The opening paragraph is precisely why so many people have moved to natural ingredient products and fragrance free. Some fragrance makers have new for formulas with “clean” ingredients, but they are still proprietary and come with a “trust us” promise. It’s interesting to see the specifics of what these products can do other than what’s advertised on the tin.
My skin care routine is "I showered in some not-so-distant past" and sunscreen. You hit diminishing returns very quickly. Showering more than once a week has no health benefits, it's just so that other citizens of your overcrowded city wouldn't complain about your natural smell.
I honestly think that this is actually valuable insight. It's important to distinguish things we do just to fit into the society from things we truly want to do. I'm not saying we never should do the former, we obviously should, but I think it's worth it to be aware of the choice. Most people just follow mindlessly the current social trends "because everyone does it".