MYTHS Dispelled: all links so far

myths dispelled

• Aging is bad 

• Before and after pictures

• Chocolate makes your skin break out

• Combination skin

• Drinking coffee is good for your skin

• Drinking water hydrates your skin (upcoming)

• Enlarged Pores: Can they shrink?

• European facials are guaranteed to be A+

• Facial exercises help reduce wrinkles and/or firm the skin

• Facials make your skin break out

• Facial tissue is bad for your skin

• Food doesn’t affect skin

• Foundation is good for your skin

• The Fountain of Youth exists...really!

• It’s expensive, so it must be good

• Night creams need to be heavy

• Oily skin wrinkles less

• Preventing wrinkles is possible!

• Skin breathes

• Soap is a good cleanser

• Sun clears up acne (new!)

• Sunscreens protect my skin from all sun damage

• Tanned skin is healthy skin (new!)

• Toners are the second step in cleansing

• White lab coats mean excellence in a facial salon

• You need to use a separate cream for your neck

• You have to change products because your skin gets used to them

MYTH: Sun clears up acne

There are books published in the late ’70s into the early ’80s that actually have chapters on “safe suntanning.” Other chapters suggest lying out in the sun to help clear acne. And although this mindset isn’t as prevalent today, I still find people feel free and unrestrained to get a tan and that it is healthy for their skin. Well, no amount of sun is really good for your skin. And certainly, as this myth reveals, getting sun on your skin does not control acne.

What sun exposure can do is put some skin problems in a dormant state, only to have these trouble spots reactivate at a later date. Sun will dry out the outer skin, which has a temporary effect of drying, as well as a psychological effect of clearing. But as far as being a treatment for problem skin, sun exposure won’t do the trick.

Heat actually activates your oil glands. If you have an oilier skin type, haven’t you found that your skin gets even oilier in the summer months? I see this in my facial room all the time and I’ve heard it from clients for years. And back when I had oily then normal to oily skin it was true for me as well.

When it comes to myths about anything, and in this case skin care, you have to be logical and think things through a bit. Sun exposure can cause all kinds of things to melt. And heating up oil certainly makes it more “runny” if you will. So lying out in the sun to “clear up acne” is probably, in the long run, only going to increase any existing problems.

For more information, see:

• Acne and imbalance—What to do
• Acne Q & A—Part 2
• Skin changes due to sun exposure

MYTH: Tanned skin is healthy skin

This is an extreme example, however it’s real...!

This is one of the biggest myths around. It’s true that when you get a tan, you may feel healthier. And I admit, most of us look healthier with a little bit of color. However, the truth is the color change in your skin, called a tan, is actually the body’s response to danger—danger from the harmful rays of the sun.

If having a tan is important to you, just remember you are incurring sun-time that, as you get older, will show up as sun damage. Sun damage could be anything from loose, sagging skin; permanent redness (couperose); or, worst case scenario, skin cancer. The truth is, suntanned skin is sun-damaged skin.

For more information, see:

• Avoid the sun?
• Tanning Beds—Just Don’t!
• Myths Dispelled: all links so far

MYTH: Combination skin

When someone tells me they have combination skin, I always have to ask what exactly they mean by that. Usually I hear something to the tune of, “I have oily places and dry places on my face.” The truth is, all skins have a combination of several different things going on with them. Understanding correct terminology is helpful when it comes time to self-diagnosis your skin type.

The theory behind combination skin is dry patches and oily places on the same face. The facial axis (also called the t-zone) has more oil glands than the rest of the face, the nose housing the highest concentration. That’s why almost everybody has pockets of oil (blackheads) clogging the pores on the  nose to some degree. The dry patches most people feel is either on their cheeks or is a face-wide feeling of dryness.

My contention is you can’t have both oil-dry (what I call true-dry) and serious oiliness together. Oily and normal skin, yes. Oily skin that is dehydrated (feels dry)—absolutely. But thinking you have opposing oil conditions (dry and oily) makes it confusing as to what kind of products to use on your skin.

       

Many people experience what they call “dry” skin when in reality their skin is dehydrated, which feels like true-dry (oil-dry) skin. But as you can read in numerous articles under categories dehydrated skin as well as dry skin issues, there is a great difference between the two skin conditions: dry and dehydrated. And the treatment of the two different conditions is also very different.

