Top Skin Damaging Habits Most of Us are Guilty Of

The skin is the largest and outermost organ of the body, serving as a barrier against the environment. It also insulates and regulates body temperature, sensation, and vitamin B and D. The skin can heal itself when minor distresses (like wrong skin habits) are encountered, but if the assault continues, even a seemingly threat-less thing can have a roundabout.

Here are the top 10 skin damaging habits most of us are guilty of:

1) Treating SPF as a magic number

SPF is not a consumer friendly number, meaning SPF 30 is not twice as effective as SPF 15. It just means that it will take a bit longer to make your skin burn.

For normal skin, at least SPF 30 for daily use would provide adequate skin protection. You don’t need SPF 100+, the difference is not that noticeable. These are lesser formulation of sunscreens that caters for sensitive skin.

2) Believing sunscreen is an impenetrable barrier

SPF only filters UVB which causes sun burn and peeling. It does not filter out UVA which is what causes wrinkling and photodamage, which only becomes quite visible as you age. Even so, sunblock is better than nothing. Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before sun exposure and re-apply every two hours (aad.org).

3) Smoking the life out of your skin

“Oxidation is a very natural process that happens during normal cellular functions.” – Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston. But smoking produces a huge amount of radicals that attack healthy cells. These oxidative damages cause accelerated aging, more than sun exposure itself.

Chronic smoking impairs skin regeneration making your skin more prone to damage from environmental factors.

4) Over the counter with ‘over’ results

Many over the counter products have no clinical trials behind them. And even if they do, some of them may be funded by their manufacturer, therefore, the results might be biased to a certain degree.

White and glowing skin is prized in Southeast Asia. However, careless use of products for skin whitening may lead to unwanted side effects. In particular, unregulated and prolonged use of products containing hydroquinone, an ingredient often used in skin whitening product, may cause onchronosis, an irreversible darkening of the skin.

5) Falling for marketing

Food for thought: Are they really using what they’re advertising?

In the Philippines, EDSA is lined with celebrity endorsers of various skin products. Brands often promote their products using celebrity endorsers.

6) Too much bathing…

Bathing and showering cleans your body by mechanically removing bacteria on the most superficial layer of your skin. But, there is no dramatic change in the bacterial count before and after bathing. Depending on the degree of grime on your body and the fact that we live along the tropical belt, once or twice a day would suffice.

The skin’s slightly acidic nature preserves its water retention and decreases bacterial growth. Frequent bathing changes this nature causes drying and colonization of bacteria.

You need to shower every day for good hygiene, but you don’t need to shower more than that. If you shower too often you can interfere with the skin’s natural anti-bacterial mechanisms and ironically make it easier for bacteria to grow on your skin.

7) The stronger the better… Not when it comes to your skin

Different concentrations of the same compound are meant to be used for different purposes. Benzoyl peroxide is a well known example. There are many products containing benzoyl peroxide for acne treatment with concentrations raging from 1 – 10%. However, studies have shown that there’s no significant difference in effectiveness past the 2.5% mark.

What’s more, higher concentrations are more likely to cause rashes, redness, peeling, and dry skin.

8) Randomly trying out any product, playing doctor

In order to save money, some people may consider doing DIY (Do-it-yourself). But is it worth it?

Glycolic acid, one of the safest and most commonly used AHA for chemoexfoliation and found in various skin care products, may cause epidermolysis if inadvertently used with scrubbing, topical retinoids, anti-acne cream, or skin lighteners. The expense of treating the aftermath would be costlier than the procedure itself.

9) Make up

Cosmetics with fragrances can cause allergic contact dermatitis. But its not limited to that. Better check the ingredients as well. The words methyldibromo, glutaronitrile and phenoxyethanol sound raise a flag because they are common triggers for an allergy flare to ensue, especially if you have sensitive skin.

10) Shaving and tweezing

Unwanted hair causes a cosmetic dilemma. Shaving can cause cuts in the skin that can get infected. Tweezing hurts. It can also lead to ingrown hairs.

Cuts and ingrown hairs may lead to infection, causing darkening afterwards which is more visible than the original hair and takes months to fade away.

There are a lot of new modalities to eradicate unwanted hairs such as IPL (intense pulsed light) and diode lasers. They are relatively safe, as long as they’re done under the supervision of a professional.

Source: www.healthpromo.doh.gov.ph