This article was written by Kate Foster and repurposed with permission from Refinery29.
When it comes to fashion tips, home decor, and even a day-brightening quote or two, Pinterest is inarguably the place to go. But for skin-care hacks? Not so much. That is not to say, though, that we've never found ourselves with homemade mayonnaise masks slathered across our faces or even stranger concoctions rubbed onto our limbs after surfing the site.
Ask a derm about many of these DIYs, however, and they’ll tell you they’re ineffective at best—and, at worst, extremely damaging to the skin. “Remember, your skin is an organ,” says Rachel Nazarian, a dermatologist with Schweiger Dermatology in New York City. “You wouldn’t throw random kitchen and household chemicals on your eyes, or in your ears. Don’t treat your skin any differently.” So much truth. Next time you’ve got an emergency-level pimple or patch of peeling skin, try the drugstore rather than the kitchen—you’ll want to dodge these recipes like the plague.
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Lemon and Sugar Scrub
This might be one of Pinterest’s most popular DIY treatments and, sadly, one of the most harmful to your epidermis. “Skin has its own natural pH, which is much higher than the pH of citric fruits like lemons and limes—and using them on skin can cause serious irritation and break down protective oils,” says Nazarian. And the sugar? “The addition of sugar only increases the irritation, physically exfoliating delicate tissue that’s already been weakened and inflamed by the lemon juice.” Ouch, the ultimate bad skin-care double whammy.
Try Instead:
“In place of this combo, try alpha—or beta—hydroxy acid-based creams and washes, and use microbead exfoliation scrubs that are gentler on the skin,” advises Nazarian. We love Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion ($11, neutrogena.com)—which packs alpha-hydroxy acid in with some SPF—and Murad Pore Reform Skin Smoothing Polish ($30, sephora.com), a revolutionary exfoliator that avoids stripping skin of natural oils.
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Toothpaste Spot Treatment
What teenager hasn’t dabbed toothpaste on an emerging pimple before bed? The logic makes sense—sort of. “Thought to be helpful because of its antibacterial nature, toothpaste is essentially a super concentrated cleanser,” says Nazarian. But there’s a downside: “Yes, it kills bacteria on the skin, but all those extra additives and foaming agents also destroy the delicate skin barrier.” Red patches in place of a pimple? We’ll pass.
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Try Instead:
For everyday, apply a salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide gel or cream. Arithmetic’s Acne Control Complex ($30, arithmeticproducts.com) features not only three percent benzoyl peroxide, but also tea tree oil, a natural pimple shrinker. For more dire situations, Nazarian recommends plain old Neosporin ($9, cvs.com). “It’ll offer the same benefits [as toothpaste], without the added irritation.”
CLICK HERE for three more DIY beauty treatments you should steer clear of from Refinery29!
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