The Three Big Skincare Myths To Avoid
A lot of advice that many of us tend to hear about health and beauty tends to consist of the seed of a really useful idea often hidden behind some form of ritual or belief that has little to do with the result but helps to inspire better habits.
This is at the core of a lot of health and beauty mythmaking, which can at points transcend the merely dubious and become outright “woo-woo”, particularly over the past few years when a lot of people take influence from social media for their routine.
One core part of a routine built around natural skincare is that there is a clear aim to focus on what works for people whilst stripping away additional elements both in terms of ingredients and in terms of mystique, that do not.
With that in mind, here are three of the biggest myths that are commonly believed and why they are myths.
Anti-Ageing Does Not Exist
There are few terms used in skincare quite as frustrating as “anti-ageing” because ultimately it is selling a lot of people on a fundamental lie. Time keeps on slipping into the future and the ageing process cannot be reversed any more than we can travel back in time.
Instead of a pathological focus on trying to look “young”, the focus should instead be on a routine that makes your skin feel good and helps protect it from damage in the long term.
Some people will have better skin in their thirties and forties than they did in their twenties because they take better care of it, but this is not a product of “anti-ageing”.
One Product Does Not Rule Them All
The market researcher Howard Moskowitz found when he was working with a pasta sauce company that there is no perfect sauce, only perfect sauces, and this is especially the case when it comes to skincare.
There are multiple different general skin types, but even within these general categories not all skincare products will work in the same way between different people, and no single product will clear up skin on its own.
Instead, what matters is that the routine you are using works for you, and that can often take a degree of experimentation, exploration and patience to find an ideal treatment, as well as potentially some professional help if a skin condition does not seem to go away.
Skin Is Very Complex
The only skin experts out there, who are trained and licensed are dermatologists, who understand far better than most beauty influencers the causes and potential treatments for skin conditions that are causing problems. However even they fall victim to myths that have become the norm over time, because they are not fully trained in how the entire body works . One downside to the medical profession is everyone concentrates on their own little pixel often not taking into account the whole picture. A lot of the most quotable advice is also the worst. Whilst some people can be annoyed by oily skin, getting rid of all of it depletes the natural skin barrier and can lead to inflammation and irritation.
Ultimately our skin is a true reflection of what goes inside, our skin is not isolated from the rest of us. If you nourish your body with quality nutrition and maintain great health your skin will be healthy too. But many a late nights, lots of booze, regular exposure to environmental toxins will have a negative effect on your skin. Your genetic make up also plays a part.
All this does not necessarily mean that learning and trying products others recommend may not also work for you, just keep in mind there is a fine line between talking about a personal skincare journey and giving skincare advice.
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