5 Skin Care Myths

We’ve all been given some bad advice at some point in our lives but when it comes to skin care, we can’t risk getting any bad advice. After all, it’s our bodies we’re talking about here! So it’s time to clear up some of these myths and set the record straight.

1. “Skipping sunscreen is okay.”

Whoever told you this bold lie (especially in the winter) couldn’t be more wrong. The sun can often be deceiving, even more so when you can’t see it but it’s always there. Think of the sun as that one helicopter mom that always knows what someone is up to, where they are, and who they’re with. If that’s not clear enough for you, consider it as Santa or that one lady named Roz in Monsters Inc. that’s “Always watching you Wazowski” . If that’s not clear enough - the sun is always there. 

Rain, shine, blizzard, and darkest day of the year, the sun is only a cloud away and its UV rays are always extending themselves down. It’s also not enough to just put sunscreen on your face, as your lips need protection too. For your lips, look into buying a lip balm that has SPF so that you’re nourishing and protecting your lips at the same time. 

2. “There is no such thing as over exfoliating.”

Exfoliating is great for your skin as it helps your skin shed dead skin cells to make way for the new ones. However, whoever said that there is no such thing as over exfoliating was wrong. 

After a certain point exfoliating your skin on a regular basis, such as every day, you won’t be giving you skin a chance to complete its natural cell generating process. If you begin to over exfoliate you’ll find yourself getting rid of new skin cells and irritating your skin. You shouldn’t be exfoliating more than once or twice a week! So like many things in life, exfoliating is best in moderation. 

3. “It’s okay to sleep with makeup on.”

Although this one has become more apparent over the years, a lot of us still do this from time to time. You might be thinking, “It's okay if I forget every once in a while”, but really you’re making excuses for yourself. Even though one night of sleeping in your makeup may not make a large difference in the grand scheme of things, the more you do it the more it adds up. 

Sleeping in makeup is a big mistake considering the fact that even wearing it for a couple of hours is not the best for our skin. Each night that you sleep in your makeup your pores become more and more clogged. Over time, these clogged pores can attract acne-causing bacteria to your pores and cause your face to breakout. 

Wearing makeup overnight can also lead to a collagen breakdown which will dry out your skin, cause redness and sensitivity, and ultimately speed up the aging process for wrinkles. Also keep in mind the fact that you’ll be adding more bacteria to your bed sheets as the makeup particles seep into them with the collection of sweat and bacteria that you have collected throughout the day. 

4. “Fake tanning is good for you.”

Fake tanning is a process that some people start at a shockingly young age, and continues to be used up until the final stages of some people's lives. There have been rumors that fake tanning can be good for you which gives people the motivation and excuse to keep fake tanning. The reality is that when done in moderation for low amounts of time, tanning can help protect your skin. This is the idea of getting a base tan before going somewhere tropical so that you don’t burn.

The protection coming out of this process is however very minimal and you’ll still need to slather on some sunscreen. In fact, you’re better off just wearing sunscreen from the beginning and skipping the tanning session. In the end, fake tanning is really not great for you as the tanning beds emit UVB and UVA rays that damage skin and can lead to premature aging and skin cancers.  No matter what your stance is on this topic, cancer should be enough to turn you off from fake tanning. 

5. “You don’t need to moisturize if you have oily skin.”

No matter what kind of skin you have moisturizing is an important hydrating step to skin care. Moisturizing should therefore be done by everyone, the only difference between the different skin types is how much is applied and the heaviness of the moisturizer. 

If you have oily skin and you’re currently not wearing any moisturizer you’re allowing UV rays and pollution easier access to your skin. Moisturizing creates a film barrier from pollution and UV rays and protecting the skin moisture barrier. Without it, your moisture barrier can become damaged, creating a loss of moisture. Although this may sound good, as it sounds like you will be reducing the amount of oil your skin produces, what it means is that your body will actually begin to increase oil production to offset the lack of moisture leaving your skin shinier than ever.

On certain topics, especially skin care, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. One person says one thing, while someone else says the complete opposite. You can rest assured that we have busted some skin care myths for you, once and for all. Now that you’re well equipped with some real facts on what not to do to your skin, share them with others to shut these myths down for good.