Is there any conventional wisdom about skincare that you consider to be untrue or a myth?
Is there any conventional wisdom about skincare that you consider to be untrue or a myth? Why?
I always hate hearing about pores opening and close, like they’re doors or windows. And then there’s just when people say one person’s skincare regimen sucks and that person hasn’t experienced any problems–if it works, it works.
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I couldn’t agree more about the ‘skincare regiment sucks’. The same way it bothers me that someone remarks that you have to use a certain product or spend a certain amount on things or you’ve done something wrong. Finding skincare that works for you is a tough job! When you find it, use it! One person’s miracle product may be wretched on your skin.
Good question! I’m really interested to read other answers. Hm… well, it’s a myth that skin becomes immune to beneficial ingredients. Skin will adapt to ingredients – like when you start using retinol your skin needs some time before it can tolerate it regularly. But the ingredients don’t get less effective. Also, I guess this goes for more the skincare industry in general, but the idea that you have to pay more for high quality skincare. In reality, brands all have access to the same research, same ingredients… it’s all a matter of packaging and marketing that determines price point. Oh and the myth that being tired causes dark circles. It can make them appear sunken in, but actual dark circles are not affected by sleep. I don’t know if this is a commonly held idea or if most people already know this by now, but it’s a myth that exfoliants and scrubs will help acne. It just irritates skin.
I’m not convinced that the more products you put on your face the better it is for your skin. I’ve heard of people who have routines like: Cleansing oil, cleanser, exfoliator, mask, toner, serum, facial moisturizer, eye cream, and I just…I wonder how necessary all of those steps are and whether all the products are doing anything. My routine is cleanser (I do use an oil cleanser as makeup remover if I’m wearing a lot), twice a week I exfoliate, toner if I’m feeling especially oily or want to make sure I’ve gotten all the makeup off, moisturizer. And I have decent skin, I mean I get a pimple once in a while but mostly my skin’s clear and soft.
I agree. For a lot of people sometimes less is more. I admit I overdo it on my skin care routine sometimes.
For me, I have a single toner, and I have a heating mask and a cooling mask, and those are all just for pampering myself.
Regularly, I use cleanser and then I use moisturizer.
Ahh, yes… when people say things like “Oh, it tingles, so it must work!” even when the tingling is because of a separate ingredient put into some skincare. It reminds me of how some antiseptic company that made a non-burning version of the stuff you put on cuts, and it actually tested poorly because people associated the sting with effectiveness. Haha, sorry for this tl;dr answer, I just find the psychology behind it interesting!
Pending on the ingredients in the product and if they are OTC or professional, the tingling is a normal thing and just means that your skin is becoming acclamated to it. Like if you’re using a cleanser with 10% glycolic, then yes. It’s going to tingle, but that glycolic is going to help other products penetrate the skin for better results.
Number one pet peeve is when people still claim that mineral oil is comedongenic. It is not comedogenic at all and one of the best occlusive agents to keep moisture in the skin. I’m glad I stopped listening to those who parrot the idea that mineral oil causes acne because now I don’t have to be afraid of it and my acne-prone skin is doing better than ever.
Sorry but Mineral Oli = Paraffinum Liquidum.
And OIL stands for the petroleum-kin-of-oil, not Olive Oil which is good for your skin.
Melody is right about cosmetic grade mineral oil. It is non-comedongenic. Because it is occlusive; however, if the skin has not been properly cleaned and prepped, it can trap pollutants and irritants on the surface of the skin which is what causes some women to experience breakouts. The same holds true for petrolatum. These are cosmetic grade products; not what you’d find at Jiffy Lube.
Many women do have other legitimate reasons for not using mineral oil and petrolatum and so they avoid them. They know their skin and what works for them. But, that doesn’t mean that mineral oil and petrolatum are inherently bad.
I agree with Melody and Eileen. Likening mineral oil to the stuff you put in your car is just plain ignorant. I was also on the mineral oil-hate bandwagon because that’s what so many of the bloggers were saying. So I tried my hardest to avoid all products containing mineral oil. Then I get a chemical burn from using Nads on my upper lip and no amount of “olive oil” type ingredients that you may think is good for the skin helped. Finally, I put some aquafor on it. Immediate relief precisely because of its occlusive properties. Call me converted. Besides, the so-called bloggers and online commenters have absolutely no real data to prove conclusively that mineral oil is akin to putting gasoline on your face.
There are definitely a few myths I want to set right!
Baking soda shouldn’t be used as a face scrub. It’s too alkaline and the pH shift increases acne bacteria breeding.
Oxygen in face creams is counter-intuitive as oxygen enables aging and decay (That’s why we try so hard to securely close our food packages). Your skin doesn’t have lungs. I’ve seen people use one cream that’s ‘oxygenated’, then follow it with an anti-oxidant, whose function is to negate oxygen-related damage!
On a related note, anti-oxidant face creams in an open-mouth jar lose their effectiveness the instant you open them because of introducing a room full of oxygen to all the product on top.
You do NOT need a $200 spinny-brush to scrub your face! It looks cool and feels fancy but a wash cloth removes EXACTLY the same amount of dead skin because your skin is designed to only shed so much at a time.
If acne is a concern of yours, know that scrubbing harder or more often will not affect your acne. Acne isn’t a matter of ‘dirt’ and nothing cleans better than anything else, it’s a matter of preventing bacterial growth with leave-on medication. No medicated cleanser will help as well as you think, solely because the object is to wash it off, taking the medicine with it! There is no magic bullet replacement or easy way out of gentle cleansing and diligent, consistent application of medicines that stay on and keep working.
You do NOT need a minty or tingly cleanser. You may like the feeling but that tingle is your skin’s way of saying, “Hey, dude, that’s irritating me.”
You do not need green or purple or yellow face goo. Your concealer should match your foundation should match the skin on your neck because that’s where you stop applying it. You’re just trading one unnatural hue for another.
