There are many beauty myths that are taken as gospel all around the world, but some are more believable than others.
Most of the myths around today are passed on from family members. When I was younger, my mum told me that wearing makeup would give me spots. I avoided it like the plague. Now I’m a beauty obsessive and don’t have any spots than the usual person. I finally proved her wrong.
Here are some of the most popular beauty myths around today.
Shaving makes your hair grow back thicker
It’s a common old wives tale that shaving your hair makes it grow back thicker – Completely un-true!
When you shave the hair, it removes the tip and leaves the tip blunt. This makes the hair shorter and feel more stubbly (which is why it sometimes feel like your legs are turning into something similar to a bear just days after you’ve shaved!).
You can shrink your pores
Again, wrong. No matter how much you splash your face with cold water, your pores are unable to shrink – you can only make them appear smaller.
Using a pore-minimizing primer can help you to do this but unfortunately, the size of your pores are determined genetically… In other words, blame your parents.
People with oily skin don’t need a moisturizer
Even if your skin is oily and makeup slides off it throughout the day, it’s still beneficial to have a moisturizer in your skincare routine. Oils coming through the skin makes it feel greasy – often making people believe that they do not need to add another greasy product on top.
What people don’t tend to realize is that oils coming through the skin is often a result of dehydration. Moisturizing boosts the moisture in the skin (as the name suggests) and is an essential in any skincare routine, no matter of your skin type.
Makeup has no expiration date
It’s not uncommon to believe that the blue mascara you bought when you were 13 is still safe to use now. Wrong! All makeup, beauty and skincare products have an expiration date which is shown on the back of the product.
As a rough guide, mascaras have the shortest expiry date. You should switch out mascaras every 4-6 months to reduce the risk of spreading eye infections. Foundations and concealers are good to use for 6 months to a year, and lipsticks are good for up to 3 years.
There’s one advantage to buying makeup more frequently… It’s a good excuse for a little pick-me-up!
Toothpaste banishes spots
Although the menthol in toothpaste creates a cooling effect on your skin, they’re no good for use on spots. Other ingredients in the toothpaste can actually cause more irritation probably doing more harm than good.
You only need SPF when it’s sunny
Wrong – and potentially dangerous! Throughout any weather, snowing to bright sunshine, you need to be wearing SPF.
Although this is important, you can easily add it into any skincare routine (and many of your will be doing without even realizing). Most foundations on the market now contain an SPF of anywhere 5 – 20, providing extra protection for your skin without going out of your way to do so.
Pumping mascara makes it last longer
Again, wrong! This actually has the opposite effect on the product and reduces the life-span of a mascara. Pumping air into the product forces air into the tube and creates clumps, shortening the amount of time your mascara is useable.
Never tweeze above the brow
Brow geniuses all over the world have proven this to be false, but many people are still afraid to remove any hair above the brow.
Many people still only pluck beneath the brow in fear of over-plucking and being left with none. Only plucking below the brow can leave them looking unfinished, untidy and unkempt.
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