Busting Skincare Myths
As much as we love a DIY facemask for a girl’s night in, you’d be surprised by how much misinformation is out there when it comes to taking care of our skin. That emergency spot treatment your friend swears by may be fixing her immediate issue but causing problems under the surface that can lead to long term damage. So, to help you take care of your skin properly, we present to you the most common skincare myths and why you need to stop believing them (stat!).
Myth: You don’t need sunscreen on rainy/overcast days
We’ve all thought about it. Looked outside at the overcast sky, looked back at our sunscreen and thought “surely skipping it today can’t hurt, right?”. Wrong! UV radiation has nothing to do with the temperature, meaning it can and will still burn your skin on those cloudy days. In addition to UV rays UVA rays (you know, the ones that cause ageing) can pass through glass, clouds and even smog! So even if the sun isn’t out, your skin is still at risk so please…. Wear SPF. Your skin will thank you.
Myth: You can’t ‘over do’ exfoliating
At some point we do have to call time-out on the face scrubbing and encourage you to step away from the exfoliators. Some beauty myths will have you believe that exfoliating daily is great for skin health and that you can’t ever ‘over scrub’ your face – they are wrong, you absolutely can, and it is not a good idea. Overdoing the scrubbing can lead to irritation and sensitive skin and nobody wins in that situation. How much you should be exfoliating really depends on your skin type however we recommend exfoliating no more than three days a week and consider using gentle exfoliators like an enzyme exfoliant like our fruity and fabulous AHA Enzyme Exfoliant and always keep an eye on how your skin looks afterwards to make sure you aren’t going too far.
Myth: Toothpaste makes a great acne treatment
If you’re like us, you definitely had toothpaste smudged all over your face after quickly brushing your teeth and rushing to school back in grade 8. Fingers crossed you’ve grown out of that habit by now, but just in case you haven’t, allow us to explain why toothpaste does not belong on your face. We’ve all heard the rumour that toothpaste takes redness out of pimples and shrinks them back down to size. On the surface is may look like it works, but it’s actually over-drying your skin as one of the main ingredients in toothpaste is alcohol – which is known for irritating the skin.
To debunk this myth – trying to fix your pimple problem with toothpaste will just dry out your skin causing it to over compensate and produce even more oil to restore the balance and ultimately will leave you in trouble. And the worst part? The bacteria in that original pimple hasn’t been treated, so if anything, you probably made things a lot worse. If you do want a pimple treatment, consider using a cream like our spot assist.
Myth: If you have oily skin you don’t need to moisturise
We’ve talked about this before, but we’ll talk about it again. Arguably one of the most popular skincare myths, just because your skin is oily does not mean it doesn’t need to be moisturised. The truth is, if you let your skin dry out or compromise its moisture barrier, it will produce even more oil to try and compensate. No thank you! In fairness, heavier creams can contribute to your oil production, but do not under any circumstances eliminate this step from your beauty routine if you struggle with oily skin. Instead, you should look into lightweight moisturisers that are either oil-free or water-based to give your skin the support it needs.
Myth: The ‘right products’ for your skin will change your face overnight
Sometimes we might think we see instant results when we switch skincare, but the unfortunate truth is that the only way to know if a new product or routine is working for your skin is by giving it time. Generally speaking, skin cells turnover every 21 days (although this can vary depending on age etc.) so it’ll probably take a month before you see any real difference. Being patient is hard, but we recommend taking photos to track changes so you can tell if a difference is really there.
Myth: Your pores will open in hot water
This myth is as old as time itself – but the truth is your pores don’t open and close depending on water temperature! If we want to get technical – they’re always open, they don’t close at all. The reason we all think our pores ‘open’ more after a shower is because the hot water causes our skin to swell, changing the appearance of our pores.
So, there you have it! We’re all guilty of falling victim to at least one of these myths, but now you can go forward confident that you won’t get caught out by them again. At the end of the day, everyone has different skincare needs so it’s important to pay close attention to what works (or doesn’t) for you, not your friends.