And most important of all, no matter what anyone says about fleeting looks or hairstyles or fashion, every woman is beautiful, darn it. <3
I don’t know, color theory makes green concealer a helpful tool in the arsenal sometimes. I’m the world’s biggest klutz and managed to cut my nose with a razor while shaving, and my green concealer was the only way I got through the next couple days of healing without people going, “Oh my god, what did you do to your nose?!” It just looked like a spot. 😉
Hey Quinctia…I am your long lost klutzy sister. Don’t know how, but I cut my upper lip with a razor an hour before a date and it was still bleeding when he picked me up. Try to explain that one. Years later, it is still a scar where lip gloss and lipstick skip over making the white line in my lip color super obvious. If I try to fill it in, it looks like a hunk of color stuck in a wrinkle. Duh, don’t know how I did that one.
I love my Smashbox green tinted primer, it neutralizes my rosacea & broken capillaries quite well. I frequently use it even if I’m not wearing any other makeup. I also like it OR my green tinted corrector to neutralize red when I am wearing foundation but don’t have time or inclination to use concealer. I am NOT a color theory expert by any means – it just works for me.
Yep, you CAN use colors to cancel out certain unwanted tones in your face! Swirling them all together and putting them everywhere isn’t going to do a thing (I like my PF translucent powder, but its swirly colors are hilariously pointless for a couple reasons). Green’s great for red spots, I know folks have had luck with pinkish or yellow for undereye circles depending on the type.
Interesting to hear about the Smashbox primer. I never really thought anything subtle enough to go over my whole face could do much for my bits of everyday redness, but I have found that going slightly more yellow with my foundation color does help do correction.
Another one of those things that aren’t going to universally work for everybody.
(…and I am so clumsy. I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve bashed myself in the face with something I was carrying, and I am banging my arms and hands into things when I walk on at least a weekly basis.)
I love my Clarisonic. I’m not trying to get rid of extra dead skin – I’m using it because it helps me remove my makeup a lot more effectively, quickly, and softly than a washcloth ever could.
Also, there’s nothing wrong with people using green or purple concealers. Its called color theory.
I frequently hear skincare advice – once you find something that works, stick with it. There are so many factors that affect our skin: age, health issues, medications, stress, diet, season, on & on. I agree it is important to find a system that works for you, but I think it is equally important to avoid becoming stuck in a rut and not noticing when it is time to change things up – even if temporarily. I’ve probably just stated the obvious, hopefully it will get buried under the better advice that is sure to come 🙂
I hate the idea that you need to get everything from the same line to have any results. I find that I don’t need twenty steps to my skin care regime and that sometimes another line has an eye cream or cleanser that works better for me
I feel that cucumbers do absolutely nothing for your eyes and wrinkles
That chemical exfoliants are less stripping than physical exfoliants to use on a daily basis. I can use the Clarisonic twice a day without any trouble and only good results, but Cetaphil’s Acne wash even ONCE strips my skin like CRAZY, AND overexfoliates it, chemically. Exfoliating actives that you can’t detect (that don’t have a rough texture, etc) can actually be more exfoliating than the physical ones.
That pots are less sanitary than pumps. Unless the pump is airless, lightless and guaranteed sterile, your stuff is proliferating germs – but there are ingredients in your skin care to control this. Clean hands in a face cream really shouldn’t be an issue.
That oil-based products and oily skin don’t mix – I use oil cleanser, and oil-based moisturisers and they’re my best, most effective products.
That rinsing your skin with cold water will do anything other than refresh you and make your skin contract, a little, temporarily. It won’t close your pores, it won’t prevent grime getting in or make you less oily.
And what Temptalia said!
But nails in pots of moisturiser is irritating as heck lmao.
Exfoliating. I did it for years until my dermatologist told me it’s the worst thing you can do to your skin because it strips it from everything and makes it produce more oil which leads to blemishes. He said people can really destroy their skin’s natural regeneration.
I don’t know if that applies for everyone, but it sounded pretty general when he talked about it… I know it’s not for me!
Exfoliating every day is bad. Exfoliating 2-3 times/wk pending on skin type is great.
It’s true that a lot of women over-exfoliate and actually harm their skin. They use chemical and physical methods of exfoliation with wild abandon and end up with irritated, sensitized skin. The problem, though, is usually with the way those women approach exfoliation rather than with exfoliation itself. The proper use of an exfoliant will actually help the skin eliminate dead cells and debris. When my son was a teenager, he used Retin A and it did a wonderful job of clearing and controlling his severe acne. He’s an adult now with beautiful, even-toned skin and still uses a moisturizing cream with retinol (much, much milder than Retin A)) at night.
Bottom line: A good thing used incorrectly can cause more harm than good.
When I was a teen-ager, conventional wisdom held that “the only way to really get your skin *clean* is to *scrub* it.”
It’s a wonder that my skin looks as good as it does now, because when I was young, I scrubbed i with everything I could get my hands on, and used the most powerful astringents and “spot treatments” I could find. I even went to a dermatologist, who prescribed a benzoyl peroxide ointment that probably could have been used to get oil stains off a driveway.
I continued to have problems with my skin throughout late adolescence. One day, when I was about 21, out of sheer desperation, I went to the local health food store. A woman who worked there advised me to try a pure aloe vera gel. Within just a few weeks, my skin had calmed down and was looking better. Before too long, I was actually getting compliments on my “pretty skin.”
I’m 48 now, and while I still have the occasional hormonal break-out, my skin actually looks healthier than most of my peers’complexions. My skin is still super-oily, but instead of trying to dry it out, I treat it gently.
I think it really depends on the person and their sense of moderation. Personally, I have good skin, so I waited for quite awhile before I tried exfoliating…and I’m still shocked at the difference. There’s a freshness to my skin that wasn’t there before, and I’ve gotten loads of compliments in the past six months since I started doing it regularly. I recently suggested to my roommate that she try it after she spent years dealing with rough skin, and a few days later, she came up to me and made me touch her face just to show off how smooth it was. 😛
This being said, if I did it every day, I would be destroying my skin. I made that mistake the first few weeks I started, and after I noticed the redness and irritation, I calmed it down. So…I guess it’s the traditional maxim of “moderation is key?”
