For most girls, having healthy skin makes them feel empowered and beautiful. If your skin is in need of a little pick-me-up, perhaps it’s time for you to pay more attention into how you’re actually treating your skin.
A proper skincare regime is important in ensuring that your skin looks its best, but more often than not, most girls neglect their skin especially when they’re busy or stressed out. Here are 9 common skincare sins that you might not even know that you’re committing:
Sin #1: You cleanse your face every time it feels oily.
When your skin starts to feel oily (which happens more often than not in our humid Malaysian weather!), it’s natural to want to wash your skin with a facial cleanser. Even though your face may feel clean after that, doing this too often actually causes the skin to dry up and as a result of that, it produces extra sebum to counteract the dryness.
What you should do instead: It’s imperative to include a good moisturiser as part of your skincare routine. When your skin is well-balanced, it will naturally produce the right amount of sebum and help return your skin to its natural pH balance.
Sin #2: You rely too heavily on skin brightening products.
When your skin appears dull, your natural instinct might be to reach for some brightening products and slather them on nice and thick every day. However, these products might contain chemicals and textures which are harsh and could potentially aggravate your skin.
What you should do instead: Consistent exfoliation should be a part of your weekly skincare routine as it allows the dead skin cells to be sloughed off, revealing a more radiant skin beneath. Exfoliating also helps increase blood circulation in your skin, giving you that natural rosy pink glow—without the use of a blusher. ?
Sin #3: You squeeze out your blackheads, but fail to apply a toner after.
Blackheads form when dirt or sebum clogs up an open pore. When you squeeze blackheads out from your skin, your pores are left open, leaving it prone to bacteria. This can lead to buildup in your pores and the formation of pus which ultimately leads to acne.
What you should do instead: Post-blackhead removal, your pores are left open. To ensure that bacteria buildup does not enter your pores, cleanse your skin and apply a toner to close the open pores and reduce the size of its appearance.
Sin #4: You apply a face mask daily.
Generally, facial masks are meant for bi-weekly or weekly use but if you’re applying it daily, you’re actually causing more harm to your skin than good. If you have acne-prone or oily skin, you might actually be clogging your pores when applying sheet masks. It could lead to the formation of tiny zits known as pustules.
What you should do instead: Opt for a mask which is suited for daily use instead. Certain moisturisers and serum double as a daily mask. You won’t have to worry about it being too abrasive for your skin either, as the mask helps to prep your skin for the skincare products you’re about to apply.
Sin #5: You sleep with a full face of makeup on.
You take the term ‘beauty sleep’ a little too seriously. We’ve all been there before: arriving home at 3am and heading straight to bed because you’d have to wake up for class in a couple of hours anyway. When you sleep with a full face of makeup though, you’re actually introducing gunk and bacteria (from your sweat, oil and makeup residue) onto your pillow case and sheets. Other than that, your pores will be continuously clogged with the tiny particles of your makeup.
What you should do instead: Allow your skin to have the chance to breathe, even if it’s only for a few hours. After giving your face a good cleanse, apply a serum to reap its benefits while you take your well-deserved rest.
Sin # 6: You use wet wipes to remove oil from the surface of your skin.
If your skin feels oily mid-day, you might feel inclined to reach out for wet wipes to give your skin a good wipe down. However, most wet wipes are not designed for use on our face and while you might feel instantly refreshed, you’re also leaving your skin parched in the long run.
What you should do instead: Refresh your skin with a face mist. Not only is it a nice little mid-day pick-me-up, it also protects your skin by adding a layer of moisture and added skincare benefits on your face.
Sin #7: You don’t drink enough water.
If you spend most of your day in an air-conditioned room, it’ll actually dry out your skin throughout the day. Your lips and face might also feel dehydrated and uncomfortable. When your skin lacks proper hydration, it becomes dry, flaky and more prone to wrinkling.
What you should do instead: Complement your skincare routine by drinking more water because as much as you’d like to look after your skin, the inside matters too. Ever noticed plumper skin when you’ve been overdosing on H20?
Sin #8: You stress out over the little things.
Constantly being stressed out will cause frown lines to form and prematurely age you in the long run. Stress might also cause the body to create cortisol hormones which leads to the over production of oil. As for those with sensitive skin, stress could potentially aggravate eczema and psoriasis skin conditions.
What you should do instead: Even if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, you should not allow this to affect your skin. Give your face a good facial massage with a serum instead (plus point if it smells good too!) This not only improves the circulation in your skin, it also helps your beauty product to be absorbed better.
Sin #9: You wash your face with hot water.
Washing your face with hot water actually causes the skin to feel dehydrated. The skin on your face is thinner as compared to other parts of your body and it’s sensitive to external factors. When you introduce hot water onto your skin, it causes the blood vessels beneath to become aggravated, and leads to the formation of red, patchy skin.
What you should do instead: Lukewarm water is a better option, but cold water is best as it closes the pores on your skin which results in the appearance of smaller, more refined pores. By washing your skin with a mild cleanser and cold water, this helps to reduce the redness of your skin as well.
Achieving Your Best Skin
If you’re worried about committing any of these skincare sins, you can opt to get a skincare product to cover your bases. Skincare experts would recommend a full skincare range to reap all of the benefits but let’s face it, not everyone has the time to stick to a 7-step skincare regime (or 8, 9, 10!). But that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your flawless skin goals just yet.
THE FACE SHOP’s The Therapy First Serum (RM148.29) is a product that tackles all of the 9 sins above, by being a serum of 7 wonders.
7 Wonders of The Therapy First Serum:
1. As the first step of skincare
Apply the serum right after cleansing to recharge the skin and boost the efficacy of the following skincare products.
2. As the 7 skin layering technique
Using Korea’s popular 7 skin method, pat 7 layers of serum. This helps the skin stay hydrated longer and become evenly toned.
3. As an exfoliation
Pump the serum onto the Green Tea cotton pads and gently wipe from the center to the outer corner of the face. This is a mild exfoliation method.
4. As a mask
Dampen a sheet mask with The Therapy First Serum, apply it onto the face for 20 minutes. This gives your skin a super charged hydration boost.
5. As a mist spray
Pour the serum into a mist bottle and spritz some on for an instant refreshing feel.
6. As an aroma therapy treatment
Spritz the serum on a warm damp cotton face towel, press it gently on your face and inhale deeply 5 times. Add essential oils like lavender to calm and relax the mind, body and soul as well.
7. As a stress reliever
Perform a face point massage with the Therapy First Serum to relieve muscle tension. It’s also an effective way to relax tired and dull skin.
Basically, this one product is all you need to make sure that your skin gets all the love that it needs and deserves.
Buy 1 Free 1 (4th of September – 31st of October)
THE FACE SHOP has partnered with MAKNA, the National Cancer Council of Malaysia, whereby with any purchase of The Therapy First Serum, RM15 will be donated to a cancer organisation.
You will also get an additional bottle of The Therapy First Serum for FREE!
Because after all, it’s not just about looking beautiful, but feeling beautiful and doing good at the same time.
Written in collaboration with THE FACE SHOP.
