Skincare routines can be very personal things; what ingredients, products, and brands work for you may not work for others, and the products people on Instagram or TikTok insist are must-haves might really not do the same wonders on your skin as they do for ‘skinfluencers’. Finding the perfect routine may take a lot of time and trial and error, but it is a very rewarding journey. There are some mistakes that might slow down the skin’s potential, and we’ve compiled a list of what we think are the top 5 skincare mistakes that need to stop being made.
1. Replacing Sunscreen with an SPF Foundation
Protecting your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays is a vital step in any skin routine. Lots of brands produce makeup with SPF and using makeup formulated with SPF is a great way to reinforce the protection a sunscreen provides; in no way can an SPF foundation replace a sunscreen. Even if a foundation claims to be SPF 30, you will have to slather on an uncomfortable amount of foundation to get the coverage required for it to actually do any protecting. Investing in a broad-spectrum sunscreen is the best way to go for sun protection, as these sunscreens will block out both UVA and UVB rays!
2. Over-exfoliating
Exfoliation is a great step to include in your skincare routine; it removes dead skin cells to reveal brighter skin underneath and helps active ingredients penetrate the skin better! But too much of a good thing can also turn South pretty quick. If your skin is dry, peeling, and irritated, chances are you could be overdoing it! In general, your skin should only be exfoliated once or twice a week, anything more can actually be bad for your skin. It’s always a good idea to discuss this with your skin therapist and see what is best for you personally as well!
3. Incompatible Ingredients
It can be so tempting to buy all the skincare products you fancy, everything that people swear by and recommend, but it’s also important to note that some ingredients in skincare just do not get along at all, and so using products that contain these ingredients is a definite no-no. This could result in the products cancelling each other out in the best case and reacting and causing irritation in the worst. Some ingredient enemies to look out for are:
i. Retinol and AHAs
ii. Retinol and Benzoyl Peroxide
iii. Retinol and Vitamin C
iv. Retinol and Salicylic Acid
4. Ignoring The Eyes
The skin around your eyes is thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your face, but this just means it needs more TLC, not that you should skimp out on the eye area while doing your skincare routine. You just have to be more careful when applying product- no rubbing, just use gentle motions to pat the product into the skin!
5. Not Listening to Your Skin
One thing about the human body that never ceases to amaze me is how intuitive it is; your skin knows what it needs and will tell you when it disagrees with something you’re giving to it! We’ve all wanted an expensive product to work for us so badly that we ignore any warning signs that crop up immediately after using it. It could be a little itchiness, it could be a bit of redness, but they are all flashing neon signs that your skin is holding up that say “NO!”. It’s definitely important to pay attention to these signs and notice the changes our skin goes through immediately after introducing something new in our routine.
While curating the perfect skincare routine can definitely be something you can explore on your own, it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of help, right? The Skin Therapists at Essa Beauty are always happy to chat with you about your skin and give you a detailed consultation on your skin before a treatment. Your skin is in good hands with us!