I hate all the fuss about so-called ‘anti-ageing’ products. I tried one such moisturiser for a whole month, and it didn’t make a jot of difference to my skin whatsoever. Luckily it was on special offer, so I didn’t waste too much money.
I’m saying this to help you: in order to see a good difference on your skin (because of how we see our skin, obviously we don’t have a laboratory to analyze deeply our skin), you’ll need to use the same cream for 3 months OR the entire bottle/jar/tube. Before that, it is possible that you see a slight difference, but better results are showing in the 3 months period 🙂
(Source: I’ve been working as a cosmetician and makeup artist for 6 years)
You bring up a good point, Anne-Sophie, and that is that any skin care routine requires time and consistency to see results. It takes, on average, four weeks for a new set of cells to reach the surface and that is when subtle change will begin to show itself. It takes even longer before more pronounced effects are evident. I’m always amused when someone says, “I used this cream last night and today I look 10 years younger.” All I can think is that their skin must have been incredibly dry or irritated and is just responding to the increased hydration and soothing properties of the cream (as a cosmetician, you probably see that a lot). The converse amuses me, too. “I’ve used this cream for a week now and it doesn’t work. Waste of money!” Sheesh! Give it time to work!
So glad I saw your comments Eileen and Anne-Sophie…I am waiting to receive new skincare products and was debating on how long to give them (aka return within 30 days if did not notice results as advertised). I agree with your point and will adjust to return only if allergic and have a bit of patience!
One thing I don’t get – I always try to buy when I can maximize Sephora samples (especially deluxe size) to try out things for allergic reactions. It sounds like I should not judge effectiveness even on deluxe samples. Must admit I’ve been guilty of that when products are pricey, even though I knew I was judging quickly. Thanks for clearer timelines!!!!
The best “anti-aging” product you can have is SPF. And moisturizing after you wash your face. It doesn’t need to be fancy at all. Your eye cream can even be your moisturizer if it doesn’t irritate your eyes.
What I meant to say is your moisturizer can even be your eye cream. Lol, sorry.
i all ways wondered about the claims that skin releases “toxins” at night while you sleep, and you must wash your face in the Morning or premature aging could result.
also some people will tell you to “pop a pimple” to make it go away faster,
when this will only cause potential scarring and can make it worse! most are aware
that popping is a huge no no due to scarring.
Your skin doesn’t release toxins! What a bunch of hooey. 🙂
Night washing = taking off dead skin and stuff that have accumulated during the day.
Day washing = taking off dead skin and oil shed during the night/sleep, since your body does it 24/7.
“Just drink water” or “eat healthy/clean” for having clearer skin. If only it were that easy. Apparently getting a pimple once in blue moon makes some people suddenly an “expert.” Lol. :/
I think that the hype around natural skincare is crap. I have sensitive skin, eczema, and am also acne prone – it’s very frustrating! Very often if I mention my issues, people will recommend natural skincare. I find it does not work for me, and moreover, I do NOT believe that natural is inherently better.
My skin sounds exactly the same as yours, and I agree completely.
Plenty of natural oils and products can be very irritating to skin! The best thing is to have few irritants and no perfume. And hope for the best.
I agree SO MUCH with this. The idea that natural is somehow more “safer” or “pure” is complete bullcrap.
Since I won’t buy from companies known to test their products on animals, I end up doing business with the “natural” companies quite a bit, because many of them are non-testing.
That said, while I’m pleased with the performance of the “natural” products I buy (otherwise, I wouldn’t continue to buy them!), I don’t believe in the “natural = safe” premise. Some natural things are VERY lethal.I mean, my goodness, there’s nothing more natural than bacteria, and some of them produce extremely potent toxins. Certain mushrooms are very deadly, too.
Unfortunately, I think the best way to find what works best for the individual is plain old trial and error, which can get expensive and frustrating.
I currently use natural skin care and the pill to help with acne.And while I’m really happy it works, the natural aspect is only a bonus. Plenty of natural ingredients (sulfur, tea tree,balsam)irritate my skin. Whatever works best is way more important than being natural.
Sulfur and Tea tree are irritating to many folks. They help kill the P. acnes bacteria but the tradeoff is potential skin irritation in some.
So true! Not only is the word “natural” completely meaningless, but I get all kinds of allergic reactions to “natural” oils. Plus, all the “natural” products seem to want to pack in a million different essential oils and ~botanicals~ (Poison ivy is a botanical too, people!) that cause allergic reactions in many people.
Yeah. It really just comes down to how your skin reacts to things and your personal preferences.
I trully believe we only need a moisturiser and a good sunscrean period.
Expensive anti aging serums and creams are not better but just a gimmick for cosmetic companies to rob us of our money !
Seriously the best anti aging cream is sunscrean !
If you have extra money to spend then go for botox and not useless expensive creams.
You hit the nail on the head in one sense; SPF is the ultimate anti-aging cream. However, there are some great moisturizers with a few extras that certainly don’t hurt. 🙂
The “you need to exfoliate more in winter” thing confuses me. I’ve read that a couple of times by now and each time I just want to hold on to my face and run! I use a chemical peel regularly, and I don’t see the need to step up my game in winter. Your skin is already not producing as much sebum!
Your skin becomes more dry in the winter…hence the need to exfoliate a bit more. Get a microderm or ultrasound done.
I can see how this might work for some, but my skin is on the more sensitive side so I can never exfoliate or use a chemical peel as often in any case.
You can still exfoliate with an enzyme based product versus a acid based one. Image Skincare has a great vitamin C hydrating enzyme mask that I used on my sensitive clients. Pumpkin enzyme masks are also widely available.
Hi Teresa & Sunny,
I have crazy sensitive skin and am interested in learning about/using chemical peels to exfoliate.
I’ll look into the Image Skincare mask…do you have a recommendation for a specific brand/type of pumpkin enzyme mask?
