5 Beauty Myths You HAVE To Stop Believing
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When it comes to beauty, everyone has an opinion or a foolproof trick that they guarantee “will work, 100%.” The problem is, there are so many beauty myths floating around, you could be believing fake news. Ever slapped toothpaste on a pimple? Big mistake! To make sure you’re not victimized by a beauty myth ever again, we debunked five common myths that could be messing up your beauty game…
MYTH 1: Shaving Your Face Will Give You a Beard
The truth: Shaving does not cause your hair to grow back thicker or faster, so shaving your face will not give you a beard. The growth of hair is controlled by the follicle, and shaving doesn’t affect the follicle or the growth pattern. However, because the blade cuts the hair at the thickest part of the hair, as it regrows (because it doesn’t have the fine tip that hairs naturally have), it can feel rougher than before. Check out the picture below that shows our mustache hair under a microscope; you can see that hair that was waxed grows back with a pointy end (which is why it feels soft), and the hair that was shaved has a blunt end, which is why it feels ‘prickly.’
Why you need to start shaving your face: Shaving your face will not only create a more seamless base for makeup application by getting rid of peach fuzz, but it’ll act as a physical exfoliator, leaving you with brighter, clearer skin. Dermaplaning, which is the official derm-term, will help remove dead skin or hair that’s blocking your pores, which can trigger breakouts that are making your skin look dull. It’ll also allow for better absorption of other skincare products, making your daily regime more impactful. If you don’t believe us, check out this before and after.
How to shave your face: Start with a cleansed face, ensuring it’s completely dry before you shave. You don’t need to exfoliate before because the process acts as an intense exfoliation. Then, using a straight razor, which you can buy on Amazon, $5, pull your skin up towards your eyes so that the skin is taught. Then, using small, steady strokes, with the blade at a 45-degree angle, glide the blade downwards (in the same direction of the hair growth). Do this for the entire bottom half of your face (if you want you can do your forehead as well). Take extra care around the brow area and be very light-handed – you don’t need a lot of pressure. If you have active pimples, you should avoid these. Check out the video below for everything you need to know about face shaving, and read all our dos and don’ts here.
MYTH 2: Botox Fills in Fine Lines and Wrinkles
What most people think: It’s commonly believed that Botox will plump and fill the skin for a more youthful appearance, but this isn’t true. Even though fillers and Botox are now everyday terms, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what they do.
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The truth about Botox: Botox relaxes the muscles that cause wrinkles and lines and temporarily softens the look of lines. By blocking local nerve impulses to specific muscles within your face, albeit temporarily, Botox prevents you from having full control of your facial expressions to prevent the wrinkles that come with it. However, fillers inject a hyaluronic acid-based formula into the skin to add volume to the face and enhance natural proportions. In basic terms, Botox relaxes the muscle to prevent the formation of wrinkles, and fillers plump and add volume to the face. Find out more about Botox here.
MYTH 3: Cutting Your Hair Regularly Will Help it Grow
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What most people think: If you’ve been scheduling your hair appointments every six weeks in the hope of longer, more voluminous hair, then you’re victim to one of the most common beauty myths on the block. The reality is; your hair doesn’t register when you cut it. Hair growth begins at the follicle, so to boost growth you need to treat your scalp, not the ends. It may look and feel healthier – regular trims combat breakage and split ends that make your hair look dull and damaged – but sadly, it will not enhance growth.
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How to boost growth: If you want to boost growth, you need to show your scalp some love and start using a scalp scrub weekly. By exfoliating your scalp, you’ll help detoxify and rebalance the pH level so that it’s less likely to flake or become irritated. By massaging the scrub into your scalp, you’ll stimulate blood circulation, which helps encourage growth and increase shine. Plus, most scrubs also contain hydrating ingredients and vitamins to soften the scalp and enhance growth.
The Pump Hair Growth collection incorporates the most bioactive form of Coenzyme Q10, which can increase the keratin levels to enable longer and thicker feeling hair. Check out this post for our fave DIY scalp scrubs.
MYTH 4: Expensive Skincare is More Effective
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The truth: Out of all of the skincare myths, this is probably the most dangerous to believe – well, for your bank account. The reality is, just because a product is expensive, that doesn’t always make it more effective. Often, you’re paying for the brand’s reputation or the packaging. Of course, that’s not to say all expensive skincare is overpriced, there are times when you’re paying for superior active ingredients and the research that has gone into making science-backed products.
What you need to know: Whenever you’re investing in a new skincare product, always check that you’re getting the ingredients you’re paying for by reading the ingredient list, and always do your research before you invest in a new skincare product; always read the reviews!
Go back to basics: Instead of splashing out on a new skincare product, you can always try to find a DIY alternative, for example, if you’re looking to brighten and revive the skin, instead of buying a vitamin C serum, you could try our fave orange toner. Similarly, a luxe coconut body lotion could cost you $20 and last six weeks, whereas a jar of coconut oil, which is just as hydrating, will cost $10 and last months. Try to keep this in mind – it could save you a ton of money!
MYTH 5: Sun Exposure Can Help Your Skin and Reduce Acne
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What most people think: Okay, so we lied… Believing expensive skincare is more effective isn’t the most dangerous beauty myth, it’s believing sunscreen isn’t important. While it may seem like a day in the sun is working wonders for your complexion, it’s actually permanently damaging your skin. It might feel like it’s drying out your pimples and giving you a glow, but that’s just dehydrated skin and fried skin cells. Fast forward a week, and your skin will be drier and not to mention the irreversible damage that you can’t see. Plus, this layer of dead skin can block your pores, trapping oil and triggering breakouts.
The truth about sun exposure: Did you know that 90% of how your skin ages is completely within your control and is directly related to sun exposure? Don’t forget that sun exposure causes inflammation, skin discoloration, dark spots, not to mention, the powerful UVA and UVB rays cause premature aging in the skin. In short; no sun exposure will help your skin. Check out these insane SPF myths. Find a sunscreen you love and wear it every day with our guide to the best sunscreens here.
Oh, and if you think you can shrink your pores, you NEED to read this.
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