5 Common Skin Care Myths

Imagine an architect drawing up a design for a residential home and not considering the local environment. Without proper protection against Maryland's coastal environment, the home would rot within years.

We do something similar with our skin. Instead of basing skin care on how skin actually works, we rely on a mishmash of skin care myths about skin care that often do more harm than good. Here are five skin care misconceptions that you may believe, but which do you no good at all. 

Myth 1: Sunblock's Only for Sunny Days

You can see how this one got started. Sunlight contains harmful ultraviolet rays that damage the skin, but clouds block light. Therefore you don’t need sunblock when it's overcast, right?

Sadly, wrong. The only time you don’t need to wear sunblock outside is at night. Clouds reduce the amount of visible light that reaches the earth's surface. Ultraviolet light, however, still makes it through and can still damage your skin, just like the coast can impact that Washington DC design build.  

Myth 2: Pop that Pimple

Full disclosure time:  As a teen, I was a chronic pimple popper. Popping a pimple brought relief and seemed to improve my appearance. Of course, I always got new pimples within days, but never figured out why.

When you squeeze the pus out of a pimple, a hefty portion of the nasty stuff actually gets pushed deeper into the skin. There it spreads, resulting in (guess what?) more zits. Pushing pus deeper into the skin also encourages inflammation and scarring. You're better off leaving the zit to heal by itself.

Myth 3: Everything I Eat Causes Acne

What do greasy food, chocolate, sweets, sodas and fatty food all have in common? At some point or another, they've been blamed for causing acne. 

Again, these skin care myths sound reasonable — greasy food equals greasy skin — except, of course, that it's bunkum. Have that chocolate bar. It might increase your weight, but it won't cause acne.

Acne occurs when the skin produces excess sebum, an oily secretion that blocks pores. And while your genetics and hormone levels affect sebum production, what you put in your mouth doesn't.

Myth 4: Toothpaste Zaps Zits!

Sure it does. And bathroom remodeling in Maryland lowers electric bills in Nebraska. In theory, the toothpaste dries out the skin and draws out the sebum. In practice, toothpaste irritates the skin, encouraging more acne development. Think about it for a second: toothpaste contains chemicals that whiten and bleach tooth enamel. Those same chemicals will irritate the skin.

Myth 5: Dark-Skinned People Don’t Get Skin Cancer

Okay, it's true that dark-skinned ethnicities have lower rates of skin cancer, but the color of your skin hardly makes you immune. In fact, African-Americans only have a 77 percent melanoma survival rate compared to 91 percent survival rates among Caucasians. This myth kills, because it gives people a false sense of immunity.

Byline: Michelle is an aspiring writer who currently works for a company that specializes in bathroom remodeling in Maryland. When she’s not working, she loves blogging about a vast variety of topics. She loves that blogging gives her the opportunity to publically voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience.