1.Touching Everything, All the Time, Always
For so many the temptation is very real, you feel yourself starting to break out a little, and you can’t help yourself from touching the spot, over and over again. You look at it, you obsess about it, you touch it some more.
STOP! For the love of everything skin beautiful, stop touching your skin so much with your dirty hands. You play with your phone and touch all kinds of weird things all the time, if you touch your face right after, you are adding fuel to the breakout fire.
Make sure you wash your hands frequently and touch your face, only with clean hands. Even still, the more you can take yourself out of the habit of touching every little nook and cranny, the better!
2.Using Everything Under the Sun, Always
This celebrity endorses this product, another recommends that, you buy them both and apply at the same time. You go shopping, come home with no less than five new skincare products and use each of them before bed without giving a thought to what goes on first or anything else. Your beauty cabinet is overflowing with products that have been used to varying degrees, and you have no idea what actually works.
If any of the above sounds like you, you need to chill out! Seriously, it does not make sense to try a million things at once. You will never be able to know what is working well and you will often set yourself up for failure if you pile on too many things don’t agree with your skin, and yet you can’t isolate what is causing it. It also can be nice to take a rest every once and awhile and use NO PRODUCTS for a week or two just to let your skin rebalance itself from the constant chemical onslaught you are waging against it.
If you add new products, do it slowly and watch results before adding more into the mix, this way you can see what is helping and what might be setting you back.
3. Neglecting to Wear Sunblock
Cancer is soon to be the leading cause of death in the United States. Conservative estimates place 2030 as the date when cancer deaths overtake all others. Grim, I know but did you know Melanoma, is one of the most deadly forms of cancer? Did you know that if you expose yourself to the sun frequently you are at an exceptionally high risk of developing this and many other forms of skin cancer?
Were you aware that sun damage also ages your skin dramatically?
Sunblock is an easy and simple choice. Many moisturizers contain sunscreens in them making it less of a hassle as many of us use moisturizer every day anyway. Like any product, take the time to research the best, most natural product for your specific skin type.
4. Falling For Marketing Spin and Luxury Hype
It can be tough to read through the lines when it comes to marketing and advertising language. These words and symbols are designed explicitly to grab your attention and make you think that a given product is the best thing since sliced bread. The problem grows if you go to a salon or boutique and are bombarded with sales pitches from really friendly salespeople. These friendly people often work on commission so selling is important, informing about the best things for you and your skin might not be as much of a priority.
The bottom line is, you should always be willing to investigate the claims brands make, look into what components are in a given product and if you want to be in your game, where they are sourced. Do not buy blindly. Always shop as a savvy and informed consumer!
5. Buying “All Natural” or “Organic” without Reading Between the Lines
So very much related to the previous item, buying organic and natural products without considering the details can be a huge mistake. Companies of all kinds realize customers are gravitating towards these products. As a result, there are many things on the market which are labeled organic and natural but contain nasty additives that you might miss if you aren’t savvy about ingredients and potentially chemical names.
Again, the more you inform yourself about the brands you buy and the products you use, the better you can protect yourself from the spin of marketers and those who would rather remove the dollars from your hand then ensure your best health.
6.Thinking Oil is the Worst for Oily Skin
Crazy as it sounds, sometimes applying things like coconut oil or mineral oil to your face is the best possible thing you could ever do to combat oily skin. These naturally oily products will help to balance your natural skin’s moisture balance without over-drying.
So many cleansers designed to address oil, simply mask the problem by drying the skin out with harsh chemicals. It may not work for everyone, but like many things with beauty, it pays off to experiment to learn what is best for your skin.
7. Applying Lemon Juice to Your Face
Lemon juice is very acidic. It can work wonders for some people and leave others feeling literally burned from the harshness. Use products like this with extreme caution, if at all. What works for some, may not work for all, and applying something as caustic as lemon juice to your face is a risky proposition.
8. Failing to Know Thyself
Without getting all philosophical, the key to taking care of yourself is knowing what you really need. This means that instead of just trying things because your friends or celebrities endorse them, take the time to learn your skin type and know what products and ingredients will work best for you.
Everyone is different, and everyone reacts to products differently. The more you know about your skin, the better you can treat it!
9. Betting Incorrectly in the Game of Exfoliation
Exfoliation became such a huge buzzword. It is nearly impossible to avoid when shopping for beauty products. Many items such as the apricot scrub you might have used this morning contain microscopic pieces of plastic which damage skin. These pieces also wreck havoc on natural environments, but that is another story. The bottom line is, the exfoliation you FEEL working, may be hurting you. Do not be mislead by feeling.
You do not need to feel the exfoliation process physically. Truthfully many chemical exfoliants, despite the scariness of that chemical word, are much more effective for certain skin types. This is another area where you need to know yourself. There is no hard and fast rule. Just know scrubbing yourself to you are red, is not the key to success for most people!
10. Continuing to Bring SLS containing Products Home
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is an additive that is in many leading and exceptionally popular beauty products. It is usually added because it creates a foaming action that when you think about soaps and shampoos, might be something you know very well. In all cases, SLS is an irritant which can dry out many people’s skin. Avoiding this additive should be a priority. It isn’t hard, just look at labels and see if it is listed. Check this link for additional help finding Products without SLS.
