I have missed writing my Science of Skincare (S.O.S.) posts, so I’m back today with one that I think everyone needs to read! If you have ideas for future S.O.S. topics you want me to tackle, please leave a comment below or message me with your idea. To see previous S.O.S. posts click here.

In this new world of influencers it can be difficult to distinguish who we can trust to get our information from. My recommendation is to ALWAYS do your research yourself. Even if you’re getting your information from ME! haha You know yourself best. If someone is constantly promoting specific brands but doesn’t seem to know much about the product, etc, be wary of what they are saying and look into the product a little further before you purchase it.

These warnings are what have inspired this post. While I am a complete product junkie at heart, I also have a license in skincare and a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology. I am constantly seeing people promoting products and giving wrong information. Am I perfect? NO WAY! But I am always thinking of what I can do to teach healthier skincare so I want to give tips where I can for those who want to learn!

With that being said, here are some common beauty mistakes that I’ve recently seen on social media that I want to talk about. At the very least, I hope you learn from this how easy it is to spread bad information and to think twice before doing what the internet tells you, (even including this post)!

Mistake #1: You don’t need an SPF during the day if you put on an exfoliating product at night.

I often see people talking about how you should put exfoliating products on at night because if you use them during the day, you need to wear an SPF with them…while technically it’s true that you need an SPF during the day if you apply them, you still need one if you apply it at night! This means if you apply an exfoliating product (i.e. scrubs, toners, chemically exfoliating night mask, etc) you need to wear your SPF for DAYS afterwards, even if you only apply it once. (P.S. that shouldn’t be a big deal though because you wear your daily SPF though….right?! haha). Let’s dive into this a little further.

The reason you use these products at night is because while you are sleeping your body does most of it’s repairative work. So your expensive serums and moisturizers are best to be used at night. We often exfoliate at night before applying these products so that we get better product penetration and max effectiveness.

When you exfoliate your skin you are ridding the top surface of it, from dead skin cells. This means you are exposing fresher, newer cells that haven’t been exposed to the sun. THIS is the reason you need to be wearing your SPF consistently after an exfoliation. It’s not like the exfoliating ingredients are going to magically make you burn if the sun hits them.

If this process doesn’t make sense to you…PLEASE message me and I can explain this further. Sun protection is the NUMBER ONE way to prevent damaging and aging your skin.

Mistake #2: Using a mist a the end of a skincare routine.

I get that mists are a big thing right now, and they can be extremely beneficial for hydration and calming your skin, but if you apply them after moisturizing, you’re wasting the product. Light mists simply cannot penetrate over products with a thicker viscosity. When structuring your skincare routine, you want to use the thinnest products first, and move towards thicker ones, leaving your oils and heavy creams for the end. They will have such a hard time absorbing and won’t give you the skincare benefits you are thinking you are getting.

Mistake #3: Rubbing my face is the best way to apply products.

The way in which you apply a product can often be JUST as important as the product you are applying. Think about how often you do your skincare routine. For most of us, that is twice a day. If you are pulling on your skin twice a day, over time that is going to leave some serious damage to your skin. We already have to do so much to combat aging, why add to it?

Overall you need to be doing more patting and less rubbing when applying, but if you want to know the proper way to apply different types of products, PLEASE read my post “How to Touch Your Face” here. I think this one is really important. When in doubt, always remember to use less pressure and move in an upward and outward direction.

Remember, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt, ESPECIALLY when it comes to your health. Do your research. Not everything works the same for everyone. But learn to establish good habits for yourself. You owe it to yourself.

Have a beautiful day,

Andrea