The earlier you are aware of these skincare red flags, the easier your clear skin journey will be!
As I am sure you know already, trying to clear up the skin can be exhausting and incredibly frustrating. It doesn't help that we are bombarded with conflicting advice all the time.
What I have learned in my 7 years of helping women get beautiful, clear skin is that people have amazing instincts when it comes to their skin. They are just afraid to listen to them.
They will, almost without fail, be able to tell that something just “doesn't sound right”, but will decide nonetheless to listen to the “expert”, even when the skin is screaming for help and it all just feels wrong.
Here I have listed some very common things we hear, and what the truth actually is. I will clarify some of these points in more detail in the upcoming emails, so keep an eye out for those!
Skincare red flag #1
The truth is quite the opposite. One does NOT need to go through a purging period (especially not a painful, mental health degrading one!) to get clear skin. What happens most of the time is that the actives used are simply too strong for the skin, irritating the skin barrier to the point of raising inflammation and causing more breakouts that you wouldn't have otherwise. What's worse, the more you break out, the more likely you are to continue breaking out as acne bacteria forms a film on your skin that triggers more inflammation and hence more clogged pores down the line!
Skincare red flag #2
It is possible to react to EVERYTHING. I don't care what it says on the product or what the skin “expert” is telling you. I need you to listen to your skin. If your skin is clearly worse after using a product, it is a reaction, or it is clogging you/irritating you, and you should stop the use. Reacting to almost everything is more common when the skin barrier is damaged. Healing your skin barrier in that case will likely allow you to respond favorably to more products.
Skincare red flag #3
Again, this just isn't the case and it is a major skincare red flag! While a good skincare routine may not provide quick acne clearing, it should not cause more issues from the very beginning. You should see calmer, more moisturized skin, with fewer signs of inflammation (like less redness, less swollen and inflamed acne, etc). If you are getting more breakouts, you need to understand why is that happening and eliminate the culprit.
Skincare red flag #4
These are just band-aids that can help control acne in the short run, while often causing much more issues in the long run. I have worked with countless women whose skin broke out terribly after being on birth control pills (or antibiotics) for years. There are many side effects to these medications and they often become visible only after you stop the use (which you eventually must do).
Skincare red flag #5
Antibiotics are very damaging to the gut and skin microbiome, causing many negative downstream effects. While they must sometimes be used, they should not be used long term to “keep acne in check”. In fact, your skin will likely be even worse once you come off the treatment.
Skincare red flag #6
Your hormones respond to what you eat, how you live, etc. Your hormones then affect your skin. It is all connected. It is truly baffling that someone can still say diet and lifestyle don't affect the skin. If they do, that is a huge red flag.
Related: Simple Skin Healing Recipes
Skincare red flag #7
While Accutane is the strongest acne medication we have today and maybe the last necessary resort for some, it is FAR from the only solution. In fact, I have seen countless times that acne returns after even 3 or 4 rounds of Accutane if the acne causes aren't being resolved.
Red flag #8
If you know you have sensitive skin that cannot tolerate much, and you are given strong products to start using (especially to use on a daily basis straight away), you will most likely start to have more breakouts (as inflammation level in your skin rises) which someone may brush off as “purging”. Do NOT do this, listen to your skin and always go slow, with one active at a time!
Related: Purging vs breaking out – are you just breaking out?
Skincare red flag #9
This can actually cause much more damage than good, due to developing food fear but also because it puts you at risk of undernourishment. I will admit that certain “restrictions” are sometimes necessary (primarily processed foods, or modern foods our bodies don't process well, like industrial seed oils), but one does NOT need a restrictive diet and certainly not a dozen different supplements to have clear skin.
Skincare red flag #10
I am sure I don't actually need to debunk this one, but many of us still fall for this! A single product can have sometimes a massive positive impact on the skin only if many other pieces of the puzzle are already in place. One supplement will NOT fix acne on its own. One skincare product won't either. It is very important to remember this.I hope this was helpful!
Any questions? Let me know in the comments!
Much love and skin healing,
Sara
