Skincare Sins: What I will never use...

 So, this post may be a bit polarizing...I want to share things that I will never use on my skin but with the caveat that this may work well for other people! So, as with all other aspects of self-care, do your research and make sure it is right for you! There is no one-size-fits-all but hopefully my experience will help you on your journey as well.

1. Pore Strips

God, I loved these...the little forest of gross sebum that would be pulled out, the rush of seeing your nose without the connect-the-dots happening on them. I swear, my nose looked smaller because there were less things to look at after I did a pore strip on my nose. Turns out, pore strips weren't pulling out gunk and pus...but sebum, literally the moisturizing oil that we produce to keep our skin in check. No doubt I also got blackheads but they always came back no matter how many I pulled out. Since blackheads are just oxidized sebum plugs and since pores don't actually open and close (did anyone else think of high school biology and stomata on leaves? No...just me?), minimizing this oxidation and keeping sebum production balanced helps keep pores looking small. Now I use CosRX BHA Blackhead lotion and just spot treat my nose. It is amazing at keeping the blackheads at bay and if I stop too long, I can see them lurking back.

2. Pore Vaccums

These did not exist when I was going through my "so desperate I will try anything" phase and for that I am  grateful. I tried to self-extract so a pore vacuum would have been exactly the thing I would buy. But if ripping out sebum is bad for your skin...imagine what vacuuming it does. Plus, when you get an extraction during a facial, it is in a clean environment with gloves and after steam is applied...I'm guessing none of these things are happening in your bathroom as you rub the vacuum on your face. So if your pores are a concern, consider adding niacinimide to your routine. This helps control sebum production and can make a big difference.

3. Spin Brushes

I admit, I am guilting of jumping on the Clarisonic bandwagon. I used to think that if I could just scrub my face clean enough, I would get past all my acne. As we now know (and so does the company since it is no longer in business), these are incredibly bad for your skin and can cause a lot of friction, stress and over exfoliation to your skin. I still see a few versions of the spin brush but gently double cleansing is always better than using a glorified drill attachment on your face.

4. Alcohol-Based Toner

Blame social media or growing up in the era of Sea Breeze astringent but toner was seen as an additional step to cleaning and not as a way to hydrate the skin. When I first started learning about Asian beauty and saw that toner was a key step, I thought "great! I have witch hazel, let me use that!". Turns out, that also has alcohol and I need something more hydrating. Now, I cannot imagine my routine without the Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence. A bit different than a toner (I still have Son & Park's Beauty Water when I feel like I need an additional cleanse or balancing my skin), this acts like a pre-skincare routine primer and gets my skin hydrated so that all the serums and goodies I will apply next will sink in deeper.

5. (Most) DIY Treatments

This one may get me crucified but I would rather save money and buy one or two products that work rather than trying to DIY my own concoction. This may be because my attempts at DIY included toothpaste on acne and egg masks for your hair (side note: do not wash your hair with warm water...you will be picking out scrambled egg forever). 

Instead, I see more results in learning and identifying ingredients that work and what makes sense for which price point. For example, if you are buying an $80 hylaronic acid serum...you are getting ripped off. This ingredient is widely available and is not proprietary. If you are buying vitamin C serum in a clear, dropper-style bottle...you may be getting ripped off. Vitamin C is incredibly unstable and ideally should be in an opaque, airless pump bottle.

This does mean more legwork and research but hopefully I can help guide you on your journey!