The skincare world is overwhelming. You can access information everywhere - Google, TikTok, Instagram... And it can get confusing when one person swears by one thing and another disclaims it.

Well, don’t worry we’ve done our research and we’ve simplified 'skincare' for you. What you’ll find in this article are common mistakes you should avoid. 

Not Knowing Your Skin Type

Knowing your skin type (normal, dry, oily, sensitive and combination) does wonders for your skin. Without properly knowing what your skin needs, you may be using products that are harming your skin instead of nourishing it. 

For example, if you have oily skin, you need to be looking at water-based moisturizers. You may be having an issue with excess oil because you’re probably using products that are contributing to sebum production. 

Or if you have sensitive skin, you should be looking at the simplest products that have minimal, gentle ingredients and are made for sensitive skin with no fragrance.

Ignoring Your Neck

If you have an established skincare routine and you have your go-to products that are working for your skin, make sure you drag that extra product from your face to your neck. 

Most people are too focused on the face. Ever see a girl with makeup on and she only puts it on her face, so her face and neck are two completely different colours?? It looks weird.

Your neck is delicate. It's vulnerable to stressors and premature aging. As you age, sun damage may become more apparent on your neck if you consistently put SPF on your face, but not your neck.

Doing Too Much 

Sometimes, less is more. If you have acne prone skin, the best thing to do is to simplify your routine, applying 5 serums and exfoliating every night will cause more irritation and will further anger your skin. 

Simply put - don’t over-wash, over-exfoliate or over-tone. 

Also, applying too many active ingredients on your skin may cause a clash prompting breakouts and irritation. If you have multiple products that contain active ingredients, find out if those ingredients are safe to combine, but better still is to spread them out. 

Only Wearing Sunscreen in the Summer

Sunscreen is only becoming more popular now because of social media. But it still hasn't become part of everyone's routine even though it's just as important as brushing your teeth everyday.

Whether you're young or old, start now and wear sunscreen DAILY. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s cloudy or if you’re just staying home, you need to be wearing sunscreen every day to protect your skin from sun damage like premature skin aging and skin cancer. The UV rays penetrate through clouds and through windows, so you can still get significant sun damage when you least expect it. 

Assuming People of Colour Don't Need Sunscreen

Yes, melanin does provide some protection so you don't burn as quickly, but that's just topical sun rays (UVB rays). It does not protect your skin from UVA rays, which penetrate beneath your skin putting yourself at risk of premature aging, or worse, skin cancer.

Also, having the assumption that you don't need SPF because you have coloured skin puts you at higher risk for not finding melanoma (ie. skin cancer) simply because you're not looking out for it. 

In a nutshell, sunscreen is for everyone, young and old!