i think it's being a bit simplistic to say all you need is a cleanser, sunscreen, and 1 more product. if you started this regiment at 10 years old, then all you'll need for the rest of your life are these 3 items. but the fact is that most of us weren't so careful with our skin back in the day, and that means the sun damage is starting to only now appear (sun damage takes 10+ years to show up) and that means we need to do maintenance and repair our skin now.
that doesn't mean i think it's worth spending hundreds of dollars on a miracle-in-a-jar. lots and lots of products out there don't do anything. and lots of cheap products work for most people (my bf's sister has flawless skin and she uses oil of olay because anything else breaks her out). but at the same time, much research and technology has gone into effective skin treatments and products that will truly help with the sun damage we've accrued. for example, there are moisturizers that will make you feel less dry because you're slapping oil onto your skin (basically the same as vaseline), or there are moisturizers that actually use vitamins and nutrients that will go into your skin and help it produce its own oil from within to moisturize. there are cleansers that strip your skin of everything - good and bad oil - and there are cleansers that will get rid of the dirt and makeup but will be gentle as to not strip and irritate your skin.
in the end, your skin will be the best judge of skin care effectiveness. within 1 month of using the product, if you don't see and feel results, it's not doing anything. if you notice you get whiteheads, blackheads, or other breakouts, it's most likely something you are using that's causing it (usually makeup will be the culprit). it's hard to filter through all the advertising promises and jargon but do a little research from non-biased sites and you'll find there are a few proven and accepted ingredients that work and that's all you need to look for when shopping for a product.
not that i'm trying to say i know more than these dermatologists - the recommendation is certainly not harmful - but it kinda sounds like more marketing talk "I won't make you spend hundreds of dollars on products. Only these 3 will be necessary..."
it's true that more is not better, but it's misleading to say that if we, as twenty-thirty something women just start cleansing and sunscreening that we'll keep our skin just as nice as if we were using other specialized products.
