You’re doing all the right things for your skin. You cleanse, tone and moisturise every day, eat well, drink plenty of water and would never dream of sleeping in your makeup. But for some reason, your skin seems to be rebelling — whether it’s in the form of breakouts or overly dry or oily skin. It can be really frustrating when your complexion just won’t cooperate. But unlike the question of ‘how can I eat all the croissants and still fit into my favourite skinny jeans’, this is one mystery that can be solved. Read on for 5 common skincare mistakes that could be making your skin go loco.
1. Over-washing
Just like achieving the perfect smoky eye makeup look, more is not always more. This applies to washing your face, too. Obviously, it’s super important to cleanse daily to keep your skin squeaky clean and remove any dirt or oil build-up. But every time we wash or exfoliate our faces, it removes some of our skin’s natural oils. And when that happens, our skin seeks to rebalance by producing more oil. So cheeky! That means that if you’re going overboard with washing your face, your skin will go into oil production overdrive — leading to pesky breakouts. So, how often should you wash your face? For most people, if you’re thoroughly cleansing at night, you shouldn’t have to do it again in the morning.
2. Over-exfoliating
On the topic of washing your face, exfoliating too often is another no-no. Let's look at what's in your bathroom cabinet: you've got some face scrubs, AHA cleanser, retinol peeling cream, and you love using them all. We know, they make your skin look and feel ah-mazing after just one use — but using them too often will make your skin more sensitive and even leads to breakouts. Let's keep exfoliation to once or twice per week. You can alternate chemical and physical exfoliants each use but it's best to keep it minimal, allowing enough time for your skin to renew itself without over-stimulating it.
3. Using baking soda
There are plenty of things that belong on your face — like natural beauty products and a big, gorgeous smile. However, baking soda is most definitely not one of those things. Whether it’s applying it to your pimples or using it to cleanse or exfoliate, this is one pantry staple you want to steer clear of when it comes to skincare.
Here’s why. Our skin pH is usually between 4.5 to 6 - it’s slightly acidic by nature, but baking soda is highly alkaline, can you guess what its pH is? It’s 9! Not only is it likely to dry your skin out, if used it for a long period of time, it will damage the skin’s acid mantle and weaken its barrier over time. Have you ever seen how baking soda is used to remove black tarnish from silver or tough grease from dirty stoves? I bet you wouldn’t want to use it on your face. Let’s leave baking soda where it belongs — a tiny amount in a delicious cake!
4. Using the wrong products for your skin type
All of our belles are unique — and so is their skin! That’s why it’s so important not to take a one-size-fits-all approach to skincare. The products that work for your bestie may not necessarily work for you if you’ve got dry skin and hers is on the oily side. That’s why we recommend taking a targeted approach to skincare and picking your products based on your individual skin type. You can learn more about determining your skin type here.
5. Not using moisturiser because you have oily skin
Have you been told that you don't need moisturiser because you have oily skin? Wrong! In fact, the over-production of sebum is often triggered by the lack of moisturisation. By using moisturiser, we replenish our skin the moisturisation it needs, telling our sebaceous glands to relax and chill. Our Flower Face Cream, a light-weight moisturiser containing hyaluronic acid which holds 1,000 times its weight in water will be very useful for oily skin on a daily basis. Need a more versatile product? Go for Seed Face Oil, you'll notify your skin will be more balanced and supple after a few uses. Not only does it moisturise it also provides nutrients, vitamins and essential fatty acids that your skin craves and loves! But don’t take our words for it! Read what our customers have said here!
- by Emma.
