The Most Insane Skincare Habits

**WaRnInG** If you know ANYTHING about basic skincare 98% of these will make you cringe. If they don’t make you cringe now, you will after you read this post. Also, and most obviously if you’re doing any of this S T O P immediately.

1. Coconut Oil Moisturizer 

“….but I saw on Pinterest that coconut oil is a magical remedy for everything”. No. No. No.

One of two things is actually happening here… you’re clogging the hell out of your pores. Coconut Oil is a comedogenic product, meaning it clogs your pores and creates “comedones” or pimples. More Oil = More Clogged Pores = More Blemishes. 

OR, if you’re using the oil to treat dry skin, you’re drying your skin out more. Our skin is a system, adding more oil to it will tell it to sit back, relax and not produce as much of our natural oil called sebum. Since coconut oil and sebum are different, coconut oil is unable to nourish and moisturize the skin as well as our natural oils do. In short, it’s counterproductive.

2. Epsom Salt Exfoliator

When I heard this I almost cried.

Epsom salt is way way way too harsh of an exfoliant… don’t use regular salt either. Both are irregularly shaped crystals that are sharp enough to cut your skin, allowing for smaller pieces to get in there and cause an infection. These infections are common only known as pimples. Exfoliating with a substance that is too rough for your skin is doing the same thing as exfoliating too often… 

3. Isopropyl Alcohol as Toner

….or makeup remover. Don’t. Do. It.

I know your skin feels so so clean, but it’s probably because you’ve stripped everything out of it- even the oils your produce naturally to keep your skin from drying out. Using alcohol or products with high alcohol content could be to blame for your dry skin. Stick to toners with no alcohol and don’t just throw some on a cotton ball to clean your face.

4. Fad Masking

Ever heard of fad diets? I saw a live post in Facebook that made me think of that, but with skin care… FAD MASKING. Don’t get me wrong, masks are a super important part of your skincare regiment, however they should be used one to two times a week and depending on the mask you shouldn’t use it every time. For example, using a charcoal or mud mask dries out your skin, for this reason these masks are recommended for those with normal to oily skin- never dry or sensitive… but these types of masks are very *in* now so everyone wants you to buy theirs. Bottom line: be cautious of where the information about these products is coming from. 9/10 times the companies and/or people telling you to try these types of masks or that they are for all skin types, just want your money. They haven’t actually been trained, they know as much about the product as you do.

5. Toothpaste Spot Treatment

Let me start off by saying when this was actually *a thing* toothpaste was pretty much just baking soda (…I got baking soda). Today’s toothpaste includes a ton of other chemicals such as whitening agents that weren’t around or put into toothpaste when your mom was doing this. These other chemicals clog your pores and could be responsible for damaging the skin around the blemish. This means more pimples and potential scaring. Keep the toothpaste for your teeth and invest in a real spot treatment.

6. Putting Cucumbers on Your Eyes

I know it’s what you see in alllll of the movies…. but….. have you tried this? IT BURNS.

If you want to eliminate puffiness under your eyes stick to cutting the cucumber in half and just laying the bottom part on the bags of your eyes. No burning, same effects.