What not to do ... Top 10 Skin Myths

As we grow up we pick up through no fault of our own beauty myths that are neither questioned nor doubted. Over the years we find ourselves believing countless beauty habits just because someone’s aunts’ sisters’ daughters’ friends’ mum said it worked for them!

In order to set the record straight I’ve put together a list of the top ten most commonly believed skin myths … How many did you deem true? 

1. Myth: You need to wash your face twice a day

Truth: Actually, washing your face just once a day is sufficient. Cleansing at the end of the day is most important to wash away make-up and dirt from the day. Unless you slept with your make up on or were digging in your sleep, cleansing in the morning is unnecessary. Gentle exfoliation with a muslin is better for your skin than rougher creams.

2. Myth: Toothpaste gets rid of spots

Truth: Although toothpaste will often dry spots out the irritation it can cause to the skin can make them stick around much longer than they would have if you'd left them alone.

3. Myth: Always splash out on expensive products

Truth: If you really are interested in taking good care of your skin, you should look at the ingredients rather than the price. Good quality ingredients are most important. But that doesn't mean that you should regularly be dishing out £100s on products. Good ingredients are widely available at reasonable prices.

Look for vitamin A as its retinyl palmitate form, Vitamin C as Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, and Linseed and Kiwi Seed, which are incredible sources of Omega 3. These ingredients all help the functions of the skin which in turn makes it look good.

4. Myth: You need separate creams for around your eyes

Truth: In most cases, if you are using good quality skin care, you can simply massage that product closer to the eye area. That being said, if you have a particular concern only associated with eyes for example, dark circles, puffiness, or thinning, then a specially formulated cream for the area may be advised.

5. Myth: You need to wear sun cream at all times all year round.

Truth: This all depends on where you live. In the UK, we are not exposed to such high levels of UV exposure in our winter months, like countries such as Australia, South Africa. There is no UVB exposure in the winter months in the UK but there might be some exposure to UVA.  The need to apply a SPF just to protect us from the chance of some UVA exposure is quite unnecessary in the UK in the winter months. It would be safer for the skin to use skin care ingredients that are known to have UVA protection such as vitamin A.

In the summer, aim to include skin care with vitamin A, C or green tea in as these ingredients prevent UV damage in the skin cells whilst you’re SPF prevents absorption of the rays.

6. Myth: You should exfoliate at least once a week

Truth: A new and deeper understanding of how the skin sheds naturally shows us that certain abrasives can be detrimental to the skin in the long run. It is better for the skin to use muslin cloths and soft face towels after cleansing as well as massage to aid skin desquamation. This can be incorporated into your daily cleanse. The days of scrubbing our face are long gone. 

7. Myth: ‘Natural’ means gentle and hypoallergenic

Truth: Natural is such a widely used term now, it's difficult to decide on an explanation. I like to describe a 'natural' product as something that helps to promote the skin's natural processes. These products are gentle on the skin and do not include irritating ingredients.

But 'natural' ingredient can be strong so just because they're not synthetic doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be the best option for sensitive skin. Sunbathing may give you temporarily better skin, but long-term it's a bad idea.

8. Myth: The cleaner skin the better

Truth: Skin has a natural barrier of oils, fats and water to protect it against the elements like bacteria and environmental pollutants.

Washing with soap based products strips away that protection, and it can take up to eight hours for this barrier to rebuild!

9. Myth: Use the same line of products for best results

Truth: Companies would love this to be true, but in truth different products will always act differently so there's no reason to think that every product from one brand will work best for you.

10. Myth: Junk food leads to acne

Truth: Although it's not good for you, there's no serious medical evidence to prove that this is true.

So basically from now on we'll be throwing away our eye cream, washing our faces LESS and keeping an eye on those ingredients.

Hope this helped clear up any misconceptions :)