...and other home remedies that are wrecking your skin.

If you know me, you know I'm all about the home remedy. I slather castor oil on sore muscles, I drop vinegar in my ears when I get swimmer's ear, and coconut oil is my home-remedy panacea. But, there's a limit to this, especially when it comes to your skincare routine. You want to use caution when it comes to what you put on your face because, well, your face is different than the skin on the rest of your body. The epidermis of facial skin – the top layer of skin – is made of smaller cells than the epidermis on the rest of the body. Facial skin is therefore thinner and has less of a natural barrier than skin on the rest of your body. This is why it’s so important to nourish and protect facial skin and avoid irritating ingredients. Read on and discover the Top 3 Home Remedy Products You Should NEVER Put On Your Face.

1. Your Face Isn't Your Butt

Certainly we have all heard about using Preparation H to get rid of crow’s feet, puffiness, and dark circles under the eyes. And in theory, the active ingredients in Preparation-H sound like they would do the trick: phenylephrine constricts blood vessels and reduces swelling while hydrocortisone, a topical steroid, reduces inflammation and skin irritations. Preparation H may give your undereye area a smoother appearance temporarily, but over time, its use will make the skin under your eyes thinner and more prone to irritation. Moreover, continued use can cause a rebound effect – blood vessels can become larger, swelling can become more intense, and inflammation in the area can become chronic. Undereye skin is extremely delicate and thin to begin with; it doesn’t have many oil glands or collagen fibers. That’s why the undereye area tends to show signs of aging quickly. It’s important to select products that nourish and protect this delicate area rather than attacking it with harsh chemicals. Bottom line here: your face isn't your butt, so why would you put butt cream on it? Use a cream that is specific to the undereye area that contains moisturizers and gentle ingredients.

2. Zits Don't Have Teeth

Maybe you’ve heard of toothpaste as being a miracle cure for pimples. This myth has been around for a long time, likely because toothpaste used to contain zinc, which acts as an antioxidant when applied to the skin. Toothpaste rarely contains zinc these days, but it does contain a whole host of ingredients that can irritate skin and exacerbate breakouts. Toothpaste contains sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) – the same ingredient found in soaps and shampoos that make it sudsy. SLS is a major skin irritant as it strips natural oils and disrupts the skin’s protective barrier. Other common toothpaste ingredients include sodium fluoride and triclosan – both of which are known skin irritants. While toothpaste usually contains calcium carbonate – an ingredient that can help absorb excess oil – it’s not worth it when you consider how irritating the rest of the ingredients in the tube can be. Irritating a blemish can prolong the healing process and increase the chance you’ll be left with a dark spot where the blemish used to be. To help calm breakouts, use products specifically formulated for the skin that contain gentle ingredients – think low percentage salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, diluted tea tree oil, or diluted lavender essential oil.

3. Stop Scrubbing With Shards

Exfoliation is an important part of keeping skin healthy – it encourages skin cell turnover and leaves skin bright and glowing. However, not all exfoliators are created equal. Using a scrub containing crushed apricot seeds or any other hard fruit seed or nut can do more harm than good. Crushed seeds and nuts are jagged and, when you rub them on your face, they can scratch and tear the skin. Opt instead for a low-percentage glycolic acid serum or a scrub that contains spherical beads that wont tear and damage the skin.

Your face is special, you should treat it as such! In addition to being thinner than body skin, facial skin also contains more pores, which means your face will reflect your overall health. If you have a poor diet, aren’t hydrated, stressed, or suffering illness, then your face will reflect this by way of pimples, dryness, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. Your skincare professional should therefore take the health of your total body into consideration when evaluating the condition of your facial skin. Lastly, we should keep in mind that skin is your largest organ. Anything you put on your skin doesn’t just stay in one place – it is absorbed and processed by your body. Have a holistic mindset when selecting skincare ingredients and products and remember you aren’t just treating the skin on your face.