5 trendy beauty traps to avoid
One minute you’re told it’s the best thing to hit the market, the next minute everyone is saying it’s harmful… When it comes to health and beauty, the advice can be tricky to navigate. So we’re here to address five beauty myths to keep you focused on the good advice. The advice, you know, backed by science!
Anti-ageing actives are not for young skin!
Retinol has become a skincare buzzword and anti-ageing products are being hyped all over social media. But unless you have mature skin with decreased collagen, these anti-ageing products are completely unnecessary. Not only that, but Dermatologists have reported seeing an influx of young patients with rashes on their skin from using harsh active ingredients such as retinol. The bottom line is that anti-ageing products are designed to minimise wrinkles and treat pigmentation from years of sun exposure. So, before you have fine lines to treat or sun spots to lighten, these products are unnecessary – and potentially damaging.
Microneedling is not a DIY procedure
Microneedling is a particular technique used by professionals, which causes minor damage to the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) in order to stimulate collagen production. It needs to be done with care and expertise, to create the beneficial healing action without causing any irritation or – worse – permanent scarring. Leave this one to the professionals.
Melatonin and sleep gummies won’t put you to sleep
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, responsible for regulating our circadian rhythm. Our melatonin levels increase as night falls to signal sleep time. Taking melatonin, then, can be helpful for re-syncing your circadian rhythm, if external factors such as travel or bright screens at night have confused or delayed the ‘sleep’ signals in your brain. It can tell your brain it’s bedtime, but it can not, by itself, actually send you to sleep. So if your sleep troubles are due to stress, anxiety, hormonal imbalances or the like, then melatonin is likely to be a waste of your money. You might want to try some breathwork to regulate your nervous system at bedtime, instead.
Complicated routines are unnecessary
Skincare routines with too many steps in them are not only hard to remember or stick to, but they also open you up to the risk of combining active ingredients that actually work against each other – or simply cancel each other out. Vitamin As and AHAs, for example, are exfoliants so using them together will likely cause irritation. Whereas Vitamin C won’t work effectively when used with a retinol or retinoid because it needs an acidic pH environment. Complicated, right? Our best advice is to keep it simple. Choose one active, if you need it, and complete the routine with the classic cleanser, moisturiser, SPF.
Facials and face masks won’t make up for lack of sleep
If you are sleeping four hours at night, no amount of supplements, serums or ‘plump and glow’ face masks can rectify that. Sleep is the foundation of good skin and it doesn’t cost you a penny. You might be surprised how plump and fresh your face looks with nothing but a solid 8-hour sleep routine! See our comparison of sleep vs botox here.