The 5 Most Common Skincare Mistakes

Not many of us are skincare experts, but a lot of us are Good Skin enthusiasts. We want to take care of our skin. We don’t want to break out. We want a youthful glow. But we don’t want to look oily. We want our pores to go away. We don’t want dull skin. What we truly want is perfect skin, and we will go to great lengths to achieve that. Oh, the human experience.

The thing is, as non-experts (which is most of us) we are bound to make mistakes, and it takes patience to nail down a good routine that works for our skin and individual needs. We’re here to make the journey smoother by pointing out some common skincare mistakes that might be dimming your glow and slowing you down on your way to good skin.

1. Using Too Many Treatments

First of all, have a baseline skincare routine with only the most necessary products. Cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. That’s it. Then you can start adding the treatments and toners and exfoliators and all else — but when you do, make sure they’re what your skin needs and do your research to learn what goes well together and what doesn’t. One of the worst things you can do is confuse your skin by putting on an amalgamation of products that want to do opposite things or too much of one thing. 

Some examples of ingredients that don’t bode well together in the skincare world: Vitamin  C and Benzoyl Peroxide, Retinol and Benzoyl Peroxide, Retinol and AHAs, Retinol and Salicylic Acid, Retinol and Vitamin C. 

If you’re going to be mixing treatments, do your research and spread things out throughout the week rather than do everything at once.

Prescription-based topical treatments, especially for treating your acne, require some waiting time. For the active ingredients in these products to work, you should let the treatment sit on the skin for one minute or so before applying anything else.

2. Fragrance in the Ingredients List

If you have sensitive skin, you should probably be looking out for fragrances in your skincare products’ ingredient list. Some people are allergic to fragrance or specific scents that are common in face products and don’t even know it. If you find you’re experiencing breakouts and other skin reactions inexplicably, try out a fragrance-free skincare routine and see how your skin does.

3. Over-Cleansing and Over-Exfoliating

Don’t do it. We know it feels good, but these things work best in moderation. It’s one thing to double cleanse, especially if you’re using oils and balms to cleanse first as they don’t strip your skin of natural oils, but cleansing too much with soaps can go wrong fast. So can over-exfoliation. Your skin produces good oils that protect your skin’s barrier and prevent damage to its surface. Getting rid of excess oil is fine, but make sure the rest of your routine caters to moisturizing and protecting your skin. Otherwise, depending on your skin type, it will be a mess of oil overproduction, breakouts, or desert-dry flaky skin. 

4. Not Applying Sunscreen Daily

Biggest. Skincare. Mistake. Ever. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, most people don’t use enough sunscreen to protect their skin on a daily basis. Most people use only 25% to 50% of the recommended sunscreen amount. Some people don’t wear any sunscreen at all. That’s alarming, considering UV rays can not only pose risks such as skin cancer, but are also responsible for premature aging and sun damage to the skin. If you’re not wearing sunscreen on a daily basis, your skin suffers the consequences. And don’t just put it on in the morning and forget about it for the rest of the day — Reapply regularly! 

5. Popping Pimples

Do not let us catch you popping those pimples in front of the mirror! Popping your pimples does nothing but spread bacteria, force the pore debris deeper into the follicle, inflame your acne and make blemishes worse, cause hyperpigmentation, and leave difficult-to-treat acne scars. Stop doing it. 

Also, the obvious ones: don’t sleep with makeup on, wash your face daily, don’t put lemon on your face, nourish your body mindfully, drink water, and so on and so forth. You know the drill. And we know the journey to good skin is tough, and different for everyone, but we made sure to seek tips that work for all. We hope they help!

Next Up, 6 Must-Have Sunscreens For Your Hot Girl Summer (Melanin Approved)