12 Common Skincare Mistakes To Avoid
Skincare is a tricky business. The market is flooded with options, most of which are expensive, and a lot of them don’t work. The key to success is finding products that work for you and sticking with them long enough to see results. Regarding skincare, it’s important to remember that everyone’s skin is different, so what works for one person may not work for another.
However, there are some common mistakes that many people make regarding their skincare routines that could slow down your results or even make things worse! Here are some ways that you might unknowingly sabotage your efforts.
1. Over-Exfoliating
While exfoliation is essential in a skincare routine, it’s easy to overdo it and cause more damage than good. Exfoliating removes dead skin cells, the first layer of skin protection against environmental stressors like pollution and wind.
When this layer is removed too frequently or not replaced by new collagen production from within the body, you could expose your face to harmful elements without adequate protection. If you decide to exfoliate regularly—which we recommend—make sure that you’re only doing so once or twice per week (or even less) at most.
The best way to determine how often you should exfoliate is by looking at your skin. If it’s looking dull and lifeless, or if you’re prone to breakouts, try a gentle exfoliating cleanser two times per week. If your skin isn’t showing any signs of over-exfoliation, consider upping the frequency of use to three times per week after one month (or less).
If you’re looking for a gentle way to exfoliate your skin, try using a chemical peel or microdermabrasion treatment once every two weeks. This will remove any dead skin cells that have built up on the surface of your face without causing damage.
2. Not Washing Your Face Before Bed
You may think that washing your face before bed is unnecessary, but getting rid of any dirt and makeup residue before you go to sleep is essential. If you don’t wash your face, makeup can clog pores and cause breakouts. Additionally, use a moisturizer with SPF in the evening but never wash off the sunscreen from your day-to-day activities (like driving). It can create an uncomfortable feeling on the skin that people often mistake for being dry.
The frequency at which you should wash your face depends on what type of cleanser you use—but generally speaking, it should be every time after applying makeup or sunscreen and once or twice a day if using an oil-free product. You also want to ensure no traces are left after washing, so consider using a toner afterward!
3. Touching Your Face Constantly
Another thing that can cause breakouts is touching your face too often. When you touch your face, you transfer oil, dirt, and bacteria from your hands onto it. Doing this often can disrupt the natural balance of oils on your skin and cause acne.
That’s why it’s important to be mindful when touching your face. If you’re unsure what we mean by being mindful, here are some tips:
-Keep your hands to yourself! Try not to touch your face at all if possible.
-If you feel like touching your face, wash your hands first, so they’re clean, before touching any part of your body.
-If you need to touch your face for any reason, try using a clean tissue instead of your hands. -Remember: Washing with soap and water is a good way to keep dirt off of your face!
4. Not Using Sunscreen
The sun is beautiful when you’re on a beach, but not so much when it’s cooking your skin. Just like the food you put into your body, taking care of your skin from the outside is just as important. You need to protect yourself from harmful UV rays with sunscreen.
Sunscreen helps prevent damage to your skin that can result in wrinkles and dark spots. The SPF (sun protection factor) measures how well a sunscreen protects against UVB rays that cause burning and long-term damage, including cancerous tumors. If you want to get some color without burning or damaging your skin, choose an SPF between 15 and 30 with UVA and UVB protection.
Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before heading out into the sun and reapply it every two hours—even if you’re in the water!
5. Rubbing Your Skin Dry
The next time you’re in the shower, take a moment to examine the towel you use to dry yourself off. Chances are it’s clean, but if it’s not (or even if it is), there’s an easy solution: wash it!
It may seem like extra work—and washing towels can be kind of annoying—but when you consider all of the germs and bacteria that have been collecting on your towel since the last time you used it, washing out those germs and bacteria seems like a worthwhile investment in keeping your skin clear.
Not only will this help prevent breakouts by cutting down on oil buildup in hair follicles due to regular use of dirty towels, but it’ll also keep any existing pimples at bay by removing dirt buildup from previously affected areas.
If this sounds like too much hassle for a daily task such as drying off after taking a shower or bath, consider using two different cloths for each purpose: one for drying off and one just for patting dry your face afterward. This way, there won’t be any need to wash both regularly because they’re only used occasionally (and thus shouldn’t get too dirty).
6. Forgetting To Cleanse Your Hands Regularly
Did you know that your hands are one of the most significant sources of acne-causing bacteria? The skin on your hands is constantly exposed to the environment and germs, which can cause breakouts if not washed regularly. Washing your hands after contact with dirt or other people will help prevent this problem!
Hand washing is also especially important if you have oily skin, as it’s easy for bacteria to collect in pores and create acne. Hand washing isn’t always convenient during the day, but keeping some hand sanitizer on hand makes it easier to take care of yourself whenever you need it—and it’s much better than skipping out altogether!
7. Sleeping In Makeup
Sleeping with makeup on can lead to breakouts and irritation because the product is not being correctly removed from your face at night. This means that bacteria have had a chance to accumulate all day long without being cleared away by gentle cleanser or toner (or even plain water!).
The result is an increase in acne breakouts that may even take longer than normal for your body’s natural oil production process to correct itself once again after consistently inflamed pores begin their healing process the following day when they’ve been cleansed thoroughly by soap or other skincare product (like a toner).
