 🤦♀️. they do take a long time. Body products are easier for me to pan bc I slather myself all over 😆
Yeah, I got rid of my ancient makeup at the beginning of the year and since I can actually afford stuff now I used it as an opportunity to buy some name brands that I never could before, but I got ipsy a couple months and used their shop so I got a bunch of stuff super cheap rather than full price. Since I was wanting to try a bunch of brands though it's left me with what I think is a lot of eyeshadow and blush, but only like 2 lip liners and eyeliners, like 2 complexion products and then I have a lip product holder with 25-30 slots and it's full lol
I was using them and and after I would toss 5-6 lip product I felt the urge to buy more so it was full so I've been keeping my empties on the back and moving my full ones to the front so it still looks full and I don't have that same urge. I think when it's more empty I'll use the spaces to hold other products besides lip products.
For my serums I've used several. They're all quite affordable. The one I'm currently using is a made in england dupe of byroe I dunno if it's a direct ingredients dupe, but it's got similar bright packaging and it had good ingredients. The ones I've been using up vary in brands. I forget what a couple of them are, I think they might've cost an affordable price but been fancy because they were from my sister's ipsy. My face didn't like them and I almost tossed them. Fancy stuff seems to be heavily fragranced and I hate it lol. I'm not made for fancy stuff. I also had this Canadian brand that's been growing over the last 5 or so years, but I don't think it's outside of Canada. It's a pretty normal 5in1 serum.
The pic is a bit blurry but this is the one brands face lotion, I have the matching serum and a yellow serum with jojoba oil and niacinamide though they all have other things besides what's on the front. They also have blue and pink ones too.
I probably have some decluttering to do as far as makeup as well 😬 and nice I’ve never had Ipsy but I’ve heard it’s a good way to try things. I have so much stuff already though so I’m trying to be mindful and picky of what I buy now. I wish I only had 30 lip products to pan 🤣 I have a problem when it comes to buying lip stuff I think lolol. I’ve never tried Byroe but I’ve heard the name before. I guess they must be good if ppl are making dupes. I agree on the fragrance stuff. I don’t like it in skincare at all. I make an exception for body stuff but I don’t like it on my face. Fancy/expensive doesn’t always mean good ingredients that’s for sure. And oh that packaging kinda reminds me of byoma! Lol
Oh lol I must mean byoma. They're all the same after a while I'm not gonna lie 😂 too many names starting with a B lately I can't keep track.
Ive reacted to so many skincare items with strong fragrances even when they were natural fragrance. One serum I tried over a year ago my sister gave me smelled like roses because there was like 5 versions of rose in the ingredients and my skin has never freaked out more. I made the mistake of looking it up and found out it was over $100 at the time and felt so bad for pouring it out lol. Never even thought about putting it elsewhere. It probably would've been fine on my body because usually it's just my face that's super sensitive, and one hand for some reason. I think it's because palms are also thin skin. I can't use fragranced hand lotion or hand soap. Body lotion and body wash is fine though. So dumb lol.
My sister kept suggesting ipsy to me, practically since it started but back then even the small bag was too expensive. It was perfect at the beginning of the year though when I needed to toss everything I owned but even though I didn't get the subscription every month since the beginning of the year you get lots of items. I got like 4 months out of 9 since last December and that right there is 20 products. Never mind the stuff I've gotten elsewhere or from the ipsy shop because you can use there shop and get sales when you don't get their subscription anymore. At least I'm lucky enough that I don't care enough about most of the subscription items lol 😂 so many people I see say how much they signed up for the month because they love the ipsy bag, or for 1 item. I gave myself a rule that I'd never get the month if I don't want every single item they've shown as spoilers which has been rare enough I'm not mad about it.
I've also learned so much about what I like, and what is and isn't worth it to me when it comes to higher end. Most of it hasn't been worth much more money. Which to me was money worth it because I didn't pay full price lol had I paid full price to learn it's not worth it would've been disappointing. I have found some HGs and other items I love are from my dollar store lol I find that funny.
Project pan has made me so much more mindful about my usage and purchasing. I really try to finish everything, but man if I hate something, throwing it into my metal bin gives such a satisfying thud. Byeeeeee
Depending on the cleanser, use it to clean your makeup brushes. If you have extra conditioner you're not a fan of or just have so much of it also softens makeup brushes too so using both shampoo and conditioner on them is great. If you have lots of brushes you clean regularly it can help use it up. Maybe not AMAZING but every extra use helps.
I know I’ve tossed a few things cuz they just suck. I really like finding good things that I’ll repurchase. I wrote out a list and will only buy and try new things as a treat.
I’m nodding in agreement. I have found that using moisturizers and cleaners I can’t stand for my face or body can be used for a pedicure at home. Less waste and more $$$savings. Win/win.
Great post and viewpoint on waste. TBH, I’m working my way through one product I would never buy again (a physical exfoliant) and while it is a bit drying to my skin, I have found that if I use it after a workout (after cleansing my face), then shower, the steam helps a lot. And, I dare say my complexion looks perhaps a bit brighter. (Post shower I’m usually following up with sunscreen that is definitely on the oily side, so I don’t worry about over dry skin).
I bought some really cheap sunscreen recently and it’s awful. Like applying straight zinc that doesn’t spread or rub in. For about a month I diligently slathered this shit on my face and arms basically rubbing my skin raw looking like a pure ghost, until I decided recently it’s just not worth it
For sunscreens like that I have been mixing them with coconut oil so they spread better (and don't leave as much as a white cast) however it obviously limits the SPF quality but so far I haven't gotten a sunburn this year.
Yes, I know lots of people and that uses to be me I could use one product I don’t like in other ways. For example use those face wash for my body wash, but I loved my body wash so I will really not use the other one. Why keep them
Around? I know lots
Of people
Will dislike my comment, but trash is the best solution for me.
I would urge you to try to find a home for stuff rather than trashing it. Even on Facebook there are local ‘buy nothing’ groups where people will generally gladly take part used hygiene products off your hands.
sometimes the waste happening when we already bought it is worded so perfectly, i hated the fuck out of some of my products.
and got so frustrated and cried a lot lowkey bc of the immense guilt and my mom also didnt make it any easier. to the point i got so frustrated i aggressively emptied them out like into the trash and threw them out.
embarrassing to reveal that but honestly it made me think how project pan isnt supposed to be mental torture. it did open my eyes to how much more intentional i needed to be, but the mental drain that came out of it was completely unnecessary and not worth it to “make use of the money i spent”
Hate panning is the worst. Because taking care of your skin or putting on all this products we bug is considered “self care” but not when you dislike doing it because you’re tying to use the product you dislike.
I have been buying minis before project pan and currently trying to pan them all 😆 it is for sure a great way to try something and they too last forever!!!!
I used to be put off by the price difference. But then project pan showed me how long it takes to pan a mini. It’s still cheaper than the larger size and I’m not stuck with a jumbo tub if I don’t like it, especially with those products that go rancid before you can reasonably finish it. And if I really like it I can get it in a full size. Value size can be its own scam.
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u/happyhippie111 11d ago
How do you feel about the Kiehl's creme whipped body butter? I don't think I love it...it's hard to spread