For more information, see:

• Using dry skin products on oily skin—STOP THE INSANITY!
• Determining Skin Type
• Combination & Normal/No-Problem Skin explained

MYTH: Preventing wrinkles is possible!

You may hear and see ads about how cream “X” prevents wrinkles. Well, no cream or product you can buy will truly prevent what nature has in store for you. Is there anything you can do to lessen their appearance? Yes. 

1. Stay away from direct sunlight. This is one surefire way to actually prevent wrinkles.
2. Get into good skin care habits early. Any care you give your skin will be reciprocated in kind by healthy tissue and cells.
3. Don’t drink alcohol or smoke. One or both of these may be long-term habits in your daily life. But just know, they each affect your skin and how it ages.
4. Pick parents with good genes for skin. First it is genetics, then sun exposure, and finally the care you take of your skin that are the keys to preventing or causing wrinkles.

For more information, see:

• 20 Ways To Keep Your Skin From Aging
• Smoking & Skin
• Myths Dispelled: all links so far

MYTH: White lab coats mean excellence in a facial salon

White lab coats. They are supposed to connote cleanliness, even more so a medical environment. But white lab coats are simply white articles of clothing. I have seen for myself that sometimes a salon is trying to create a pseudo-medical atmosphere by wearing lab coats.

The medical community commands a certain level of respect and credibility, and we automatically associate lab coats with medicine. One of the buzz words in the skin care industry is “paramedical” and in my opinion, medicine has very little to do with facials and this type of topical skin care.

Not that medicine doesn’t have a place in many facets of life, but a facial is not supposed to be a medical procedure. It’s a relaxing treatment of topical (and cumulative) value to the skin. Any treatment going deeper than the surface skin is probably more of a medical procedure and should be performed by a medical doctor.

I’m certainly not saying that there is anything inherently wrong with aestheticians wearing while lab coats, but as a prospective client, look beyond what you see and ask lots of questions.

For more information, see:

• Myths Dispelled: all links so far
• One facial experience—not a great one
• What to expect in a facial treatment

MYTH: Drinking coffee is good for your skin

Before I get started (and as you’ll read below) I am not saying don’t ever have any coffee—and do not take my one cup a day away from me! I just want to give you a rundown of what coffee/caffeine does to the body—especially in excess.

I haven’t ever heard that coffee is “good” for your skin exactly, but we have all heard the reports that tout coffee (caffeine) as good for your body. In fact back in February of last year I read an article in The Washington Post that recommended drinking up to 5 cups a day (to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes). Since last I checked, skin is an organ and is connected to the body, therefore skin is affected positively or negatively by what affects the body. So if coffee is good for the body it must be good for our skin, right? Regardless, I stand by the implyed title of this article and say coffee is not good for your skin.

Here is a short list of what coffee—caffeine—can do to your skin:

• Coffee causes dehydration. How? Coffee acts as a diuretic in your system, taking precious water out of your body. Less water internally equals dehydration; less water superficially on the outside skin also means dehydration. So does coffee cause dehydration? In a word—yes! 

• Coffee dilates your capillaries. Why is this important? Capillaries are the blood network for the skin on the face. Throughout your life you want to limit the dilation and contraction of those vessels to limit redness down the line. This dilation is why caffeine can be helpful to relieve headaches, which involve constricted vessels.

• Caffeine increases heart rate, increasing blood pressure. You don’t have to go far to read research about coffee’s effect on our heart rate. Isn’t that why we drink it—to increase our energy and give us get-up-and-go? That is due in part to your heart and blood moving harder and faster.

• Coffee decreases appetite. Perhaps that is precisely why you drink coffee—to keep your weight down by decreasing your desire for food. For me, I know my one cup in the morning does decrease my appetite and therefore I am less likely to eat breakfast. This, for me, is not a good thing. I’m not trying to lose weight and I am a big believer in breakfast (as in break-the night’s-fast). Eating first thing is important for maintaining proper metabolism and keeping my blood sugar in balance. Without breakfast and with coffee I am sure to get low blood sugar (ie: jittery and shaky). Still, please—don’t ask me to forgo my one cup a day!

I’m not advocating giving up caffeine completely. For me, my day just doesn’t feel right without my morning cup of coffee. It is a habit and a routine that brings me pleasure. However I only have one cup a day.

I encourage you to take stock of how much coffee you are actually drinking and cut down if you’re going overboard or simply drinking too much.

