My Top Skincare Regrets

What are your biggest skincare regrets? Was it a terrible product or bad skincare advice? We all made mistakes with thinking that everything we read and hear on the internet is the real deal but the skin is so complex and unique to each individual that we cannot say a product or routine is one-size-fits-all.

We wish it was that easy. We could all just lather coconut oil on our faces and be okay for the rest of the day. But in the real world, coconut oil is not our savior.

Coconut oil might actually be the devil that’s the cause of all your skincare problems—clogged pores, pimples, or greasiness.

Here, I will share the skincare routines, products, advice, and beliefs that I fell for. These my top skincare regrets. I deeply regret following everything I read on the internet without doing more research, especially No. 4. 

Like, what the heck was I thinking?!

Coconut Oil cures all skincare problems

You probably think I have it out for coconut oil but it will come as a surprise that I used to love coconut oil because it seemed like such a powerful product. I mean just go online and you’ll find how coconut everyone says it is good for everything…cooking, daily supplement, hair, skin. It was like a wonder oil.

I was obsessed with coconut oil and would use it in my DIYs: hair mask, deodorant (disaster!), lip balm, face serum, lotion, body butter, cleanser, toothpaste, face scrub, makeup remover, and even micellar water. I DIY’ed the crap out of coconut oil.

But I was wrong on so many levels. Coconut oil is not meant for everything.

I watched all these minimalists and environmentalist influencers on Youtube talk about how ALL skincare products are unnatural and bad for the skin, bad for the soul, bad for the planet. One of them even went on to say that to achieve great skin, only coconut oil is necessary.

I fell for it because I loved the idea of not having to care too much about my skin and not having to stress over picking cleansers, serums, and moisturizers. Instead, I heard the sweet words of just use coconut oil and all your worries will go away…

Syke!

So for a week, I would put coconut oil on my face every day and just let it sit there. I never washed it off because I thought it was good for the skin a.k.a I was a dumb ass.

I eventually got tired of and hated the sticky, heavy, oily feeling on my face and finally stepped away from the oil. My face felt so clogged and greasy, I knew my skin was suffering. Especially when I started to break out everywhere.

Harsh scrubs work better

I’m sure I’m not the only person who thought that scrubbing harsh scrubs on the face harder would get rid of dead skin cells better to achieve clear skin. Thanks a lot, St. Ives!

Nope! We all just got red and irritated skin. More harm is done.

Please, if you are still using a physical exfoliator, just stop. Chemical exfoliators such as AHA and BHA are better and more effective for your skin.

Coffee grounds are a great exfoliator

Oh wow, here’s another one. Just when I thought I couldn’t get any worse, I used coffee grounds with coconut oil to exfoliate my skin.

Why is it so bad?

It’s bad because it damages the skin through micro-tearing. There are small tears on the skin which weaken the skin’s barrier and make skin dry, red, and sensitive.

Because coffee grounds are not uniform in size (never shall they be) and may have sharp edges, they are too harsh on the skin and do not work as a face scrub. I’m also a 100% sure that this was one of the reasons my skin got so bad.

Melanin is natural sun protection

Now, this is just embarrassing.

I should just face palm-punch me in the face.

I got this information from the same girl that preached how coconut oil was the ultimate skincare product.

After realizing all the harmful effects of UV rays from the sun, I made sunscreen a daily step in my basic skincare routine. It is important to wear sunscreen every single day to avoid sunburn, dark spots, and the risk of getting skin cancer.

Derma rolling is the best thing ever

This became super popular and people were obsessed and just raved about it. People were acting like it was more life-changing than botox.

I would watch all the derma rolling Youtube videos I could find, read all about it on blogs and Instagram and even spend countless hours online looking for an affordable brand of derma roller.

Thank the Heavens I am cheap and never went out and bought one. So I never got to try it. They are very expensive (in my frugal opinion) and not worth the risk.

Just like botox, there are dangers. Derma rollers can cause irritation or infection if the tool is not cleaned properly. It creates wounds on the face so that there is constant healing and new, younger skin surfaces after the repair. However, as we age, the collagen naturally present in our skin also disintegrates. When you are deliberately creating wounds on your skin, you are causing degradation and speeding up the usage of collagen.

You only need sunscreen when you are at the beach

This is a skincare commandment: Wear sunscreen every day. Even if you are just indoors or if it’s a cloudy day, the sun’s rays can still penetrate through the clouds and the windows. Protect your skin from burning, early signs of aging, and dark spots by wearing and reapplying sunscreen religiously.

Makeup wipes are the best

Hahahahaha!

Not enough HAs in the world to make me not regret this one. These seem so convenient and effective to remove all the makeup and gunk on your face but here are the problems:

• Easy to use? You are tugging at your skin just to remove all the dirt and makeup, this can cause wrinkles to appear earlier.
• Wiping gently to avoid tugging skin? Sure, but then your face is left not completely clean—makeup and other products may still be there.
• Follow up with a cleanser? Well, that was a waste. Should’ve just started with the cleanser in the first place.

Trust me, you can’t win with makeup wipes.

Soap as a cleanser

We have all tried this. It’s not just me.

Soap is great at cleaning and it also has less packaging and waste but bad news: Soap is alkaline.

Umm…okay. What’s wrong with that? Why is soap bad for the face?

Well, my dear friend, the skin is naturally acidic (less than a pH level of 7) and it is protected by the acid mantle. When you use alkaline products too many times, it disturbs the pH level of the skin and damages the acid mantle. This can cause the face to be more susceptible to bacteria, causing acne and build-up. Horrorshow!

I regret following or believing these skincare products and routines but I’m glad I can share them with you and hopefully, you’ve added something new to your skincare knowledge.

x Bella