There are obviously always going to be products that get popularized for the wrong reasons. In this post I will be talking about products that have been hyped up by the internet but aren’t good for your skin (and throwing in a few alternatives at the end).
Dr. Shah is a dermatology resident who uses his platform to educate people on skincare (doing the lord’s work)
What’s wrong here? Let’s get into it:
- Black Peel Off Masks: Yes, if you want quick results then go ahead and use these masks because they’ll give you just that. Peel off masks are in fact ripping off the dead skin cells being targeted but are also taking hair follicles and healthy skin cells along with it. Ripping off healthy skin cells is where the problems arise because it starts to mess with the natural barrier that keeps your skin clear and hydrated. Over time your skin starts to get irritated and dry in turn making your skin break out.
- “Sensitive Skin” Products: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read the ingredients labels when purchasing a new product. Just because something says “for sensitive skin” doesn’t mean it’s true. Sea Breeze is a perfect example of an unsafe “sensitive skin” brand because it’s an alcohol based product instead of water based. Using alcohol in skincare provides very good and fast results but regular usage dries the skin out and ruins the moisture barrier that keeps your skin safe from environmental factors and helps other products do their job.
- Citrus in Skincare: The fact that citrus even exists in skincare is a facepalm to the max. Just like in Dr. Shah’s video, just no. Citrus is an irritant for skin and causes breakouts and sensitivity issues in the skin and provides no actual benefit in the long-term. If there’s one thing you should absolutely stay away from, it’s citrus.
Oh St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I still can’t believe how popular this product became. I can’t lie, I too was bamboozled to buy it, by my best friend, when this product was on its popularity rise. I quickly found out that this is a HELL NO product. Being branded as a physical exfoliant to help clear away the dead skin, you first think “ok awesome, sign me up!” but what you don’t know is that not only is it scrubbing off your dead and healthy skin cells, the shards in the product cause micro tears in your skin. These micro-tears lead to early aging and dark spots and destroy the skins moisture barrier.
Even more brands, are y’all ready?
- Clean and Clear: So Clean and Clear is one of those very cheap drugstore skincare brands that has been around forever. Most of us have probably bough a product or two from the brand thinking that this could be the product that fixes whatever I’m having trouble with. It’s not! The entire product line from this brand is formulated with way too much fragrance, which just like citrus irritates the skin, and uses ingredients that are not that great, like sodium laureth sulfate and denatured alcohol. The brand as a whole is going to cause more harm than good for the skin because of the lack of quality ingredients.
Mario Badescu: Everyone has heard of this brand! If you haven’t you’re either a liar or you live under a rock. This brand was quite popular back in 2016 and 2017 because of their Rose Water Facial Spray. Mario Badescu has been discovered for using terrible ingredients in their products. There are undisclosed steroids, chemicals that can deteriorate the natural skin barrier and make it too thin . Having that much fragrance and using ingredients that lead to long-term negative results all in a single product is absolutely frightening for the skin and can cause serious irritation. On top of that, these products have been known to use denatured alcohol as well, which is seriously dehydrating to the skin’s barrier.
The part that really gets me about these brands is that people STILL USE THEM. It has been repeated by so many estheticians, skincare enthusiasts, and doctors to not use it but people just don’t care. I’m saying this from the bottom of my heart, please if you have any of the brands or products I’ve mentioned on this page, make a switch.
I know it can be hard to listen to a college student who has to write a blog for his Electronic Writing class, so if you don’t know what to believe, here are a few professionals that can back me up:
Sources:
Blackhead Peel Off Masks: Ineffective and Harmful to Your Skin
https://incidecoder.com/products/mario-badescu-drying-lotion
I used to use the St.Ives scrub a lot on my face and I saw good results for a little while, but that was a terrible idea. I’ve never liked the idea of peel-off masks in general, either. They’re just unpleasant. Did you ever hear of that extreme peel mask, Milkypiggy Hell-Pore Clean Up? I think I saw it on Buzzfeed or something a while ago and couldn’t believe people would actually do that to themselves.
I used to use A NUMBER of your “no’s” and will not be purchasing them again. Here I thought I was helping my face…
YES!!! Alot of these skincare companies just wants people money and not actually help them. Those masks are so horrible
I recently switch to Thayer brand skin care. I hope that is a good one.
Very cool to see someone post about some of these common beauty products. I always wondered why men who use just soap and water often have better skin than people who choose these more elaborate skin care routines lol.