For more information, see:

• Caffeine does more than just wake you up (a client profile that might shed some light on what coffee can do to your skin)
• Alcohol: What drinking does to your skin
• Smoking, wrinkles, and hoping for an anti-aging miracle

It looks so innocuous and happy, doesn’t it?

Sunscreens protect my skin from all sun damage—True or False?

FALSE! Unfortunately, we have succumb to the notion that creams with SPF are totally protecting our skin from the sun’s damaging effects. That would be nice, but unfortunately sunscreen can only do so much to protect your skin from sun damage. And—it is important to use daily!

SPF stands for is Sun Protection Factor. This is a numeric system set up to alert us as to how long it will take for our skin to burn in the sun while using the product. An SPF 15, for instance, says that by using the product you should be able to stay out in the sun for 15 times longer than if you didn’t have it on—and not burn.

Can you start to see how SPF and sunscreens in general are not going to give you an umbrella of protection? They are only truly set up to keep your skin from burning. You can and may still tan while wearing sunscreen. You will also still receive the damaging UVA and UVB rays from the sun—but your skin shouldn’t burn with the sun protection product on.

Obviously there is great benefit to wearing sunscreen. I recommend wearing it daily. If this is not you, please at least wear a sunscreen when you will be outside and exposed. Again, don’t feel falsely protected when wearing a cream on your face—whether it is an SPF 15 or 50.

For more information, see:

• The Truth About SPF
• A Small Sunscreen Lecture
• Questions about SPF numbers and sun protection

MYTH: You need to use a separate cream for your neck

Many times advertisements for neck creams are another ploy to get you to buy more products. Although the skin on your neck varies from the skin on your face, I recommend treating it basically the same using your regular facial products. I always recommend including your neck in everything you do to your face: The Basics plus exfoliation and sunscreen. However, it is usually unnecessary to purchase a separate cream for this area.

With that said, if you want to use something different or special on your neck, go right ahead! Sometimes I use Yonka’s Optimizer Gel Lift (meant for the neck among other areas), and I do like it. Do I see an appreciable difference using that special product vs. my daily moisturizing creams? Truthfully, I haven’t used Gel Lift or any other neck-specific product long enough to give a well-informed answer to that question.

As with all issues pertaining to skin care, if you see a difference for the better—great! Keep using that product or procedure. If you don’t, you probably won’t continue on.

For more information, see:

• The Basics 1-2-3 Program for proper skin care  
• Forgotten Places: The Neck
• Yonka’s Optimizer Gel Lift

—or do...

MYTH: European facials are guaranteed to be A+

Europe is known for its product lines. Skin care really began in Europe, as did the utilization of spas, going to the baths, and hydrotherapy. But to characterize something as being European should not be an automatic cinch for a service or person being of high quality in the context of a skin care salon.

Many salons in the US offer European facials. To me, the phrase European facial would indicate a facial given in Europe. I suppose it could be a facial given by a European aesthetician, or perhaps the product that is being used is from Europe. But I really think it’s a meaningless term used to elevate the quality of a facial treatment.

Many times the word European is used to connote some special, sophisticated training. Training is obviously very important, but where the education takes place doesn’t necessarily mean it was or was not good training. Quality depends on many factors. It is the talent of the individual along with education, training, and experience in the field that creates a good aesthetician.

So when a salon says it offers a European facial, ask “What exactly does that mean?” For example, I am an American, trained in America, using French products. Am I giving a European facial?

For more information, see:

• Myths Dispelled: all links so far 
• Where to look for a great facial
• What to expect in a facial treatment

MYTH: Chocolate makes your skin break out

It’s not the cocoa in chocolate that makes your skin break out. But when you eat chocolate, it is inevitably made with sugar (like a candy bar), and it is the sugar that is most likely causing the breakout. So this myth is partially true, depending on how you are defining chocolate. Dark chocolate has less sugar in it than milk chocolate. There are even very high percentage dark chocolates with very low sugar content.

For more information, see:

• MYTH: Food doesn’t affect skin
• “I don’t eat much sugar”—really?
• I’m sensitive to sugar—are you?

MYTH: The Fountain of Youth exists...really!

Ah, yes, the ubiquitous Fountain of Youth. So many people are searching for this mythical place. Are you looking for the fountain of youth? I hate to break the news to you—there is no such thing. But companies and skin care product manufacturers spend millions of dollars every year in advertisements hoping you will buy into the myth that, through one product or another, you can physically alter your skin.