It’s also important not just because it keeps dirt out of pores which helps prevent infections but also because any inflammation caused by trapped bacteria on top of already inflamed skin will age faster than normal due to lack of oxygenation throughout layers beneath the epidermis.
This becomes noticeable, especially around eyes where wrinkles develop earlier than expected due to poor circulation and lack of oxygen.
8. Skipping Moisturizer After Cleansing
If you’re not using a moisturizer after cleansing, your skin may be dry and flaky. This can lead to redness, irritation, and even breakouts. As a result, skipping out on the moisturizer step is one of the most common skincare mistakes people make.
A good rule of thumb is to apply a light moisturizer while your skin is still slightly damp from washing so that it locks in all that extra moisture and prevents dryness before it starts affecting the rest of your routine (like foundation or sunscreen). You’ll want something that’s lightweight enough for everyday use—you don’t want too much oil clogging up your pores!
9. Using Super Hot Water To Wash Your Face
Hot water is not necessary for washing your face and can cause more harm than good. Hot water strips away essential oils from your skin, which leaves it dry and irritated.
If you’re using a cleanser that contains alcohol or other drying ingredients, hot water will only exacerbate this effect. In general, it’s best to stick to lukewarm water when cleansing your face.
If you do find yourself in need of a good hot water rinse, try using it after you wash your face rather than before. This will help prevent the loss of essential oils from your skin.
If you have particularly dry skin, try to wash your face with lukewarm water and then follow up with a cool-mist facial steamer. The steam will help open pores and remove impurities from deep within the skin’s surface. Afterward, pat your face dry with a soft towel—don’t rub or scrub it!
10. Neglecting The Eyelids And Under Eyes When Removing Eye Makeup
Neglecting to remove eye makeup can cause long-term damage. If you forget to remove your eye makeup before bed, you are also missing out on vital skin care products like SPF and retinol that are necessary for healthy-looking skin.
There are several ways to take off eye makeup: a cotton swab, a cotton pad, or an oil-based remover—just to name a few. To avoid tugging at delicate eyelids with harsh chemicals, try one of these methods instead:
– Use cotton pads soaked in water or baby oil (don’t use baby oil on lashes, though). Gently swipe across closed eyes until all traces of mascara have been removed. Rinse well with lukewarm water after each swipe. Repeat if necessary until the color is not visible anymore under running water when washing off hands (this helps prevent staining over time).
– Use an oil-based makeup remover wipe or product containing mineral oil (avoid paraffin-based wipes as they may clog pores) gently press across closed eyes until all traces of mascara have been removed; rinse well afterward with lukewarm water (do not rub!). Repeat if necessary until the color is no longer visible under running water when washing off hands (this helps prevent staining over time).
11. Not Washing Your Fabric Pillowcase Often Enough
Pillowcases are one of the most extensive breeding grounds for bacteria. Yes, even your pillowcase—the thing you sleep with every night! It’s common knowledge that hair and skin oils can trap dirt and acne-causing sebum in your pores, but did you know that fabric pillowcases may also be harboring dirt and oil?
Think about all the things you put on them while lying next to your face every night: makeup, lotion (or other skin care products), moisturizer or serum, sweat from a hot shower, or just from sleeping. It all adds to a lot of grime on something that is supposed to keep your face clean and healthy.
It’s easy enough to wash off these extra substances from our faces each night before we go to bed—but what about our fabric pillows? We don’t always think about washing them as often as we should—but if you want healthy-looking skin for years to come, you must do!
It is recommended by dermatologists everywhere (and by me) that people ensure their sheets get washed at least once per week (and more often if possible). I also recommend washing any other clothing items that touch your body frequently, such as towels or athletic shirts, after working out so they don’t accumulate sweat stains over time which could cause irritation when worn too long without being washed first off before wearing again later down the road!
Washing fabrics like sheets regularly helps prevent buildup caused by detergents in laundry soap used during the laundering process(es), which would otherwise build up over time, leading eventually towards becoming rancid before finally decaying entirely away, leaving behind nothing left but dust particles floating around aimlessly inside vacuum cleaner bags.
12. Using A Dish Sponge On Your Face To Exfoliate
While dish sponges are affordable and easy to find, they’re not the best for your skin. Dish sponges are designed to be used on dishes, not faces. Their rough texture can cause micro-tears in your skin, leading to acne and irritation.
In addition, dish sponges aren’t designed to remove dirt or oil from your face as effectively as other facial cleansers. The soap in some dish soaps makes it more difficult for them to lather up and fully cleanse the skin properly.
Plus, if you’ve ever tried washing dishes with a sponge covered in food particles, you’ll know how gross that is—and how gross it would be when those same particles are being rubbed all over your face instead!
Conclusion
As you can see from these common skincare mistakes, people do many things that could cause skin problems. While some of these bad habits may be harmless, others can actually cause more damage than you realize. Skincare is a delicate balance of products and routines designed to keep your face happy and healthy. If any of these mistakes sound like something you might be doing (or have done before), make sure to pay close attention to how they affect your skin!