Pinterest is an amazing thing; it can serve as your own personal Internet library, in addition to providing endless inspiration and information on almost any subject you are interested in. Although it can be a source of a lot of positive things in your life, you also need to take some of Pinterest’s offerings with a large grain of salt. Just like any other information base, you (unfortunately) can’t believe everything you read…
The following are some of the most popular, yet ultimately bad, DIY skin care tips from Pinterest.
Ask a skin expert about any of these skin DIYs, and they?ll tell you they?re ineffective at best ??and, at worst, extremely damaging to the skin. It’s important to remember that your skin is an organ, and you can’t throw random kitchen / household products onto your face and expect healthy, predictable results.
Next time you?ve got an emergency-level pimple or need some exfoliation, try the drugstore rather than the kitchen ??you?ll want to dodge these recipes like the plague.
1. Toothpaste as Zit Cream
Who hasn?t tried dabbing toothpaste on a pimple before? The logic makes sense ? sort of. Even though toothpaste is supposed to be helpful because of its antibacterial nature, toothpaste is essentially a super-concentrated cleanser. It can kill bacteria on the skin, but all those extra additives and foaming agents also destroy the delicate skin barrier. Red patches in place of a pimple? We?ll pass on a minty-fresh face.
Try Instead:
For everyday, apply a salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide gel or cream. The Porification Treatment gel features 10% benzoyl peroxide, a natural pore-cleanser.
#2 Pinterest Skin Tip to avoid: Homemade Sunscreen
It’s hard to believe that this is even a thing, but please, just don’t! Sunscreen is SO important to the health of your skin. In order to guarantee that your skin is safe, all sunscreens are carefully manufactured, tested, and re-tested to ensure you?re getting the precise SPF you?re relying on to protect your skin. No concoction that you whip up in your kitchen can ever provide the same level of trust-worthy protection that a professional (FDA approved) product can.
Try Instead:
If you only purchase ONE skincare product, sunscreen should be it! While the other DIYs featured are harmful, this is the only one where skin cancer is on the line. You should be using at least an SPF-30 everyday, and there are now so many sunscreen formulations that there is something that will appease even the pickiest person. (Porification Protect and SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion SPF-50 are best-sellers, they both provide awesome sun protection, and feel weightless on the skin.)
#3 Pinterest Skin Tip to avoid: Baking Soda as a Facial Exfoliator
Baking Soda has long been famous for it’s cleaning / de-odorizing abilities. According to Pinterest, some people even like to incorporate baking soda into their normal face wash for an added exfoliating kick. Even though this product is great at whitening your tile-grout and taking the stink out of your refrigerator — you want to keep it off your face. Applying it to skin will throw off the natural pH balance, potentially leading to inflammation and red, angry skin.
Try Instead:
Pick up a cleanser-exfoliator combo, like SkinMedica’s AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser? ? it?s got micro-beads that are great at buffing away dead skin, but much better for your skin than baking soda.
#4 Pinterest Skin Tip to avoid: Mayonnaise as Moisturizer
Technically the egg and oil in mayo can be beneficial for parched skin, but mayo’s other ingredients can be problematic, such as lemon juice and vinegar, which are highly acidic. Aside from smelling terrible throughout the day, it’s just not worth the risk of adding extra-irritation to your face.
Try Instead:
If you need light moisturization, try the best-selling Porification Moisturizer. If your skin needs extra-hydration, the Enriched Moisturizer provides deeper skin-quenching. Both products will provide the moisture your skin needs, in addition to supplying it with antioxidants and vitamins.
Worst case scenario: you are completely out of moisturizer and can only use something found in your kitchen? Try plain olive oil to moisturize if you truly don’t have any other options.
