Skin Care Dos and Don'ts

There comes a time in everyone's life that they have issues with their skin. Sometimes its a short period of time but if you are anything like me it has been a battle going on since you were about 12 years old. 

I have compiled a list of my dos and don'ts - most of these are common sense but I am writing them out because I am guilty of quite a few of these. 

1.     Don't sleep with your makeup on: This is my number one because I am so, so bad about this. You come home from a night out, dead tired and flop down on the bed, with a full face of makeup. This clogs your pores, causing breakouts and oily skin. Not to mention gets your pillow super gross, so when you sleep on it with clean skin you still have all that crap on your pillow.

2.  Don't Over Exfoliate: If you know me you know up until about 2 years ago I was the queen of over exfoliating. I exfoliated at least 5 days a week. My skin was an absolute wreck! Now, I exfoliate once or twice a week and it has made a huge difference in my skin. Also, don't use St. Ives (I know, I love it too) but I beg you, do not use it on you face. Use it as a body scrub if you must. 

3. Don't overdo it on these foods: Dairy - you have probably heard rumors that Dairy is bad for your skin, well its true. There are certain hormones in milk that cause breakouts. It is recomended that if you can switch to Almond Milk, Rice Milk or Coconut Milk. I don't personally struggle with this as I am lactose intolerant. Coffee - Seriously don't hate me. There is an acid inside coffee that messes with the "stress" hormone (Cortisol) which causes your sebaceous glands to go a little nuts. Its kicks them into overdrive and makes them over produce sebum (oil). Soy - Soy contains a natural plant estrogen that mimics our natural estrogen this can totally screw up your skin. Its an overload on hormones, and we all know how terrible hormones can be. 

4. Don't Smoke: Smoking is the worst for your skin, the absolute worst! If you ever doubt how terrible it is just google smokers skin. That is the fastest way to age your skin. Not to mention it is bad for your general health. 

5. Don't use a Foaming Face Wash: This goes for everyone. Foaming face wash is terrible for you skin, its so over drying. Coming from someone with an oily skin type I used to love foaming face wash, I always noticed that my skin felt dry and irritated afterwards. I stopped using them and noticed a huge difference in my skin. 

6. Don't use Tanning Beds: In case you didn't know (like you don't know....) tanning beds are awful for your skin. They use UVA and UVB rays to tan the skin. UVA = Aging, UVB = Burning (U be Again and U be Burnin')
Here is a startling statistic from the America Academy of Dermatology "Each year, more than 419,000 cases of skin cancer, including both melanoma and NMSC, in the U.S. are linked to indoor tanning" If you want to check out the article I am referencing read it here. 

7. Don't touch your face: I mean this in two ways. If you have breakouts don't pick at them, that makes things worse. Also, don't rest your face on your hands - there is all kinds of dirt and oils on your hands that will transfer to your face and cause breakouts or make breakouts worse. I am so guilty if this - I always put my head in my hands at work, just leaning on this desk. It's so bad!

8. Don't trust everything you read: Pinterest is great for a lot of things when it comes to DIY. However, I have seen so many terrible things on Pinterest when it comes to DIY skin care. The internet is a place where anyone can post their unintelligent ideas and someone out their will try it. Just beware, seriously. If it has pretty much anything to do with rubbing a raw lemon on your face I would stay away from it.

There are several more 'Don'ts' that I can think of however, there are a lot of 'Dos' to cover so we will just leave it here for this post - I may do a follow up post in a few months. 


1. Do have a routine: Having a regular skin care routine is so important. You will get in the habit of taking care of your skin and your skin will look awesome. Now, I am not here to tell you what your routine should be as it is different for everyone. I will say washing and moisturizing your skin twice a day is super beneficial. 

2. Do Exfoliate: Now, the key to this is what you exfoliate with and how often you do it. It really depends on your skin type as to what you should use. There are 'manual' exfoliators and chemical exfoliators. An example of a manual exfoliator would be something with micro-beads or some kind of scrubbing substance. A chemical exfoliator would be just that, something with a chemical exfoliating substance (AHA or BHA). Exfoliating will help to reveal bright and beautiful skin when done properly. 

3. Do Eat Healthy: Eating properly and staying hydrated is so vital to healthy skin. Dehydration causes so much again its nuts. You must remember that your skin is the your largest organ and whatever you put into your body is reflected in your skin. I would recommend taking vitamins as well, Biotin is beneficial for your skin specifically, but all vitamins help. 

4. Do Customize your skin care: It takes seemingly forever to find great products to use on your skin, I went through easily 10-15 different face washes before I found one that did what I needed it to. There is no one skin care line that will work for everyone. A lot of companies try to sell you on the one fits all, but it is not true. If you have dry skin you cannot use the same skin care as I use, being an oily skin type. Be patient, it takes time to find something that suits your needs. Don't give up!

5. Do use sunscreen daily: The sun is the number one cause of aging, you have to wear sunscreen every single day, even if you don't go outside. If there is a possibility of sun rays to come through the window. A new study shows that 23% of sun damage is done by the time you are 18, in past years the percent was though to be much, much higher. So the point is, not all is lost. Just get a great SPF and wear it everyday. A foundation with a low SPF is not enough, I recommend using a moisturizer with an SPF. There are a lot of articles and studies that you can read about the number of SPF you should wear. I personally use an SPF 30. Make sure whatever SPF you use it has UVA and UVB protection. 

6. Do you specialty skin care: I am not saying over complicate it. If you feel like you have a certain skin concern (large pores, wrinkles) I suggest looking into a specialty skin care item for it, like a serum or a moisturizer targeted for that. 

7. Do use masks: Masks are a great way to help add a little boost to the skin, whether it's a moisturizing mask or a mask to help clear up acne. Masks are also a great way to pamper yourself. There is something very calming about sitting in a bathtub with a mask on your face. There are many, many masks out there that help address your skin care needs. Try a few!

8. Do look into natural options: Natural options and at home remedies have great potential in the skincare world, just be leery of what you try that you have read on the internet. Use common sense, speak to a dermatologist. There are natural skin care lines that are great. Just do your research to find out what natural ingredients will best fit your needs. 



Please keep in mind everything written here is based off of my training and research, some of these are also my opinions. What it all boils down to is doing your research and knowing your skin type. 


Do you have and major skin care Dos and Don'ts?

XX - Cait