Sunny…do you have a particular chemical peel that you have found works with your more sensitive skin? Thank you for any ideas!
If there’s vitamin C in that mask, it’s got ascorbic acid in it, though?
Hi again Megan…I’m going nuts commenting on this topic trying to learn!!! There is zero chance I can afford on of the procedures you suggested…do you have a recommendation for an at home product for very sensitive skin? Thank you!
Hey Kelly, first off both the Microdermabrasion and Ultrasound do two separate things. The Microdermabrasion is a great exfoliation while the Ultrasound is an exfoliation and then the esthetician penetrates product into your skin. So if you’re looking for an exfoliation I would suggest the Vital C Enzyme mask by Image that Theresa suggested above. It has both Pineapple and Papaya enzymes that will exfoliate the dead skin cells off. It’s really gently and again as Theresa said, it’s not acid based. You can also look into Image’s Ormedic line. It’s made from organic ingredients. It truly just depends on what your skin care goal is.
Hi Megan, oops…just reading one comment section at a time so replied above on other topic. These types of peels & masks are intimidating sounding when you are ignorant about how they work, especially with hyper sensitive skin so this helps direct me. I’ll check them out for home use (due to cost).
Goal – eternal youth 🙂 and exfoliate dry flaking skin, also help with dull lifeless look that gives away illnesses. For some reason strangers feel free to comment when they see you. Outside of this learning forum, I’m VERY private about health status. Thanks for ideas!!!
Hey Kelly. The easiest way I explain to clients about how an enzyme mask works is like this. The enzymes in the mask work like a pacman (yes the old school video game) that eat away all the dead skin on your face. And because you have such sensitive skin I would only recommend you using it for about 5 min 3-4 times per week and slowly move your way up to the 30 minutes.
And about the cost. Just keep in mind that Image Skincare is a professional product so you don’t need to use a ton so the bottle should last you roughly 6-9 months.
I’d take the enzyme mask thing with a grain of salt. You so, so don’t want to eat away “all of the dead skin” on your anywhere.
Your skin is your body’s main defense against environmental hazards, and the part that’s got the toughest job is the stratum corneum, which is a literal layer of dead skin cells. As skin cells rise to the surface of your skin, they become cornified–filled with protein, and they provide the most important job of keeping your body safe from outside contaminants. You never want to get rid of all of that layer.
It’s why skin care can be a delicate balance. You want to look your best, keep from looking flaky, without irritating your skin by removing too much of that outer layer. That layer helps you retain moisture and helps keep your skin elastic!
I’m so confused. Quinctia are you saying exfoliation is a good thing just don’t go overboard?
I happened to speak with a NYC Harvard educated derm this week for almost 40 minutes. Sunscreen is her #1 & chemical exfoliation #2 in treating patients, she is supposed to be well respected (TV appearances, book that I haven’t read, etc.) so not a poor source.
Companies still try to sell us the myth about how any of their products will only work best if used with other products from their line so if you’re using a cleanser from Company A and a moisturizer from Company B, you’re not going to get optimum results from the moisturizer so you really must use Company B’s cleanser and toner and serum and eye cream….it’s absolute nonsense! And I agree with you about pores. The only thing that will permanently close an open pore is if the pore is blocked by something (sebum, a blackhead, etc.) and that blockage is removed.
For me, I really believe in that whole “you are what you eat” thing. Not in terms of weight, but in terms of skincare. From what I’ve seen, people with healthier diets really do have better skin. And my brother always comes to me with his breakouts after he’s eaten too much candy haha.
you may believe that, but there’s no scientific basis to it – honestly. If you think about it, even if you eat a lot of junk, this food gets broken down by your stomach enzymes just the same as anything else. And no, fats consumed don’t end up on your skin.
BUT it’s true that people who eat a lot of junk food are less likely to look after their skin. And THAT may cause acne. Although obviously if your diet is so poor than you’re malnourished, then I guess that could have an effect.
Is there proof that people who eat junk food aren’t as likely to look after their skin? I’ve never seen information supporting this.
I eat junk food and I am verrrry thorough when it comes to my skin care.
However, what you eat does affect your hormones, which can have an effect on your skin. So diet does play into it, but not in the very literal “if you eat pizza you’ll have a pizza face” sense.
Nope.
Don’t buy into the hype that one company’s skincare “system” will solve all your problems. We all have individual needs, and those needs may have to be met by using a cleanser from one brand, a toner from another, a moisturizer from yet another, and so on. People get tricked into things like Proactiv and Clinique 3-Step expecting optimal results just because the packaging matches. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the right skincare regimen.
Also if you have very greasy skin like me please don’t let any sales associate convince you to toss your money down the drain on a luxury moisturizer!
I use Proactiv and I don’t feel I was ‘tricked’ into using it. Not every regimen is full of stand-out, well-formulated, or even necessary products… but that doesn’t mean that none of them are. I certainly see your point, though, because you can easily find a mix and match of items that your skin likes better. I just personally liked the set I had. I used my own moisturizers and such afterward, though, because the base 3 products are solely medication and not meant to be considered a beauty product.
I’m not sure whether anyone can really make a judgement about what’s true or untrue unless they’ve done research on the matter and found many studies that say so. I guess the more appropriate thing to say if you haven’t would be “this hasn’t worked for me”.
The one I dislike is that you need a day and night cream. Your skin can’t tell time. It won’t know the difference.
During the night your skin repairs itself, that’s why you should have a night cream…so yea, your skin can tell the time. Your day cream should be a moisturizer/spf.
Absolutely untrue. Companies created day and night cream because at night time (when the sun is down) your skin repairs itself, like it’s said below, so night creams have a lot more active ingredients than day creams. On day time, because of pollution and sun’s up, your skin needs to be protected. That’s why most day cream have a sun protection. 🙂 Now you know it’s not always “marketing”.
It is marketing! Your skin literally does not tell time. The only difference between night creams and day creams should be that day creams have an SPF and night creams can contain ingredients that make your skin sensitive to the sun (like retinols) and thus should not be used during the day.