So much of skin care is internal. A healthy body inside usually equals healthy skin outside. You can’t erase years of abuse by using “miracles in a jar,” no matter how expensive (therefore it must be good) a product is. Do you eat sugar, drink alcohol, perhaps lie out in the sun? Limiting these three things alone can help you achieve healthier, younger-looking skin.

Hopefully the information I am providing helps show you the steps necessary for a good skin care regime, extra measures that can be taken, and then the reality that you will age no matter what. How you age will all depend on your attitude toward it, as well as other factors such as genetics, sun exposure, and skin care maintenance.

Don’t buy expensive creams hoping for a miracle. There are no miracles—not in jars, anyway. Be kind when you look in the mirror. What ages you more than any physiological component is your own negative view of yourself. Be positive. Your inner dialogue (positive self-talk) could be the Fountain of Youth you’ve been looking for.

For more on my philosophy and (yes) the good things that are inherent in the aging process, click on the following article links:

• Radiance—what makes a woman radiant 
• 20 Ways To Keep Your Skin From Aging
• Axioms for Life
• MYTH: It’s expensive, so it must be good

but probably not in a jar of skin cream

MYTH: It’s expensive, so it must be good

True, most good products cost more than the average grocery or big box store brands, but not always. Just because something is expensive doesn’t automatically mean it’s a quality product. You may just be paying for the brand name, the attractive packaging, or expensive advertising. Don’t be fooled by the price tag. The proof will always be in the results you receive.

For more information, see:

• Pricey Products Q & A
• Age-appropriate products?
• MYTH: You have to change products

MYTH: Oily skin wrinkles less

Lines and wrinkles are formed from a breakdown in collagen fibers over a long period of expressing, sun exposure, and just plain time. Oily skin does keep a lipid or oily film over the face, which does keep it moisturized and supple (usually to the detriment of the pores, however). The sebaceous or oil glands, however, have nothing to do with collagen fibers.

Oily skin tends to be thick skin; thick skin ages differently. It tends to form one or two deep wrinkles, whereas thin skin usually has many very fine lines. Think of a piece of heavy wool versus a thin piece of silk. When folded, the wool will only crease in one or two places, but the creases will be deep. The silk may form many creases, but they will be superficial.

Men tend to have thicker, oilier skin. Not everyone with an oilier skin type has a thicker skin, however. But, I’m sorry to say ladies, even you who have thin skin that is oily are still not escaping the aging process due to the excess lipids.

The oil content of your skin has very little to do with the aging process. Accumulated sun exposure, genetics, and how expressive you are determine how your lines will form.

For more information see:

• Oily Skin explained
• 20 Ways To Keep Your Skin From Aging 
• Ageless Beauty—Part I
• MYTH: Aging is bad

MYTH: Night creams need to be heavy

Night creams don’t have to be heavy. They commonly are, which can lead to breakout or just a feeling of greasiness. Ingredients in night treatments are usually more regenerative and repairing, but they need not be heavy.

There is a long-standing image of our grandmothers going to bed with a heavy layer of greasy cream on their faces. Somehow manufacturers have not completely gotten away from this image and still make night creams that are heavy and greasy.

Just know your night cream is more of a treatment cream and should be designed to tackle problems specific to your skin type (sensitive, couperose, dry, oily, problem, etc.). This does not have to affect the thickness of the cream, however.

For more information, see:

• Day vs. night creams
• What moisturizer should I use?
• Airplanes, travel, and skin care—Help for Dehydration

MYTH: You have to change products because your skin gets used to them

Is it true that after using the same products on your face for about 6 months or so, your skin gets used to them, and they tend not to work?

I’ve been using the same product for several years. I have read it is good to switch products now and then so your skin doesn’t get used to them. Is this true?

My response to these kinds of questions is an emphatic no! There is no reason why you can’t use a product indefinitely. The idea that you have to change products due to your skin getting used to them, rendering them ineffective, is a myth. Perhaps this way of thinking is used to promote a new product, or it is simply a misnomer that has never been challenged.

...unless you want to

Products you use should work period, not just for a period of time. Case in point: I have been using one product line for almost 30 years (Yonka-Paris, of course). They are the products I sell and use in my practice. I have never had the feeling I needed to switch brands, personally or professionally. The products work great, so why change? For years I used the exact same daily cleanser, toner, and moisturizers. Then, as I drew closer to 50, my skin changed (producing less oil) so I started using different products—within the line—for my more true-dry skin.

