The article, titled "The Ugly Side of Beauty Writer", writes that 20 Ozzie beauty editors had their skin examined by a German skincare trainer and found that all of them had "bad skin".
"[Sue] Dann says beauty editors' complexions are, almost to a fault, reddish, sensitised, irritated and 'confused'. 'Their skin has had enough'.... Dann believes the problem is caused by the use of strong, inappropriate products."
Of course, there's a bit in the article promoting the skincare brand Dann works for but what I am more interested in is the suggestion that too many products and too much switching around ruins one's skin. A sort of skin version of the "Too many cooks spoil the broth" saying.
I know my mother would definitely agree as she had a massive breakout after switching to a new skincare brand. She's always lecturing me for trying new brands but if the current one doesn't work...
I am rambling so let's get back to the point: Lots of product, so little time. Do you agree that using too many products is bad for your skin?
6 comments:
I say nay! I don't believe in using a lot of products will destroy skin; however, my mom insists that using more than 3 products on her face will kill her skin by causing them unable to breathe.
I think it depends on the products and the texture. The Japanese have been layering up to 9 products each time and they don't have a problem. Their skincare is a lot lighter in texture too.
However, I do believe that some products can promote skin sensitivity. Things like retinols thin the skin and they are quite omnipresent in many "antiaging" skincare now. Not all of us need that. So I think that's the biggest culprit not the number of products we use :)
I say nay as well. I believe in using products suitable for your skin type, instead of using a product consistently just because others raved about it. Sensitive skins, especially need to be more careful. The article itself had said that the culprit is strong, harsh products. Also i believe in addressing your skin's needs. The way products are applied plays a role too. Imagine scrubbing your face so hard you get broken capillaries!
I don't think there's anything wrong at all with trying out new products. One may feel contented with their skin only until they discover something that makes it even better! However, I feel that there isn't a need to use so many products at one go. Only because with so many products, it's hard to figure what's working and what's not. Unlike my "younger" days, I've now settled for a 2-3 product regime in the day and a 3-4 product regime at night. But having sooo many products, I alternate them rather than using them all together at a go.
I think many people do not know that not all products available on the markets are tested and are not knowledgeable on which ingredients will break them out or contain toxic ingredients such as Maybelline moisture lipstick containing lead.
I decreased my makeup and skincare purchase by analysing product's ingredients before buying by using http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/, if possible and following the updates on US campaign for safer cosmetics
http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=308
I now know that mineral oil is the only oil that could clog one's pores, allowing me to understand why Olay moisturising lotion for combination skin broke me out after 2 weeks. I also learnt not to trust a product's claims of being hypo-allergenic or non-comodegenic. I also learnt that a high-end product can use allergens like propylene glycol, an ingredient (found in most anti-wrinkle creams) which was proven to age your skin in the process.
Education is key. We, girls are too caught up in buying if we see the cute packaging and appealing colours and scent.
I agree with the article - all of us have different skin types and all, so not everyone can follow an exact ritual others do. Some skin require a lot of extra regiments and some people have extremely irritable and sensitive skin.
I learnt this the hard way - have been using Clarins and Kiehl's for years, both are brands which I've trusted. I suddenly had an itching to try a L'occitane product and the salesgirl was not very knowledgable and forthcoming with information about the product. She claimed it's a sister product with Clarins, so I thought "oh well, what harm could that do?" How wrong I was! Two or three days after using the facial scrub my skin broke out and I've had severe cases of eczema all over my body (previously it was only at my feet and the symptom was ignorable).
So yeah, I agree with those who said that we need to be educated on what we put on our face instead of randomly trying every little thing that's introduced. Yes, all these products claim that it's been tested yadda yadda yadda - LET'S BE HONEST, cosmetics are SERIOUS business and there's loads of money to be made off consumers.
I do truly believe in cutting back on products and see where small improvement starts first. Once you start to identify things you have an allergic reaction to, you'll know to be sorry. (Apparently I am irritable to fragrance. The more you know.)
Sorry for the ramble, I feel very strongly about this. Am still a bit pissed about the salesgirl at L'occitane even though it's been a year now heh. I will never touch their product or any other product with fragrance and doubtful chemicals. I'll stick to dermatologically tested ones, thanks.
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