Today with the help from Cheryl over at Honesty For Your Skin, we will get to the bottom of those pesky skincare myths with some real science. Cheryl is a real life, understandable skincare science geek, who really knows her stuff. She can chew your ear off about ‘fibroblast activity resulting in proliferation of collagen and glycosaminoglycan’s…’ and most likely impress you too, but today it is all about the the eight skincare myths you shouldn't spend one more second believing…

1, Diet does not affect your skin. Full Stop.

I can’t tell you how much I hear this one. If skincare where a music chart, this would be "that" song that’s played so much you can’t help but sing it! It’s even mentioned in actual published dermatology books. The real truth is this - diet absolutely effects your skin.
Your body is a neat little 24/7 factory that has a bazillion production lines going at any one second, all of which get involved in making healthy skin. Like any factory it needs to be fed the right stuff: water, vitamins, minerals and omegas - all some of the key factors that contribute to making healthy skin.

Just to add some hard core proof - way ‘way back in the day’ when sailors travelled on ships, with no fresh fruit and veg, they used to get scurvy. A health issue that makes skin develop large black patches and eventually breaks it down starting with any scar tissue’s (eek! Can you begin to imagine that?). The solution? A hefty dose of vitamin C!

There’s also recent studies that show milk and high-sugar foods can absolutely trigger acne breakouts if you have a skin type prone to them.

8 Skincare Myths Put to Bed by a Scientist

2, Stick to products from one skincare line (otherwise your skin will melt off!)

This would be like only ever eating potatoes. Actually let me switch that out for chocolate, a much more exciting thought. Typically a skincare range has one ‘superhero’ product, this then gets made into a range using - yep, you've guessed it -  the same key superhero ingredients. It’s like putting chocolate on top of chocolate, instead of strawberries on top of chocolate!

But...

There are some key ingredients you should not use together because they make the other ineffective, or they do too much of the same thing to your skin. For instance using your Clarisonic, followed by a a glycolic or salicylic acid treatment. Ouch! I have a cheat sheet that you can download here (http://wp.me/P6LuQS-CY) that makes it super simple to understand which skincare ingredients should never be mixed - after a quick read you’ll  be a cocktailing skincare pro!


3, You shouldn't EVER pick your spots

The truth - you should pick your spots if they have a white head on them! There is this saying in medicine which isn't going to make lyric of the year but does help save lives  (kinda wipes the table with that huh?) ‘Where there is puss, evacuate it’. Why would we do anything differently for spots?

The rule book for your spot picking escapades: do make sure you have clean hands, do make sure it is definitely white headed - ‘ripe and ready’, do use a warm towel to expand the skin and do pop it gently!

4, Natural skincare is healthier for your skin.

Some natural skincare will be healthier than some synthetic/man-made skincare just as, some man-made skincare will be healthier than some synthetic skincare. Certain natural ingredients are super irritating to skin (imagine ‘nettle skincare’ eek!) and some man-made ingredients can be pore-clogging and/or are simply too strong.

What can definitely be healthier for your skin is ‘free from’ skincare lines, ranges that might avoid using things like fragrances or essential oils which are allergenic and can irritate skin. This more about knowing your skincare ingredient heroes and your skincare ingredient villains.

5. You should start using anti-ageing skincare as soon as possible.

Don’t rush into using high-tech anti-ageing actives. It’s like having too many chefs in your skincare kitchen at once. When you are young, your skin knows what it’s doing,  if you ‘over stimulate’ it with anti-ageing actives it can be pushed off its A-game and even forget how to do that stuff for itself.

When you are in your teens, 20’s and potentially early 30’s (depending on your genetics and lifestyle) preventative anti-ageing skincare is your dreamy date. That means sunscreen and moisturiser. Did you know plain and simple moisturiser is anti-ageing anyway? Anything that hydrates, soothes and keeps skin ‘plump’, will stop wrinkles moving into your prime ‘real-estate’ skincare space! 

8 Skincare Myths Put to Bed by a Scientist

6, Face wipes are the worst thing you can do for your skin EVER

Have you noticed that all face wipes are pretty cheap and you’re probably-definitely never going to pay £45 for a pack of 30. Not even if the salesman was Daniel Craig in THOSE ‘budgie-smugglers’. What that means for the big skincare giants is they make less from face wipes than micellar waters or foaming face washes. Sometimes skincare myth is less about your skin and more about profit margin.

Face wipes are not ‘bad’ for your skin. They are a no-frills, makeup-off cleanse that works.

My pro-tip, always, always wash with fresh water after any type of cleanse, face-wipes, micellar water or anything else. Cleansing actives left on skin are not your friends!

7, A toner isn't a must, but it still adds benefit to your skin.

Toners scare me. Not the kind of fear that a worldwide shortage of chocolate gives me, it’s more of a ‘OMG a spider’ kinda shock. A classic toner is packed full of heavily astringent ingredients, which is code for ‘I eat your skin’s natural oils’. Not good - not even for oily skin types. Those natural skin oils are what keeps skin healthy and defending against any signs of ageing.

The skincare giants know this which is why a lot of new ‘toners’ are actually more like serums but a lighter in texture.

8. You need a separate eye cream

If you just want to show the skin around your eyes the same TLC as you do the rest of your beautiful face, then use your facial serum. Its light-weight, easily patted in and full of love, even for your eye skin - it’s not selective.  If you have something you want to treat around your eye area, that you don’t want to do to the rest of your face, then yes. Try a roller based applicator for removing puffiness or a cream with caffeine or vitamin K for dark under-eye circles. 

Have you been passed down any ‘tid-bits’ of skin wisdom that you want to blitz as truth or myth? Well guess what, you now have a friendly science geek to ‘truth proof’ it for you! Feel free to ask Cheryl your burning skincare questions and check out her blog too.