Ask any dermatologist. Skin does not do anything special during the nighttime.
Hannah, it isn’t marketing at all. As we’ve said twice now, your skin repairs itself ONLY AT NIGHT. Hence why there might be more beneficial ingredients in night creams. Just because a photosensitizing ingredient is in a product doesn’t make it just for night time. There are plenty of professional products with skin lightening ingredients meant for day time use. Kojic Acid, Phytic Acid, Licorice, Mullberry, Bearberry, Hydroquinone, Retinol, and even citrus are all skin photosensitizing ingredients. A lot of those are also in serums that can be applied in the am after cleansing and before you moisturizer/spf. Also, Hannah I work under a world renowned plastic surgeon who specializes in facial reconstructive and is one of the highest well respected doctors by all dermatologists….I’d be happy to ask him. But he would tell you the same thing I just said.
Actually a lot of dermatologists think that cell renewal takes place throughout the day and it hasn’t been confirmed that skin only repairs itself only at night.
Night Repair is a big fat bunch of bunk from the 1940s when Estée Lauder started. It’s all marketing, I’ve worked at a Lauder counter and in the advertising business. Heck, I have two degrees in this and have read marketing analyses from cosmetics accounts.
Any Retinol in an OTC product is about two molecules worth. It’s by Rx only at any level affecting skin at all. They use the word and your ignorance to rip you off, and a rip off it is!
“Weeds in a ditch”cosmetology is a market niche catering to a mindset. Mostly label dressing for a certain sort of neuroses. And yes, at the big companies that build brands it’s a real term, weeds in a ditch. Those blackberry leaves were voodoo cures pre real drugs. Now they attract a certain personality type to buy a certain product and it’s presentation.
A pro model has a giant bottle of Cetaphil cleanser and a giant jar of Cetaphil moisturizer. The pro who paints her removes it. No ten creams- one! Women who live off their looks know better.
And cells renew by your personal mitochondrial clock. But you can count on that being synched more to need than 12 hour intervals. No night vs. day. Your muscles do more rebuilding during sleep, we know that, but they’re unused and did you notice I said sleep? Not night? Skin has no down time so it rebuilds 24-7 as your DNA directs it.
Science! Gotta love it.
Hi Megan. I’m confused…I always thought your skin (and other types of tissue) are undergoing self repair during sleep. It is a given that you need SPF during daylight hours.
What I don’t understand is why you (or the world renowned plastic surgeon) say cells repair at night rather than during sleep? Would that also apply to people with night or swing shift jobs who sleep in the day and work at night? I have been told the opposite by MANY types of doctors who have done numerous reconstructive surgeries on ME post accident and cancer – both arms and one leg which obviously includes the skin. But none of my surgeries were on the face.
I hope you reply, I’m not being argumentative, I really want to understand your comment. Thanks!
Hey Kelly, I don’t think you’re being argumentative at all. In fact, I should have said when sleeping not just at night. Especially since you bring up a great point of swing shifts. I just said at night because most people sleep at night. lol But yes, it does repair during sleep.
Thanks Megan…no place to reply under your comment so I’ll post here. I was curious because I have very bad pain caused insomnia, often only sleep 5-6 hours cumulative a week typically in morning hours if I can take the time. I thought I was still helping with skin & various tissue repair (plus just need sleep). I also worked swing shifts in my earlier years. Thanks for clarifying!
The practical reason for day and night creams is that when you use a night cream, you generally won’t go out in public for quite a while. So night creams can be much heavier and leave you shiny, while day creams have to absorb more quickly and then end up less moisturizing.
OMG thank you, Christine! Those are two of the biggest beauty lies I think- toner may be helpful for other things but it doesn’t ‘close your pores’. I have naturally large pores and there is very little I can use to make them look smaller. I also used to have very bad breakouts which nothing would help until I started taking the pill- now I can skip cleansing or leave make up on and nothing causes a breakout. Most of the time it’s purely hormonal and no exterior lotions or potions can fix that.
I also loathe the idea that acne is caused by not looking after yourself- I used to have well meanng people suggest that I eat a better diet with less greasy fried food. I had a fantastic diet with lots of greens and fish and lentils and never ate greasy food! Acne does NOT mean a bad diet or poor hygiene!
I totally agree with acne being hormonal. I do think your health and diet can be reflected in your skin and overall appearance. Junk food doesn’t give you pimples, but if someone has a very poor diet it can manifest in lacklustre skin and hair. Equally someone can have good skin and a crap diet, or terrible skin and a great diet!
Agreed! You need to look after yourself inside and out, but I hate that flash judgement. I have friends who have the worst diets but great skin- it’s each person’s metabolism and internal body chemistry.
If you don’t mind me asking, what BC pill has helped your hormonal acne? I’ve tried a couple, still looking for one that works for me!
Not at all! It’s co-cyprindiol, sometimes sold under the names Diane and Dianette. I’ve been taking it for nearly two years and it’s done wonders for my skin (had struggled with acne for about 9 years before). I get it in the UK under the NHS, so I’m not sure what it would be called elsewhere.
There were some early warnings with blood pressure and clots associated with it, but recent studies have shown there’s no more risk than with any other BC pill. I checked all this with my doc first because I read up on it and that was flagged as a concern. He said it’s not a problem with this pill and I get my blood pressure checked every 6 months to make sure.
Side effects: My skin is much drier now (was really oily before) but not terribly so- nothing a good moisturiser doesn’t sort out. I also gained some weight, (about 3-4 kilos) but I’d rather have regular cycles and no huge painful spots on my face than worry about that!
Good to know, thank you!
I use junel and it helped me a lot.
BB creams work, look good.
