Every day there is a new creative ‘beauty hack’ claiming to help women achieve the same results as a high-end product – for a fraction of the price.
Although this may be good for the wallet, unfortunately a lot of these ‘beauty hacks’ do more harm than good.
FEMAIL spoke to Erin Norden, from the Clean Beauty Market about what tricks people should stop forever – and the ones that are worth trying.
According to Ms Norden some of the most popular ones people use can severely damage the skin.
FEMAIL spoke to Erin Norden, from the Clean Beauty Market about what tricks people should stop forever
Exfoliating with sugar, salt or baking soda
When wanting to exfoliate their skin some people often turn to their kitchen to whip up their own batch.
They will be unhappy to hear that this is something Ms Norden said people should stop doing.
‘Sugar and salt crystals have harsh edges which can potentially tear the skin if one isn’t careful, which can lead to irritation and dryness,’ she explained.
‘Baking soda is also one to be wary of. It’s actually quite a harsh ingredient to apply to the skin and can disrupt the pH balance of your skin and strip your skin making it vulnerable to bacterial infection and irritation in the way of inflamed and itchy skin.’
Instead, they should invest money into an exfoliating product that is gentle on the skin.
‘Sugar and salt crystals have harsh edges which can potentially tear the skin if one isn’t careful, which can lead to irritation and dryness,’ she explained
Moisturising your face with coconut oil
Coconut oil has been touted as a miracle product in the health industry for some time now but it should be avoided as a moisturiser.
This is because according to Ms Norden it is a comedogenic, so it can clog pores.
‘This can be an issue particularly for people that are acne or blemish-prone as it can exacerbate the problem,’ she said.
‘There are lots of other nutrient dense oils which absorb nicely into the skin and do not clog pores or feel as thick and slippery on the skin as coconut oil does.’
Setting your makeup with hairspray
It can be irritating when makeup starts to slide off the face during the day so a product that helps lock it in piece is always key.
But people shouldn’t reach for hairspray to help do the job.
‘Mainstream hairspray contains an array of chemicals and harsh ingredients such as lacquers and alcohol which will dry and irritate skin in addition to fragrance and other chemicals definitely not suited to the face let alone anywhere else!’ Ms Norden said.
‘There are much nicer and more natural makeup setting sprays available these days that will help makeup stay put without harming the skin.’
It can be irritating when makeup starts to slide off people’s faces during the day so a product that helps lock it in piece is always key but people shouldn’t use hairspray to do so
Toning with rubbing alcohol
Toning the face with rubbing alcohol can cause skin to obliterate oil, leaving the skin tight and dry.
‘Alcohol is extremely drying for the skin and strips skin of moisture leaving is dehydrated, red, irritated and sensitised,’ she said.
‘When you try and get rid of the oil the skin is producing by continually applying alcohol, more oil will be produced and more breakout can occur, it’s a vicious cycle!’
Coconut oil used as a mouthwash (a tablespoon of oil swished around in the mouth for 10 minutes) can help with oral hygiene
Putting egg whites on your face
Although it’s easy to create a face mask by simply cracking some eggs, this isn’t good for the skin.
Ms Norden said that although egg whites are rich in nutrients, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that eggs penetrate the skin and do anything.
‘You’d need to be wary of bacteria spreading to the skin potentially also, given raw eggs have the danger of containing salmonella,’ she said.
Toothpaste on your pimples
Although it may seem handy to be able to pop some toothpaste on a blistering pimple to get rid of it, Ms Norden said this isn’t something people should do.
Sadly doing so has the opposite effect of what people want to achieve.
‘Toothpaste applied on the skin disrupts the acid mantle,’ she said.
‘People apply it to a blemish thinking it will dry the pimple out but what it does is irritate the skin and causes redness.’
Applying a little pure cold pressed pure castor oil along the lash line can help stimulate lash growth and keep the lashes healthy