Common Skincare Mistakes: Which Are You Guilty Of?

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Summer is here, and that means we are all making terrible skincare mistakes. From too much sun to washing our sheets too infrequently, are you guilty of one of these skincare sins? Find out just how terrible these mistakes can be for your skin and how you can fix your summer skin woes.

Over Washing or Under Washing

It is easy to get carried away when washing your face. With all of the washes, toners, and exfoliants, it seems like simply washing our skin isn’t enough. However, if you are washing too frequently or vigorously, it can be doing more harm than good. If you wash too much especially with harsh cleaners, it can strip our skin of its natural oils. Our body will then overproduce those oils giving your skin a greasy look and even cause breakouts. Using a washcloth or exfoliants too much can also cause irritation. On the other hand, if you are just slapping some water on your face and calling it good, you could be leave clogged pores festering and bacteria building up. The best way to know if you aren’t washing your skin enough is if you have leftover make up after you’re done washing. Go back and give your skin another cleanse.

Common Skincare Mistakes

Using The Same Products All Year

You don’t wear the same clothes all year, right? You shouldn’t be wearing the same products on your face all year either. The seasons affect your skin differently so you should be using beauty products accordingly. Our skin tends to be oilier in the summer which means a lighter moisturizer with a higher SPF is better for hot months. Cleaners with an exfoliant may also be a helpful in warmer weather to remove the buildup of oil and sweat. In the winter, our skin gets drier and needs more moisture so you can go with a heavier moisturizer. Don’t get hung up on your standard beauty routine. Treating your skin in relation to the weather could help you gain a better complexion.

Smoking

Cigarettes are terrible for your health and especially bad for your skin. It decreases healthy blood flow leaving your skin look dull, discolored and prone to aging at a more rapid pace. If you have a genetic predisposition to psoriasis smoking can actually trigger its first flare up causing flaky, dry skin. This bad habit also decreases your vitamin C supply which hampers your skin’s ability to repair itself. Stop smoking now! If you won’t do it for your health, then at least quit to better your skin.

Forgetting the Sunscreen

We all want that soft sun kissed glow, but all that sun is destroying the elastin in your skin. This makes it unable to keep its supple, firm texture. It will begin to sag and wrinkle. The best way to avoid it is by wearing a daily moisturizer or makeup that has SPF in it. You should be wearing sunscreen every day not just beach days.

Too Much Coffee

Most of us can’t get through the day without our coffee, but it could be what is causing your skin problems. The caffeine in coffee can affect our hormones which can in turn affect our oil production and create more oily skin prone to breakouts. Coffee is also very dehydrating because it is a diuretic depleting the firmness and healthy skin tone. If you are struggling with skin problems and happen to be an avid coffee drinker, you might want to consider lay off the coffee to see if it changes the appearance of your skin and the frequency of your breakouts.

Common Skincare Mistakes

Cellphone Overkill

That lifeline that you carry with you basically every moment of the day is actually very bad for your skin. All the grime and bacteria from your hands is crawling all over it, not to mention the oily makeup buildup from being pressed against your face. It might be the culprit for your breakouts especially along the jawline. It also creates wrinkles from constantly staring down at it and squinting to read fine print. Clean off that phone and put it away once in awhile.  

Non-Mineral Makeup

There has been a large move towards mineral makeup with natural ingredients, and it is with good cause. So many of our makeups are filled with parabens, preservatives, waxes and fragrances that clog up our pores and are just not good for general health. True mineral makeup has a very light feel that doesn’t settle in lines and wrinkles as much. If you switch to mineral makeup, be sure to do your research and read the labels. Even if it says, “mineral” there still might be the same harsh ingredients as other products. It can help create a more flawless look just by reducing breakouts and clog pores.   

Dirty Sheets

We are all guilty of slacking on the laundry, but it could be part of your breakout problems. Sheets trap bacteria from the skin and build-up from the creams and treatments you use on your skin and hair. When you don’t wash your sheets, all that build up grinds against your face all night as you move around on your pillow. It can exacerbate existing skin conditions, create whiteheads and breakouts, as well as irritations from the mites that live in sheets. Be sure to wash those sheets at least once a week especially with the warmer weather and increased sweating.

What You Can Do to Repair the Damage

If you are looking for hydrating skincare for summer, try the Tula Skincare line of products. Tula takes their skincare a step further by introducing probiotics into their treatments. Yes, the same stuff in yogurt, only these probiotics are meant to restore the natural balance of your skin. It hydrates your skin making it more resistant to damage while giving you back a youthful radiance.  

Common Skincare Mistakes

They have a line of moisturizer, exfoliants and anti-aging treatments (even a neck cream!). The moisturizing creams have a subtle clean smell and a lightweight feel that blends easily without a sticky after feel. The creams go a long way which means the jar will last you awhile. My skin often looks dull and sullen from lack of sleep and too much coffee, but the Multi-Spectrum Overnight Skin Rescue Treatment has done wonders to rejuvenate my skin by holding in moisture and creating a barrier to keep bad bacteria out. Even with my hormonal pregnancy skin, I have had considerably less breakouts. They also offer an Illuminating Serum, Hydrating Day and Night Cream as well as a Revitalizing Eye Cream to get rid of those dark under eye bags.  

With all that sweat and bacteria during the summer, Tula has a Purifying Cleanser, a PH Resurfacing Gel, and an Exfoliating Treatment Mask that will help unclog your pores without drying out your skin. If you are trying to do damage control after years of bad beauty choices, check out the line of Tula products dedicated to wrinkle defense and repair.

Thanks to Tula for providing me with moisturizers to test! All opinions remain my own. 

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