5 Skincare Mistakes You NEED To Avoid 

I’m obsessed with skincare, it’s SO important! Ever since I started as a blogger, I’ve tried thousands of products, interviewed some of the best skincare experts in the world, and tested every weird beauty hack along the way. I’ve tried things that I regret, and I’ve learned some really valuable skincare lessons. Most importantly, I’ve learned the things that you shouldn’t do to your skin, the hard way! Here are five skincare mistakes that no one should ever make.

1. Overdoing It!

There’s such a thing as doing too much to your skin! Your skin’s microbiome is super sensitive, and if you do too much, you can throw it off balance, and your skin will react. This means over-exfoliating by scrubbing your face too hard with harsh physical exfoliators or using multiple products that contain ingredients like AHAs, BHAs or retinol too often in your routine, which could cause more damage than good.

We formulated our WISHFUL Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub, $39, to be gentle yet powerful. I use it two to three times a week to slough off dead skin cells, detox my pores, and help to even my skin tone. Our Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub is infused with brightening pineapple and papaya enzymes, detoxifying BHAs and AHAs, and cellulose, a gentle physical exfoliator that carefully buffs away dead skin cells without scratching the skin surface. What’s so great about this scrub is you won’t run the risk of over-exfoliating your skin because it’s not abrasive or too richly-packed with AHAs. The lightweight scrub has done an incredible job of evening my skin tone and retexturizing and brightening my skin for a major glow. Find out more about Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub here.

My top tip is to always add products to your routine slowly and one at a time, so that you won’t need to figure out which product is reacting with your skin. If it contains strong active ingredients, introduce them gradually, by starting every other day (for retinol, even less frequently). Check out our post about over-exfoliating here.

2. Layering Your Skincare Wrong

If you’re applying products in the wrong order, you could massively be reducing the efficacy of your products. The general rule is to start with the most lightweight products finishing with the thicker formulas. Check out every step of how to layer all your skincare products properly here.

3. Not Removing Your Makeup

The truth is, a makeup wipe is just not good enough. I know it’s hard when you just CBA after a long day, but just take five mins to go and wash your face properly. Although makeup wipes will remove the top layer of your makeup, it won’t all be gone, and it certainly won’t be able to get rid of all the grime and pollution that has settled into your pores during the day. I always double cleanse by starting with an oil-based cleanser, then finish with a detoxifying water-based cleanser. Check out our ultimate guide to cleansing properly here.

4. Not keeping on top of beauty hygiene

It’s crazy how much bacteria your beauty products can harbor, and if it’s not your makeup brushes, your pillowcase or hand towel could be transferring bacteria to your skin – gross, but true! It’s so important to wash your brushes and pillowcase regularly, and you should also try to use a face towel (that you wash frequently) whenever you can. Let’s not forget that our phones are pretty filthy too – hands up if you’ve finished a phone call only to see half your makeup clouding up your screen (guilty!). So, buy an alcohol spray and give your phone a spritz regularly! Check out our beauty hygiene guide here to make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes.

5. Picking pimples

I know how tempting it is to pick and squeeze your pimples – trust me I do, and I did it –  but honestly, it’s only going to make it worse. When you pick at a pimple, you’re creating a wound, which means it’s not only going to be open to bacteria, it’s also going to take longer to heal and be more likely to scar. If you have a pimple, the absolute best thing you can do is to apply a hot compress – not too hot – as this will help the pimple to drain itself. Celeb dermatologist and Founder of Lancer Skincare, Dr. Lancer, told us the best remedy is to apply a “warm cloth compress to the affected area for one minute, then a new compress a minute later. Repeat every minute for six minutes every hour, for two or three hours to soften and convince the blemish to drain itself.” Although it’s not a quick fix, it’s effective and will eliminate the problem of scarring, which takes much longer to heal than a pimple!

What’s your guiltiest beauty mistake you know that you make? Let me know in the comments below.