Five Skin Care Myths – Debunked

There’s a lot of common misconceptions and misinformation about skin care. A lot of advice you often hear or read about the subject can sometimes be flat out wrong. So you can get the most youthful looking skin you’ve ever had, you need to arm yourself with knowledge and facts rather than misconceptions and fiction.

Here are five common skin care myths and why they’re wrong:

1. People will eventually grow out of acne – People in their 20’s up to their 60’s can still have acne like teenagers. Also, having clean skin during your teenage years DOES NOT guarantee that you won’t get acne later in your life.

2. The best way to get rid of blackheads is extracting them – Pulling and pressing on pores can cause scarring if done incorrectly. After extracting blackheads, the skin fills back up with oil. Retinols and gentle acid peels is much better than extraction.

3. "Age Spots" naturally appear on your skin as you get older – Uneven skin tone and brown spots on your face and body is caused by damage from years of environmental exposure (like the sun). They can show up at any age, and can be treated by lightening the areas affected with hydroquinone.

4. You will not get a sunburn outside after getting a "base tan" at a salon – Any skin color that’s different from your natural one indicates that damage has been done to your skin. Exposing your skin to UV rays before going out in the sun does not protect the skin in any way. Do not tan your skin in a salon, and always use a sunscreen.

5. Your sunscreen’s SPF tells the level of protection you get from the sun – SPF is only a part of protecting your skin. Damaging light from the sun splits into two: UVA and UVB. SPF only measures protection UVB, while UVA protection is still in the works. Choose a broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection sunscreen, and if you can help it, stay out of the sun.

If you have any questions or if you are uncertain about something you may have heard or read about skin care, consult your dermatologist.