BB cream contains all of the essential ingredients that you would need from a face cream. Not only does it serve as a foundation by evening out your skin tone, it also has sunscreen and ingredients that improve the health of your skin. It also contains anti-aging ingredients to keep your skin young and fresh.
bull…
Someone – and I’m forgetting who, but I can dig up a link – actually took several BB creams, like you find in Korea, and analyzed them, and they’re basically made of silicones and some sunscreen ingredients. Very minimal skincare benefit at all: http://musicalhouses.blogspot.com/2012/12/bb-creams-hype-vs-ingredients-do-they.html (found the link)
Hi BlueRaccoon, So glad you shared the info. I was just going to check out Korean BB creams for my summer sunscreen. I’ll pass now. Thanks!!!
I’m an Esthetician. Your pores don’t “open and close” they contract and expand. If your pore becomes filled oil, dead skin cells, and debri…then it expands thus creating a blemish. Once that blemish is extracted, that pore contracts. Also Toners are SO important for the skin. It helps restore your skins natural PH level.
I am an esthetician also, and its important to exfoliate regularly to remove dead skin cell buildup. pH balance is SO super important! Unbalanced skin leads to your face being too dry or too oily which causes all sorts of problems.
Hi Megan & Teresa…you are probably going to send me a bill for all of my questions. I was trying to learn more about skincare right as this topic was posted so I’m going nuts!
Geez, I think there is another factor that I am ignorant about..I thought dry skin wasn’t supposed to use toner so I haven’t used any for many years. Are you saying that even dry sensitive skin people should exfoliate AND use toners? If so, any suggestions on toner products? I already made a note to look for exfoliation products you mention below.
Sorry to ask so many questions…I’m really trying to learn and get my skin doing better and truly appreciate your input.
Hey Kelly, I honestly don’t mind answering your questions. It’s actually great to talk to someone who is as interested and curious as you are.
To answer your question, yes everyone should use a toner and exfoliate. A toner should be used daily where as exfoliating should only be done occasionally based on skin type/sensitivity. I know I mentioned Image Skincare before with their enzyme mask, if you want to look into their cleansers as well it would be a great idea. All of their cleansers (they have 4) are 3-in-1 (minus their Vital C Hydrating cleanser which is 4-in-1). So all of their cleansers act as Cleansers, Exfoliators, and Toners (so no need to buy a separate toner). Their Vital C Hydrating cleanser is all 3 of those things plus a great makeup remover.
Honestly, I think that the whole “you need to BE on a regimen” for your skin idea is kind of a way for companies to sell you a few hundred dollars of their product – and I’ve been there and done that for years, until the last couple of years or so. I’d try a product, and my skin would feel great, so I’d go and buy a whole product line…and my skin would be good, but it’s not like angels would sing or anything (and my wallet wept). Then when I started choosing skincare samples with my Sephora and Ulta orders, and doing the beauty subscription services, suddenly I had other options. Not enough for weeks at a time, but maybe a one-time sample – or a deluxe sample for a day or two (or a little more). And all that changing around? Hey, I’m 49, and my skin has never looked any better than it does right now. I’m not saying my way is the right way and that you SHOULD continuously use different stuff – I’m saying that the MYTH is that you need to “find a skincare line that works for you, then stay with it.” I do it differently pretty much every day…including having days where I use a baby wipe as my cleanser and following up with a moisturizer sample if I’m running late in the morning – and my skin looks pretty darned good for an old broad!
That is so true! I used to throw away skin care samples because I thought that using different products would be bad for my skin and that the small sizes are not really worth the trouble. I was so wrong! I’m in my early 30s and sinc
opps, hit the enter button too early there. I was just saying that since I’ve mixed up my skin care a lot (midrange staples and high-end samples), my skin has been the best it has ever been in my life.
I, too, have heard, “No, you can’t buy only the cleanser from this line; all of the products are designed to work together, and unless you’re using/buying every single product in this line, you’ll get no benefits.”
Why not just come right out and say, “I think you’re stupid!”?
I used to work behind a high end make up counter. It’s all a huge cash cow! And mostly bogus, the only things that ever stood up to actual Science are those Arden Ceramides. But you can get that at the drugstore in a good moisturizer now. It’s all image and hope; exactly how cigarettes were marketed!
The Dr Big Shot lines at Sephora are better, since they’re all based on the stuff your great granny used! Salicylic Acid? Aspirin. Or willow bark before 1904.
I shop at the drugstore and read labels. Unfancy. Works fine. I have three products by the sink, and am too lazy to mix it up. Make up wipes, cleanser, Retin A, moisturizer. Plenty nuff stuff.
I dislike the “washing your face twice a day is bad for your skin” rule.
That’s like saying there are NO exceptions. Sure you’re going to strip your face of natural oils but thats why we have awesome things like moisturizers and stuff from mother nature in the form of oils.
My face is finally on it’s way to not being crap and I wash twice a day. Once at night to get the days’s crud off of it, and again in the morning to get the night’s crud off because of whatever was in my hair (regular city pollution, warehouse dirt) and pillowcase is now on my face.
I follow both washes with Maracuja oil to put the moisture back in and even in the dead of winter in Winnipeg, my face is flake free.
So the “OH NOES DON’T WASH TWICE EVERRRR” people can stick a fork in it. My face is clean. My face is awesome. My routine works for me and I’m sticking to it 🙂
Also hate when people say that wearing makeup causes acne. My dad has bad skin. MUST BE ALL THE MAKEUP HE’S WEARING :/
Your comment about your dad and all the makeup he must be wearing made me laugh out loud! Hilarious. 🙂
lolollll! i totally can relate to all those naysayers to makeup and how it ruins that skin…
Huh, I’ve never heard that as a must. Might be the backlash from when I’ve heard people insist you’ve got to be washing your hair and face constantly. I think that there are probably many folks out there with oil problems that might benefit from cutting down on overwashing, but it’s not a hard and fast rule by any means!
Although I don’t think some people necessarily need to use a colored product over the entire face, a colored concealer is actually a great way to conceal. If you use a color that is complimentary to what you’re trying o conceal on the color wheel, it neutralizes that color, making it easier for your foundation to blend over it afterwards. For example, a dot of green concealer over a red blemish will be hidden really well. That being said, it is pretty tricky to master, and it definitely isn’t for everyone. If color correcting isn’t your main concern, then you definitely are fine with your skin tone of foundation and concealer. But some problems may benefit from that extra bit of help!
