Beauty Myths That are Ruining Your Skin

Many DIY skincare scrub recipes feature baking soda as a star ingredient. The reason this is a beauty myth actually has to do with pH or how acidic or alkaline skin and products are. Your skin has a protective layer called the acid mantle, which is naturally slightly acidic. Baking soda is super alkaline – the opposite of acidic – which means it can damage the acid mantle, leading to dehydration, oiliness and sensitivity. Skip the baking soda and opt for products formulated specifically for the skin instead.

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Vitamin C is great for brightening the skin and fading dark spots, so lemon juice is featured in a lot of DIY brightening serum and mask recipes. Like baking soda, lemon juice messes with the skin’s acid mantle, but from the other direction. It is so acidic that you actually risk burning the skin with it. Stick with a store bought vitamin C serum instead.

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Everyone knows that tea tree oil can be an acne spot treatment, but most people don’t know that it has to be diluted in a carrier oil to avoid further irritating the skin. Try mixing your tea tree oil with jojoba oil to reap all its antibacterial benefits without the irritation.

Coconut oil has experienced a surge in popularity lately as a moisturizer for the face, body and hair. However, coconut oil is actually comedogenic, meaning that it can clog pores. If you like the idea of coconut oil because it's natural, opt for a lightweight, non-comedogenic oil like marula or rosehip seed oil instead.

For many people, the most difficult part of having acne is the stigma associated with it, specifically surrounding hygiene. Acne has a variety of causes: hormones, products, genetics, bacteria and sebum among them – but insufficient face-washing is not one of them.

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You give into a craving for donuts and then you break out, so you blame the donuts. Sound familiar? You’ll be relieved to learn that sugary or greasy foods don’t actually cause acne. Again, it can be caused by hormones, inflammation, bacteria or sebum.

Exfoliating is great for the skin, but put down the scrub. Physical exfoliators like scrubs often contain exfoliating pieces like sugar, salt, bits of nut shell or fruit kernel. They have jagged edges that actually leave micro-tears in the skin, leading to inflammation, sensitivity and scarring. Try a gentle chemical exfoliator instead. Look for ingredients like lactic acid or glycolic acid, which gently slough off dead skin cells rather than scrubbing them away.

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You try out a new toner and the first time you swipe it on, it burns. That means it’s working, right? Not so much. The only time you should feel the burn is in your workout. Burning from beauty products can actually be a red flag that the product is too harsh, may contain ingredients to which you’re sensitive or that your skin is irritated. Ditch harsh products and opt for a super gentle routine to allow your skin to heal itself.

In her latest interview, that celeb whose flawless skin you covet says she just splashes her face with water in the morning instead of cleansing. However, we sweat in our sleep, not to mention that many people use heavier, more moisturizing products at night than we do in the day. Use a gentle cleanser in the morning to remove sweat and oil from the night. (Also, that celeb probably has a team of specialists and a cabinet stocked with top tier products to help her skin look its best).

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If you wash your face and it ends up feeling tight, it’s squeaky clean, right? This is a common misconception. Cleansers and toners can leave the skin feeling tight and parched, which is not normal at all and is probably a sign that a cleanser is too drying for your skin. Switch to a non-foaming gel or cream cleanser that will leave skin feeling comfortable post-cleanse.

The skincare industry is big, but the acne-care industry is enormous. There are entire shelves of products at the drugstore dedicated to this one specific skin concern. But acne-specific products can be harsh and drying and can further irritate skin. Instead of attacking your face with complex acne-focused systems, try basic, gentle skincare lines like Cerave and Clinique to give skin the support it needs to repair itself.

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It’s a common misconception that oily skin doesn’t need moisturizer because it essentially produces its own. But oily skin still needs moisture; and since it cannot produce its own moisture, it might produce oil to compensate. Opt for a lightweight gel moisturizer specifically for oily skin to boost moisture without adding oil.

Most of us are guilty of buying into this myth: it’s rainy, cloudy or simply winter outside, so you don’t need sunscreen, right? Wrong. Harmful UV rays are super sneaky and can peek through clouds and reflect off of snow, so don’t forget the SPF!

Many of us once slathered our first blemishes in toothpaste at night, hoping they’d disappear by morning. And the burn means it’s working, right? Toothpaste really just dries out and irritates already annoyed skin. Try a spot treatment with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide instead.

The biggest beauty myth of all? Splash your face with hot water to open your pores so you can clean what’s inside, then splash with cold water to close them back up again. If only it were that easy! In reality, pores can’t open and close: hot water makes skin swell, magnifying the appearance of pores. Similarly, cold water makes skin constrict, making it look like your pores shrunk. Instead, wash your face with lukewarm water to avoid drying your skin out.

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