Common Skincare Mistakes That Accentuate Your Skin Concern
Are you investing a lot of time and money into your skincare, but still can’t see the expected results? It may be that you’re making one of these 7 common mistakes that can not only make your skincare ineffective, but can actually harm your skin, too.
No matter your age and what your skin concerns may be, these mistakes
can affect you. I myself had no idea how often to cleanse until
recently, and it turned out that a proper cleanse helped me get rid of
the persistent whiteheads that undermined my self-confidence for way too
long.
If you want to learn what mistakes to avoid and what to do instead,
simply continue reading.
Mistake 1. Applying Too Much
It's very tempting to apply more product hoping that more of the good
stuff will surely make your face look more beautiful. Unfortunately,
this approach is not the best one, as dermatologists and facialists
alike agree that less is more when it comes to your creams, serums and
potions.
If you do use more, you’re simply wasting your money.
For no more money down the drain, here are the general guidelines on how
much product to use:
A grape-sized amount for: cleansers, cleansing waters, toners/mists,
body lotions and masks.
A pea-sized amount for: face lotions and creams, as well as hand and
foot creams.
A rice-sized amount for: serums, eye creams, facial oils and
treatments.
skincare mistakes too much
Also, instead of applying too much, get the
most of your products by layering them correctly: start from the
products with the highest viscosity, such as toners and serums, and then
seal in your plump, freshly rehydrated skin with a good lotion or
moisturizer.
Mistake 2. Cleansing Too Often
As I’ve written above, yours truly is guilty of committing this mistake.
After all, what could be the harm in keeping your skin clean? As turns
out, there can be a lot of harm, as overcleansing can strip your skin
from its natural moisture and make it more susceptible to acne, rosacea
and dry it out considerably.
On top of that, it can also make oily or
combination skin more oily, as the skin is trying to compensate for the
lost moisture by producing even more sebum. A general rule is to cleanse
no more than twice a day.
If you wear makeup or sunscreen, it is also recommended to
double-cleanse: first wash off the makeup with your favorite cleanser or
cleansing water, and then repeat to clean your skin, especially those
pesky pores.
Mistake 3. Sleeping With Your Makeup On
Every woman knows that sleeping in makeup is one of the worst things one
can do to their skin. Still, we all do it from time to time. The
results of a lazy evening can range from clogged pores and acne to eye
infections, such as conjunctivitis, as eye makeup tends to migrate
inside your eyes during sleep.
The remedy is simple: wash your makeup off, or at least remove it with a
wipe.
A great illustration of what sleeping in
makeup could do for your skin is Anna Pursglove’s little experiment.
Anna is a Dailymail reporter who decided to test what would happen if
she didn’t wash her face at night for a month.
In the end of the experiment, a dermatologist that supervised Anna’s
journey concluded that she aged by 10 years! Her wrinkles looked more
prominent, her skin was parched, and her pores were all clogged up, all
of which made her skin look older, quite red and inflamed. Just look at
the before and after picture above.
Mistake 4. Applying Skincare Right Before Bed
It is a bad habit to postpone taking your makeup and doing your skincare
routine as late as possible, as it increases the possibility of
skipping it altogether, which definitely links this mistake with the
previous one.
But that’s not all, another reason why you might want to apply your
evening skincare no less than an hour before bed is that your skin needs
time to absorb the products. Alternatively, you’ll just end up smearing
your expensive creams all over your pillowcase and sheets.
Mistake 5. Using the Wrong Skincare For
Your Skin Type
This is a complex problem, as it requires quite a lot of trial and
effort to understand your skin. Still, it is possible to generalize and
say that dry skin requires more moisturizing, thick creams, whereas
combination and oily skins should opt for lightweight lotions when it
comes to moisturizers.
Both under- and overmoisturizing your skin can result in acne and more
textured skin.
The situation is more complex with sensitive and acne-prone skins, as
they require careful examination of the products’ ingredients to exclude
any potentially irritating ingredients:
Essential oils
Fragrance
Petroleum-based ingredients
Sulphates, etc.
Acne-prone skin would also benefit from
ingredients that fight acne, such as salicylic acid.
The same goal should be maintained when cleansing:
Sensitive, acne-prone and dry skins should opt for hypoallergenic,
fragrance-free cream cleansers that don’t strip the skin of moisture.
Combo and oily skins would rather benefits from foaming and gel
cleansers because they clean the pores better.
Mistake
6. Tugging At Your Eye Area
Wrinkles around your eyes form more easily than in any other part of
your face, as the skin in this area is the most delicate and thin.
The fact that many of us like to wear eye makeup only complicates the
situation even further, at it takes quite a lot of effort to remove
waterproof mascara and eyeliner. To avoid tugging on your eyes, either
use a cleansing oil or a cotton pad soaked in eye makeup remover that
you should hold for 20 seconds on your eye before gently wiping it off.
The key here is to avoid rubbing your eyes and be as gentle as possible.
As to eye cream application, use only your ring finger to spread the
cream around your eyes (but never on the eyelid), as it has the gentlest
touch.
Mistake 7. Neglecting Your Neck (and
Decollete)
My mother always used to say that a woman’s age usually shows on her
neck and her hands. I completely agree, but I would also add the upper
chest area to that list. Indeed, many women neglect their neck and
decollete while applying a lot of product on their face, which can
result in an unfortunate disparity.
To avoid this from happening, apply all of your facial skincare onto
your neck and decollete, and you will age gracefully and always look
like your best self.