So agree! A touch of green covers my rosacea and broken capillaries much easier and looks more natural than a ton of concealer that still doesn’t cover as much redness and is hard to blend seamlessly – with MY limited skills and time allowed.
“oil is evil”
That one cost me 20+ years of problematic skin. Tossing all my cleansers, scrubs, acids, toners, etc and using cold pressed evoo was the best thing I ever did.
That lie that certain foods will cause acne. While what you eat has an impact on the overall quality of the skin, to attribute acne directly to foods like chocolate was just stupid. I grew up reading that in every magazine until our dermatologist told us it was not true.
People used to tell me that I “need to pop” any pimple that appeared on my face, that doing so would make the pimple go away more quickly. I ignored that advice, and today I have very minimal scarring.
I grew up listening to the constant reminders that my acne was because of junk food. And from the family members who were watching me eat my meat and potatoes and veggies on a daily basis!!
Another one was that moisturizers should not be used on oily skin, because they will just add to the problem. I still have oily skin in my t-zone, and I’m prone to dry flaky skin on my forehead and around my mouth, usually when winter hits. Moisturizer is a MUST!!
I hate the myth about your skin “purging” when you try a new skin care. When I found the skin care that worked for me I realized that is SO untrue. When a product actually works with your skin it’ll clear it up and make the texture better, it will not make it worse before that happens. I’ve spent a lot of painful and embarrassing weeks because of that myth!
Exfoliation. All it does it make me break out.
Like you said, mostly it’s just the idea that there is a RIGHT way to do something, if it works who cares! Shut up and leave me alone it’s MY face!
That and the idea that oily skin should be dried out or that oily skinned people should use oil-free everything! I’ve found a number of times that turning people onto products that have natural oils in them actually help keep the oil under control. If you have oily skin you HAVE oily skin – sometimes just giving your skin the oil that it wants you to have will sort of “trick” it into not making any more.
But again, that’s just one method – there’s no right way when it comes to skincare 🙂
Aaa drying out oily skin drives me nuts. Certain brands have this idea that if you’re a little more oily, all your products should have high levels of alcohol in and it’s just… NO. That makes my skin worse. Gaaaah.
It may not be about oil it wants so much as back off on the brutal acne treatment and feed me good moisturizer! A lot of supposed adult acne isn’t and oil is self defense.
Allergy will also set off an oil slick, especially things like dust mites and skin exposure problems like dogs slinking through weeds in the back yard and bringing stuff in on their coats. Mold can trigger this too. Look to your environment.
Then there’s hormones…
I’ve been using Josie Maran argan oil on my face about an hour before I go to bed (I sleep on my stomach so I don’t want it all wiping off before it gets a chance to work.) My nose is oil city, the rest of my face is perfectly fine. After a couple nights of the argan oil, my nose is almost the same as the rest of my face. It’s kinda awesome, and I’ve always figured that my nose was oily because it wasn’t clean enough or I needed to use more oil-control products. It’s awesome.
There are many that do many sense like not using water that is too hot or too cold to avoid stimulating the production of red veins. I do know that Vitamin C and A definitely help skin regenerate and smooth the appearance of those dreaded “big” pores and wrinkles but where I think the “myth” aspect comes in is telling us all that only their (skincare company) product contains the right formula for the problem concerned.
I make my own skin care serums because to many of the “active” ingredients in skin care products are better fresh and can be utilised by your skin immediately (especially when combined with other ingredients at the time).
Personally I do like and use SOME skin care brands that use simple but concentrated ingredient combinations when they are nor exorbitantly priced. You can make your own if you wish.
Necessity of toner is a total myth I believe. Also I really don’t believe that there is great difference in high end and cheaper products in terms of long term performance.
My pet peeve when it comes to cosmetic/skincare myths is that ‘SKIN BREATHES”. I particularly dislike this myth when it is perpetrated in advertising.
Skin DOES NOT breathe. That is what our lungs are for.
This one bugs me too.
My mother constantly claims that wearing makeup is terrible for the skin and that it’s the reason why i break out sometimes..
despite the fact that I always wash it off when I come home. My dermatologist told me it was completely safe to wear makeup as long as it was taken off ( and later told me the cause of my acne was hormones ). As long as it’s not heavily applied and it’s a compatible, quality formula, foundation is not the enemy.
Do make sure to wash any makeup brushes and toss sponges often so you’re not reapplying shed dead skin cells and oil that can clog pores. :3
Many older foundations from several years ago WERE very thick and heavy and greasy, but foundations have made wonderful strides in formulations since then!
As for your acne, technically everyone’s acne is caused by hormones, so your foundation is probably just fine if you haven’t shown an itchy, red or irritated reaction to it.
Retinols! On the shelf. By law, products with enough Retinol to do anything are Rx only. There’s good resin for this- overuse can really maim you, and people do dumb things. But it’s worth scoring- It’s the best thing in the world for acne and/ or wrinkles.
If you start Retin A you’re warned about The Flare. Every zit brewing will suddenly erupt at once. The trade you make for Nicole Kidman skin in a few weeks.
Pet Peeve 2- My new treatment made me break out! See above. Salicylic acid is an anti inflammant; If you’re a lucky duck who drew the genes for folliculitis it’s a godsend, after it flares you. Breaking out is sometimes good. If its a true allergic reaction that’s bad, but it doesn’t look like acne. And sometimes you needed the weaker version of something. Look at your skin, not the pimples. How is it doing?
You have to suffer if you want to be beautiful. Well that’s true, but it includes the gym.
Hi Lark! Can you please clarify for me…I just started Retinol (for wrinkles – whah) it is RX Tretinion Cream .05% strength with emollient so it will be easier on my skin. I am definitely having a lot of breakout (not allergic) even though I am slowly increasing from every 3rd night. My skin is extremely dry (with lots of moisturizer).
