6 Mistakes in Your Skincare Routine You Need to Stop

1. Neglecting Skin Below the Neck

Don’t forget to treat the skin below your neck, especially the delicate chest/decolletage area. “One of my skin commandments is ‘do unto your body as you would do unto your face’. So many people put effort into the skin on their face while all but ignoring the rest of their skin,” says Mona Gohara, MD, via Dermatology Physicians of Connecticut. “Especially during the winter, there’s a mindset of ‘oh, I’ll wait until spring cleaning.’ But just because no one will be seeing your feet in sandals doesn’t mean they don’t deserve your care. If your facial skin-care routine is already on point, try investing the same level of care into your body. Exfoliate your elbows, knees, and heels, and use gentle cleansers and moisturizers the way you would for your face.”

2. Over-Cleansing Skin

Be careful not to irritate your skin with over-cleansing. "I'm not a stickler about washing your face morning and night for the sake of a regimen," board-certified dermatologist Sherwin Parikh, MD, tells Byrdie. "[The most important thing is] cleansing while maintaining a healthy skin barrier. If you use too much hot water or heavily foaming products, which tend to have irritating surfactants, you can over-cleanse your skin even if you only use them once daily. The key is not to irritate your skin for the sake of cleansing, as this can compromise your skin's natural, protective barrier."

3. DIY Skincare

Natural ingredients can cause harm if you’re not careful. “Everything is fine in moderation, but I think people need to be more cognizant of what they’re putting on their skin when using DIY recipes,” says Dr. Gohara. “It’s easy to assume that foods can’t cause your skin any harm, but that’s not the case. Some of the most common DIY beauty ingredients can leave your skin worse off after using them. For example, lemon juice has been said to help fading sunspots, but it’s really acidic and can literally leave burns on your skin. Turmeric can stain your skin (think: the way it stains your pans).”

4. Overdoing It With Exfoliation

Too much exfoliation can wreak havoc on your skin. "People who use retinoids, acid complex peels, pads, enzymes, and physical exfoliants should be careful of making a mess of the skin barrier and balance needed for the microbiome to function,” board-certified dermatologist Ava Shamban, MD, tells Who What Wear. "Irritation, inflammation, redness, itching, flaking, and tightness are all common outcomes as the skin is overly taxed.”

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5. Popping Your Own Pimples

Don’t pop your own pimples—it can cause scarring. “When you try to pop the pimple, you may end up pushing the P.acnes infection deeper down the oil glands and layers of the skin,” Dr Madhuri Agarwal, Founder & Medical Director-Yavana Aesthetics Clinic, tells Vogue India. “This would lead to newer pimples and scarring.”

6. Not Having a Holistic Approach To Skincare

Beauty is more skin-deep. “You should treat your skin’s health as you would your heart, brain, or musculoskeletal health—approaching it from a global perspective,” says Dr. Gohara. “What you put on your skin is important, but so is your lifestyle. Eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep can all benefit your skin. I’ve personally committed to going to my gym every day until the end of the year, but you might start incorporating daily meditation or finding another practice that helps you recalibrate. That might not seem like a skin-care goal on its surface, but managing stress is key. When you become stressed and your cortisol levels rise, your skin is more prone to inflammation and break-outs.”