How to Bust Common Beauty Myths
Stop wasting time, money, and energy on misguided measures, and learn to separate fact from fiction.
Up next in Beauty Tips & Secrets (12 videos)
The trick to always looking good is, well, knowing a few tricks! Check out the ingenious beauty tricks in these Howcast videos.
You Will Need
- Facts
- Sunscreen
- Astringent with alpha hydroxy or glycolic acid (optional)
Steps
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Step 1
Don't float away
Don't bother downing eight glasses of water a day if you're only doing it to keep your skin moist. Contrary to popular belief, drinking water does nothing to prevent dry skin.
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Step 2
Know the limits of moisturizing
Realize that moisturizing does not prevent wrinkles because dry skin does not cause wrinkles. What it can do is make very fine lines a little less obvious – temporarily.
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Step 3
Rethink the astringent
Toss your alcohol-based astringent if you think it's making your pores smaller. Pore size is genetically determined, so while applying astringent may make them feel tighter, all you're really doing is drying out your skin.
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Products containing alpha hydroxy acid or glycolic acid can puff up the skin around pores, temporarily making them look smaller, without overly drying skin.
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Step 4
Use anti-aging creams at 20
Start using anti-aging creams at 20, not 35 or 40. Twenty is when your skin starts to break down.
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Sunscreen is the best anti-aging product you can use.
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Step 5
Run from tanning beds
Run from tanning beds. Not only are they not safer than lying in the sun, they dramatically increase your risk of getting skin cancer.
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Step 6
Know that vitamin E isn't magical
Know that vitamin E isn't a magical potion: rubbing it into scars won't necessarily make them fade any more than regular moisturizer will – and experts say that active massaging works just as effectively. If you've got scars you really want to get rid of, talk to your doctor about laser treatments.
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Step 7
Skip the facials
Skip the facials. Most dermatologist say they don't prevent damage or do much of anything for your skin that regular exfoliating won't accomplish.
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Americans spend more on beauty than on education every year.