What do you mean by “There’s good resin for this- overuse can really maim you, and people do dumb things.” What type of maiming you and cause – that is some strong wording and I would like to be educated if there is something I don’t know about. You also mentioned overuse, please clarify. I would hate to think I’m battling some wrinkles and create damage out of ignorance. Thanks in advance for the clarification!!!
The breakouts you are seeing is because your RX Tretinoin cream is bringing all those impurities to the surface. It’s normal to see that. Is your skin normally oily/sensitive as opposed to dry/sensitive?
Hi Megan, I’m not sure if you are talking to me or Lark…so I’ll answer just in case. I have really dry and hyper sensitive skin. I also live at very high altitude in the mountains and am on loads of dehydrating meds (internally so skin is obviously affected). I’m not surprised or concerned about the breakouts. It was just Lark’s comments about overuse and maiming that made me take note. Any thought would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi Kelly B! I know I am not the original poster, but I would like to help settle your concerns, if I may! 🙂
Prescription retinoids are serious business – they *work*. This is the reason Retin-A and tretinoin, etc, are all prescription-only — they are strong stuff. The risks associated with the treatment can be minimized, though, and with proper care and usage, can be avoided completely.
This is why a doctor is required to prescribe them. They are supposed to follow the patients treatment and usage of the medication, and to make decisions on stopping or continuing usage of the product if it is not suitable for the patients skin type.
I know I had a whole pamphlet to take home with I was prescribed Retin-A which listed usage instructions, how to build up to using it daily, and a FAQ-type sheet of my Dr’s product recommendations to help with dryness, etc.
Now, the “maim” that Lark was referring to– yes, it is some alarming wording, 🙂 but she was using it to back up her point — “over the counter retinols aren’t effective. The kind of retinoids that are effective are prescription only, because they are very strong and can hurt the uninformed user.”
Retinoids can cause irritation and if not properly used can dry out your skin, creating cracks which can lead to all sorts of icky problems, and unproperly-cared-for skin with these cracks can be a breeding ground for infection (cellulitis) inside the tissue, which is never, ever fun.
The uninitiated retinoid user is likely to be started at a lesser dosage and instructed to work their way up as their skin adapts. People who are guided by a doctor can avoid all of those problems almost completely, which is why they are prescription only.
Don’t fret miss Kelly!! Just listen to your physicians directions and I hope it turns out great for you! I am on my third go-round (in about 10 yrs) with a retinoid and this time I am hoping I can make it through the initial breakout and dry period. Good luck to you!!
Hi Megan D…Thank you! My prescribing MD is a derm but I only see him for Melanoma. I asked for ideas on serums/lotions that TRULY help wrinkles. RX strength Retinal is the only thing he suggests. He was only doing me a favor by writing the RX & just told me to increase from every 3rd night to nightly over a 2 week period, get emollient type for dryness and breakouts are common. That is all I knew…I see him every 3 months unless I see something he needs to check, but only for cancer stuff, biopsies, stitches, etc. He isn’t really checking me related to the Retinal (I can’t afford to pay for longer visits). Lark’s comments kinda made me nervous, I’m really dry flaky all over face. My immune system doesn’t work very well and I don’t heal from minor things like a hangnail. After Melanoma surgery I had cellulitis and it is nasty, wounds dehissed (too much leg removed to stay closed) and very bad infection hip thru foot, after 33 days in hospital still had several months of wound care every couple of days at home. I am so grateful for your help and now understand I need to hold at this level until dryness improves and talk to derm immediately if I see anything starting that you’ve described. I cannot thank you enough!!!
I never knew that, but it makes sense. I thought it must be coincidence that I break out more during allergy season. That was good information!
There is the myth of drinking a lot of water to moisturize your skin. Of course, your entire body and brain benefit from the proper amount of water, but it will not “moisturize” your skin in of itself.
I don’t know if anyone will agree with me, but “tugging on your eyes will make them wrinkly” seems like SUCH a myth to me.
Honestly, age, sun exposure, and genetics cause wrinkles, not putting on eyeliner. Everyone gets wrinkles, and putting on eyeliner isn’t going to make them wrinkly faster!
Also there aren’t any studies to prove this…
I agree. I tug everytime I apply liner on my waterline.
It drives me absolutely crazy when people are always looking for “chemical-free” or “natural” skincare and cosmetics. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHEMICAL-FREE! You would cease to exist! Everything in this world that is made of matter besides electricity is a chemical. You are made of chemicals. Water, oxygen, everything. Companies that claim their products don’t contain any chemicals are flat out LYING to you in order for you to buy their product. They think you’re stupid. Either that, or they are stupid themselves.
Also, the term ‘natural’ means absolutely nothing. Along with the term mineral and hypo-allergenic. 99% of powder ingredients are mineral by-products as it is so when I see “mineral” companies boasting about their pure and natural ingredients I just laugh because it is purely marketing and nothing else. Also cosmetics companies can claim their products are hypo-allergenic and do no testing whatsoever to back up these claims. I must mention that 99% of ‘unique, plant botanical extracts’ that you’ve most likely never heard of before listed in skincare products simply do not work. They are claims ingredients, which means they are put in formulas in very low concentrations (usually at .001%) but have no purpose other than making you think you’re buying a superior product with superior ingredients that’s going to give you the results you want over another product. They serve no purpose other than just being there so they can list in the ingredients. It is truly a deceptive and sneaky way of marketing, but it’s true.
I hear ya, CC!
I studied quite a bit of chemistry in college, and at times I would stand in the middle of the shampoo aisle at the drugstore, reading labels and laughing my head off.
I mean, really – “quarternized wheat protein molecules?”
Yeah, there’s such a thing as quaternary structure in proteins, and hair is protein, but it’s quite a stretch to imagine that putting what is essentially mushed-up wheat on my hair is going to improve its condition.
Come on – sure, you want to make your product seem appealing, but don’t insult my intelligence!
I hate when people say that because you have bad skin, you must not wash your face. If only it were that simple!