COMMON SKIN CARE MISTAKES TO AVOID
You care about your skin and that’s great! As you embark on your skin health journey, watch out for common skin care mistakes. Using skin care incorrectly cancels out everything you do to keep your skin healthy and wastes nourishing ingredients. Even when using a professional skin care line, how you use it makes a difference.
To help you get the results you want, here are 13 skin care mistakes to avoid:
1. SAME SKIN CARE ROUTINE MORNING AND NIGHT
Your skin has different needs throughout the day, so naturally, some skin care is meant for only morning or nighttime use.
While you might think there’s no harm in using morning skin care at night and vice versa, it can actually have serious consequences. For example, retinol and other treatment products can make your skin sensitive to sunlight and cause it to burn, become irritated and age faster. That’s why skin care professionals recommend only using these products at night.
To protect your skin, always read and follow the instructions on the bottle before using any skin care. If you’re still unsure about which products to use in the morning or at night, talk to a licensed aesthetician.
2. APPLY PRODUCTS OUR OF ORDER
The order you put skin care on affects how well it soaks into your skin. If you apply oil-based skin care (e.g., moisturizer) before water-based products (e.g., serums) you won’t get the best results.
Follow the 4-Step system to get the most out of each product:
Cleanse: Remove excess oil and debris from your skin so it can absorb vital nutrients.
Treat: Give your skin effective ingredients to treat a specific condition.
Balance: Moisturize your skin for a nourished, healthy glow.
Protect: Safeguard your skin from dangerous UV rays with a SPF 15 or higher.
Wait a few minutes between steps to give your skin time to absorb each product.
3. MISSING YOUR NECK Your face is beautiful and deserves time and attention. Just don’t get too distracted by your pretty face that you neglect to take care of your neck. The neck is an area where sagging and wrinkles become apparent. To keep yourself looking young, make sure to treat it the same way you do your face. You’ll be grateful you did when you have a soft, smooth neck. 4. RELYING ON FACIAL WIPES While facial wipes remove makeup and SPF, they do not wash dirt, debris or toxins off your skin. That requires a cleanser. It seeps deep into your pores and removes impurities to keep your complexion smooth and radiant. Facial wipes can also irritate your skin because they have artificial ingredients, and your skin deserves better than that. 5. WASHING WITH HOT OR COLD WATER Cold water feels refreshing after working out, and a hot shower sounds heavenly on a cold, winter night. But extreme temperatures can remove natural oils from your skin, causing it to dry out. Instead of washing your skin with hot or cold water, use lukewarm water to avoid drying out your skin. 6. WAITING TOO LONG TO MOISTURIZE Cleansers and soaps can also remove your skin’s natural oils. If you wait too long after washing to put on moisturizer, your skin will become dry, tight and even itchy. To keep your skin nice and soft, apply moisturizer within five minutes after washing. If you’re worried moisturizer will keep makeup from staying on, wait a few minutes to let it sink in or try a lightweight moisturizer. 7. OVER EXFOLIATING Exfoliation is so important because it removes dead skin cells and lets serums, moisturizers and other products really soak into your skin. However, your skin needs time to heal and produce a new layer of skin cells before it’s safe to exfoliate it again. Exfoliating too much can damage the skin barrier and cause irritation, redness and other symptoms. We recommend exfoliating once or twice a week with at least two days in between. If your skin still becomes irritated, exfoliate less frequently or use a gentler product. 8. SKIPPING SUNSCREEN One of the worst skin care mistakes you can make is to not put on sunscreen. We say this a lot, and that’s because it is so important and often misunderstood. Your skin doesn’t just need protection when you’re sun tanning at the beach or walking in the park. Sun Protection Factor (SPF) shields your skin from UV rays that pierce through clouds, reflect off snow and speed up the aging process by contributing to fine lines, wrinkles, elasticity loss and skin cancer. Blue light from digital devices can also cause you to age faster, according to a study by Dr. Jadwiga Giebultowicz from Oregon State University, and we all know screen time is inevitable in our society. Regardless of the season and whether you spend time indoors or outdoors, love your skin by protecting it with SPF products. 9. DOING YOUR SKIN CARE ROUTINE RIGHT BEFORE BED Putting skin care on right before bed sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? Sadly, this only causes the nutrients to absorb into your bedsheets instead of your skin. Wait an hour after your skin care routine to tuck yourself into bed so you don’t waste healthy ingredients on bedsheets.
10. SLEEPING WITH MAKEUP ON When you’re tired after a long day, you just want to sleep. We get it. But not removing makeup before bed can clog your pores and cause blackheads, blemishes and other skin conditions. Do yourself a favor and wash your makeup off before going to bed. It may not seem like a big deal in the moment, but trust us; it’s worth it! 11. IGNORING TOXIC INGREDIENTS Tragically, many over-the-counter skin care products contain toxic ingredients. These toxins can lead to inflammation, redness and even cancer. If you choose to buy over-the-counter products, watch out for these toxic ingredients:
Parabens
Phthalates
Triclosan
Synthetic (artificial) fragrance
If you want to avoid the risk of toxins altogether use a professional skin care line like GlyMed Plus that’s made of 99.9 percent pure ingredients and zero fillers or synthetic fragrances. 12. LETTING SKIN CARE EXPIRE Even the best skin care products don’t last forever. In fact, expiration is a sign they are made of natural ingredients and not artificial preservatives. Once skin care expires, it loses its potency. Switch out your products after their expiration date so you continue to see results. Skin care can also expire if you store it somewhere warm or moist, which causes bacteria to build up or potency to decrease. Store products in a cool, dry space so they stay effective. 13. NOT BEING CONSISTENT Life gets busy and sometimes you have to shift your priorities, but that doesn’t mean you have to skip skin care all together. You can still have healthy skin by sticking with the basics. Remember the four-step system: cleanse, treat, moisturize and protect. Even if that’s all you do, you will get results. Whatever you do, don’t stop your skin care routine once you start to see progress. It means the regimen is working, so keep going! Why settle for short-term solutions when you can enjoy young, healthy-looking skin for the rest of your life?
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