There are some habits we indulge in unknowingly, and frequently, that can become extremely harmful for our skin health. Trying to treat your skin with information researched online, or taking cues from your friends could be detrimental and land you with some major skin problems. Here’s looking at some skin-sins that experts say, you should avoid…


Buying over-the-counter medicines


Using over-the-counter medicines, without having complete knowledge of them, can cause damage to your skin. Dermatologist Dr Shefali Trasi Nerurkar says, “Every individual has a different skin type. Hence, any treatment cannot be standardised. It’s commonly observed that if a patient is given a treatment for any skin condition and if their relative suffers from a similar problem, they tend to use those medicines without consulting the doctor. Such cases have damaged many patients’ skin.”


Going by the brand value


of cosmetics Another common mistake most women make is using wrong cosmetics, solely relying upon their brand value. Just because you watch an advertisement that promises to do away with wrinkles in a few weeks, you should not dab it all over face and wait for the miracle to happen. “Before using the cosmetic on any part of the fact, check it by doing a patch test on the hand or behind the ears,” says Dr Trasi.


Scrubbing skin to become fairer


According to Dr Trasi, rubbing and excessively scrubbing the skin, trying to make it fairer, is a myth. Instead, it becomes darker by these methods. Using Steam at home to clean your face: Dermatologist Dr Apratim Goel says, “Skin needs steaming to open the pores, but it needs to be done at a certain temperature. Moreover, the skin has to be prepped for that, or else it may not only burn the face, but can also dehydrate your skin.”


Using hot water to wash your face


Using extremely hot water for bath and washing your face with it can be damaging. Dr Trasi says, “Hot water removes all the oils present in the skin and as a result, the natural moisturisation is lost with it.”


Waxing your face


Excessive facial hair can be a big problem for some women and sometimes, local salons suggest waxing to get rid of it. Experts warn that this can be harmful. Waxing tugs at the delicate facial skin and could lead to early wrinkles. Dr Goel says, “Waxing your face to get rid of excessive hair is a blunder, but still most of us have done it at some point in our life. Of course, if the hair is thick, laser hair removal is the best, but one could go for bleaching too. Waxing is traumatic to hair follicles and can lead to infection and inflammation. This can result in scars which are difficult to treat.”


Using a razor on face


There are women, who have excessive hair on their sideburns and they resort to drastic measures like using razor on their face to get rid of it. Cosmetologist Dr Rashmi Shetty says, “Whenever you shave, the new hair that grows is darker and thicker than before.” She explains that natural hair on a woman’s face is light and fine because they are at a resting phase. “However, after a woman shaves the hair on her face, it changes and now, is at a growing phase. A good alternative to reduce excessive facial hair is laser removal treatment. This technique not only helps in hair removal, but reduces its growth in six to eight sittings. However, if your facial hair is fine and matches your skin colour, then do not get tempted to go in for a laser treatment as it may not help at all and lead to paradoxical growth and excess hair.”


Haircare mistakes you should avoid

Method – Take the tweezer and scrape off the black eyeshadow into an empty bowl. – Take a spoonful of petroleum jelly and mix it well with the scraped eyeshadow using a spatula. – Now keep alternating between the eye shadow and petroleum jelly, till you have a considerable amount in the bottle. – Once you have the consistency that you require, store the bottle in the refrigerator. What you need – A black eyeshadow – Petroleum jelly – A spatula – Tweezer – A small empty bottle.