How’s your skincare routine measuring up? Don’t make the common mistake of thinking a 15-step skincare routine like the ones you’ve seen on YouTube is the answer to all of your skin concerns and woes. Sometimes more isn’t more. And minimal skincare habits that leave out steps that can actually irritate skin, while taking care of the basics, is often the way to go.
Maybe your skin is redder than it usually is — more irritated and suddenly sensitive. Or perhaps you’re concerned about preventing wrinkles and fine lines and feel like you’ve tried everything under the sun and nothing is working. Whatever the case, stop making these so-easy-to-make 10 worst skincare mistakes. Replacing them with better habits is step one toward your best skin ever.
Never Exfoliating
As we age, our skin cells take longer to turn over. What that means: your dry skin and the residual hyperpigmentation left on your skin from things like pimples can take longer to heal. There are a few ways to speed up this process, including using retinol (more on that later) and exfoliating your skin a few times a week. Exfoliating with a non-abrasive chemical exfoliant will remove dead and dry skin cells, paving the way for clearer, smoother-looking skin. But it’s important to make this a habit, not an occasional, once-every-three-months action.
Over-Exfoliating
As we just established, exfoliating is important, but too much of a good thing is possible when you exfoliate too much. If you are exfoliating daily, for example, you could be stripping your skin of necessary moisture and causing irritation and sensitivity. Depending on your skin type, you can get away with exfoliating a few times a week, but pay attention and listen to how your skin reacts and what it needs.
Washing Your Face With Hot Water
Warm water, cool water, or no water at all — this should be a motto when cleansing your skin. Hot water doesn’t not “open pores” as some may erroneously believe, but it can strip skin of hydration and cause irritation.
Not Using Sunscreen
We’ll shout this mistake till we’re blue in the fact: you can do everything else right, but if you aren’t using sunscreen with a high enough SPF (which experts say is usually SPF 30 or higher), you aren’t protecting your skin from UV rays and the damage they can cause, which includes wrinkles, fine lines, larger pores, and hyperpigmentation.
Not Re-Applying Sunscreen
On the heels of that last point, SPF should be worn whether it’s summer, fall, winter, or spring and even when it’s overcast. Applying it once in the morning isn’t enough, either. It should be re-applied before you leave the house later in the day and then applied again every two hours while you’re out.
Sleeping On Your Stomach
When you sleep on your stomach or side, your skin suffers from pressure you’re placing on your pillow. This can actually lead to wrinkles and fine lines. Training yourself to sleep on your back is best. And a beauty pillow with natural indentations that props you up on your back can help you get there.
Aggressively Removing Eye Makeup
That waterproof mascara is all kinds of annoying to remove. But tugging at it with a wet towel or napkin is only going to pull at the delicate skin around your eyes and can result in compromised skin. Try applying Micellar water to a cotton swab and gentle removing your eyeliner and mascara.
Smoking
No amount of smoking is healthy and no dermatologist isn’t going to frown at you when you explain that you only “socially” smoke. Not only does nicotine stain your skin and fingers, but smoking damages collagen and elastin, which are responsible for keeping your skin supple and youthful-looking. And it leads to premature skin aging.
Too Much Sugar
A diet that is high in sugar can also destroy collagen and elastin, and consuming too much alcohol can have the same effect. Be careful about foods that don’t immediately shout “sugary!” — flavored yogurts, for example, can contain and abundance of sugar.
Not Using Active Ingredients in Your Skincare
Skincare has come a long way. Serums that contain active concentrations of good-for-your-skin ingredients are now readily available and can really give your skin an anti-aging boost. Choose serums that contain retinol to help rebuild collagen and repair signs of aging while preventing new fine lines and wrinkle