I see no reason to switch lines altogether when you have absolutely no reason to do so. I have many clients who have used Yonka for decades, and because their skin continues to do well and look great, they continue on with the same product line; changing individual pieces as their skin changes, which could be from year to year or even decade to decade.

So the answer to “Can I use the same product for a long time?” is yes, if you are doing well with that product or line of products. There is no good reason to switch if you don’t need to. You may want to, but that is a different story altogether.

For more information, see:

• Determining a good product: Natural vs. synthetic
• True or False: You only need to wash your face at night
• MYTH: Before and after pictures

MYTH: Facial tissue is bad for your skin

Because tissues (Kleenex®) are made from wood pulp, it is said they can scratch your skin. Personally, I think this is ridiculous. You may be using an abrasive scrub on your face, yet you are told to worry about using facial tissue! So if you choose to use tissues, don’t think you are harming your skin. Obviously, softer tissues will feel better than the cheaper, coarser types. Either way, feel free to use tissue if you need to. I am not, however, a fan of tissuing things off your face. Instead, you want to rinse products off by using water and your hands to ensure everything has been removed.

For more information on proper (and improper) exfoliation, see:

• Tarzan exfoliates
• All About Exfoliation
• MYTH: Facials make your skin break out

MYTH: Before and after pictures

I never consider these types of photographs when determining the effectiveness of a treatment or product and I highly recommend you don’t either. The variables that are possible with before and after pictures are numerous. Lighting, camera angles, clothing color, hairstyle, and even facial expressions can all make the image look better or worse depending on what is needed. I like to turn the photos upside down to lose (or gain) perspective. Remember, these are advertisements meant to sell you something. Please don’t use these pictures as a basis for believing anything.

Here are a few more MYTHS:

• Facial exercises help reduce wrinkles and/or firm the skin
• Skin breathes
• Enlarged Pores: Can they shrink?
• Aging is bad

MYTH: Aging is bad

I truly believe aging is not the terrible thing it is represented to be in the consciousness of this country. Aging is inevitable, and it is the most natural process in life—one to be heralded, not condemned. A pervasive perception in our society today is that there is something inherently wrong with getting older. Yes, it can be disheartening to see the lines start to form or get deeper. Slowing down, losing your 20/20 vision, and waking up to stiff joints is not what you would choose for yourself. Although degenerating is the part of the process that is perhaps the hardest to take, what about what you gain with age?

The big question is “What is wrong with aging?” If you spend your whole life fighting the aging process, are you really living? What are you comparing old to? How will you grow old? Do you know older people who seem young? People who haven’t caved in to some society-driven illusion of how “old is bad.” The adage about wine getting better with time—isn’t this true for people as well?

Aging with grace is what I’m striving for in my own life, and it is what I discuss with my clients. You can struggle with what is happening and put up a big fight, but the bottom line is the aging of your body will occur anyway. There are no miracles to be found in a jar of cream, nor is there a Fountain of Youth at the doctor’s office. You are your own living miracle, and how your body functions is the daily affirmation, the absolute proof. The Fountain of Youth is inside.

For more information, see:

• Trends & fads in skin care
• Ageless Beauty—Part I
• 20 Ways To Keep Your Skin From Aging

MYTH: Soap is a good cleanser

I’m not a fan of soap as a general rule. The ingredients used to make it a hard bar are generally harsh and better kept off your face. You may feel soap really gets your skin clean—and you’re right. But soap gets it too clean. It may make your skin feel squeaky clean, but in reality, you’ve just stripped all the oil and all the water off the surface of your skin. This will give you a taught feeling (which you may associate with clean), but your skin is now stripped!

You don’t have to strip everything off in order to get a good, general cleanse. And when your skin is stripped, it is left vulnerable until the proper pH is restored. It’s as though you’re moving out of your house or apartment, and you not only take all your belongings and furniture, but you also pull up the carpet, take the wallpaper down, and peel the paint from the walls. Soap has a similar effect on your skin.

The best way to clean your skin is with a water-soluble, milky-type cleanser. Almost all companies include a cleansing milk, cream, or wash in their product line that is water-soluble.

For more information, see:

• CLEANSERS 101: What IS a cleanser? What to look for and what NOT to use—updated
• Is it OK to use a washcloth on my face?
• Proper pH and your skin care products