7 mistakes to avoid in your skincare routine

As the skin is our body’s largest organ, we need to give it the pampering and nourishment it deserves.  This includes cleansing, hydrating and protecting your skin.  Finding and sticking to the right skincare routine is crucial.

Most people start skincare routines because they have skin issues that they want to target. These issues range from acne outbreaks to skin aging signs and sun damage. For some people, it could be a combination of several skin issues.

The process of finding out what works for you can be very confusing, especially if this is all new to you. Getting your skincare routine wrong though could mean wasting your time and money, or even worse, making your skincare issue worse. 

Here are the things you should absolutely avoid when building or following a skincare routine.

1. Using products that are not for your skin type

 most people use products because they worked for their friend or someone recommended it. This is a good way to find products that actually work, but you could end up doing more damage than good.

Your skin type is most likely not the same as your friend’s, which means what is good for her might not be good for you. The first thing you have to do is to determine your skin type. Do you have oily, dry or combination skin?

When you figure that out, you will be able to find products that are specifically tailored to your skin type. If you really want to use the recommended product, chances are that product could be part of a line that carries  for all skin types. It could also be a product for all skin types, but be sure to check the label first before buying or using.

2. Over exfoliation and exfoliating with the wrong products

This might be hard to believe but there is such a thing as too much exfoliation. Exfoliation is one of the most important steps to healthy, glowing skin.

Exfoliating your skin will take off dead skin cells and leave you glowing but you need to be careful not to hurt yourself in the process. With the rest of your body, exfoliating with the different types of scrubs and body brushes is perfectly okay, it can handle it. For your face and neck though, you have to be extra careful. Over exfoliation can give you micro cuts (that you can’t see) and leave your skin vulnerable to infection from bacteria in the air. Use mild scrubs and formulas that are specifically designed for the face. Make sure that they contain nutrients that will feed your skin with all the good stuff.

3. Using a drying toner

Toners are an important part of our skincare routines as they work to restore the ph balance of the skin after washing. Although most facial cleansers are mild, this is still essential for healthy skin. However, it is important that we avoid toners that would dry out the skin and strip it of hydration and its natural oils. Instead, go for toners that would hydrate as well as balance your skin. One of the highly recommended types are green tea or white tea toners. Green tea and white tea both contain a healthy amount of antioxidants.  Either green tea or white as a major ingredient in your toner would help draw out the impurities in your skin and still leave your skin feeling plump and hydrated.

4. Not moisturizing your face

Many people with oily, combination and acne prone skin do this. The problem is that they believe that their face already produces enough oil as it is, and they don’t want to add to it. This couldn’t be any more wrong.

By denying your skin of moisturization, you’re just going to convince your sebum glands that your skin needs even more natural oils to be produced. This is because after washing your face, your skin would be left dry. You need to replace that lost moisture, oily skin or not. There are moisturizers specifically tailored to working with oily skin. They are usually oil free and contain refreshing and hydrating ingredients that would moisturize your skin, but won’t leave you feeling oily or greasy after. Regular moisturization could even help reduce production of oil on your face.

5. Using too many skin treatments

This especially happens when you take advantage of all the free samples you can get. Free samples are like mini-Christmases, but you need to be careful. If you don’t have a skin issue, don’t use products intended to fight it. The result is that you would end up making your skin immune to these treatments and if you eventually have that skin issue, it would be hard for anything to work on it. Stick to what you really need.

6. Taking hot showers regularly

Hot showers are the ultimate comfort to the muscles, but too many can be damaging to your skin. Hot water is extremely drying and draws out the moisture in your skin. It also opens up your pores, leaving your skin open to whatever infection comes its way. Limit your hot showers and in the event that you take one, make sure you moisturize all over immediately you get out. The moisturizer would help seal your pores and restore the hydration you lost in the shower.

7. Not using sunscreen

All your anti-aging skincare efforts would be in vain if you are not protecting yourself from the major culprit- the sun. UVA rays are responsible for most of skin aging signs, so you need to stay away from them as much as you can. This doesn’t mean just on sunny days because sun rays penetrate through the clouds, your house and car glass windows and even most of our clothes. Try your best to avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm.

Also make sure that the only time you are not wearing sunscreen, is at night. Your sunscreen should be labelled ‘broad spectrum’, this means that it can protect you from both UVA and UVB rays (which is responsible for skin burning). White tea extracts also contain cell boosting properties that help protect them from the sun. Tailor your skin care routine to building cell immunity and you won’t have to worry about skin aging anymore. There a few white tea skincare products on the market to choose from, all designed for different skin types.

There is no question that an effective skincare routine takes effort and fine-tuning. Start optimizing your skincare routine so your only result is healthy and radiant skin.