A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share helpful skincare tips they wish they knew earlier. Here are some of the great things we learned!
1. "Sugar could be the reason why some acne scars get dark or you have pimples! For some people, it’s dairy that’s the trigger, but for me personally, it’s sugar."
2. "I get pimples after eating potato chips, so now I've just decided to avoid potato chips entirely. It's been three years since I last ate some."
3. "Water being the key to clear, perfect skin is a total myth. Yes, it is very important to stay hydrated and drink lots of water, but there is no actual scientific evidence backing it up that water helps clear up the skin."
4. "Like yes, obviously drinking water is important, and if you’re dehydrated, that’s not going to do anything for your skin. However, a lot of people tout drinking water as like a cure-all for every skin care problem and that’s not reality."
5. "Avoid scented stuff for the love of god. Those pretty products are the worst for your skin."
6. "Lots of people love fragrances in their skincare, and while for a lot of people they won't do too much damage, they are completely unnecessary in skincare and can be pretty irritating for some people. It's best to just avoid fragrance in your skincare all together."
7. "Please, for the love of god, do not clean your face with Dove bar soap. I can’t believe people still believe this. This is not a facial cleanser!! The product you use to clean your ass crack should not be the same product you use to clean your face!!"
8. "If your skin is very sensitive, try Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser instead. ... Bar soaps have more detergents. Even gentle ones, because they are designed to be used on your other skin — pits and bits. It’s not good for the skin’s natural barrier. The face is a more delicate/sensitive area than most body skin."
9. "A lot of the time, the essential oils and other natural ingredients in ... products are actually a lot more irritating to your skin than an 'unnatural' skin care product."
10. "'Natural' exfoliants like sugar and walnut shells are basically just scratching your skin. If you're exfoliating with something, it shouldn't be sharp and irregular, which many natural ingredients are."
11. "Stop the DIY and the ‘all natural’ stuff. Why would you trust a Pinterest blog or a TikTok more than products that are developed by scientists who know what they’re doing? And if those products aren’t doing it for you, maybe you picked the wrong ones and you need to do better research or ask a professional for help."
12. "It's about being smart about it really and using neutral ingredients. Rose water, yogurt, milk, [and] honey are unlikely to be harmful for most people, whereas stronger ingredients like essential oils or citrus will be if used incorrectly."
13. "One of the most important products for your skin is obviously sunscreen. Don’t bother buying expensive serums/anti-aging products if you don’t bother using sunscreen.
"But, what type of sunscreen should you be using? Look for 'physical' sunscreens (meaning they physically block UVA/UVB rays). Thus, a sunscreen that is SPF 30 or greater with the ingredients ZINC/TITANIUM OXIDE. They are far superior to 'chemical' sunscreens, which have also been shown to cause disregulation in some hormones."
14. "If you’re not using SPF, you’re wasting money. All the creams, serums, treatments are a waste if you aren’t protecting your skin with SPF. And reapply throughout the day!!"
15. "Protecting your skin saves your collagen, which you stop making after 25ish. Sun and free radicals/elements break it down."
16. "Retinols are good, but they are not made for everyone as it’s an extremely drying exfoliant. Also, if you wax your brows, lip, chin, or whatever else on your face, you cannot do so on a retinol as it will cause the upper layers of the epidermis to rip off."
17. "Daughter of a doc here...be very very careful with retinol products! Usually, the products that I’ve seen are concentrations that are too high for someone just starting, so start with a very low concentration if you value your skin."
18. "I use the ordinary's retinol 1% in squalene. It's super affordable. Like someone else said, it takes a couple weeks for your skin to get used to it, so a lot of people stop using it thinking they are having a reaction! Keep at it! It's life-changing stuff."
19. "Beware of [retinol] if you have rosacea or otherwise sensitive skin. It basically speeds up skin cell turnover, and for some people, apparently, it leads to a few weeks of redness, dryness, peeling and inflammation, until the skin 'acclimates.' For me, the horrible feeling of my face burning off from inside and redness and peeling that left my skin cracked and infected never stopped until I stopped using the retinol."
"Please be sure to see a dermatologist, just in general, but especially before using this. That's how I learned I had rosacea and should never, ever use retinol. Hyaluronic acid, however, has been very kind to me."
20. "Taylor Swift, JTT, Jennifer Lopez, etc. are wearing makeup in all of their professional photos. It’s called a natural look but requires a decent number of products. Their skin is NOT perfect. No one has 'perfect' skin. Full stop."
21. "Having acne really doesn’t say anything about your health as a person. Humans get acne and it’s not something you need to 'cure' or avoid it’s just how the human body works. Society puts too much pressure on having clear skin when it’s perfectly natural and healthy to have acne."
22. "It’s also extremely hereditary. No matter what some people do, they will have acne."
23. "I started getting into skincare when I was in 6th grade and now I'm in high school. My mom is always saying that it's unnecessary to have a skincare routine at my age but I politely disagree. My skin looks and feels great."
"The earlier you start taking care of your skin, the better."
24. "Be consistent. Wash your face properly before bed. Moisturize. Use an eye cream. Wear sunscreen. Get enough rest and water. My friends made fun of me in high school because I was the girl who’d bring her night cream to a sleepover. But now I’m 40 and pass for early twenties."
25. "Okay, I don't know who needs to hear this, but YOUR SKIN DOES NOT NEED A 12 STEP REGIMEN TO GET CLEAN."
26. "You don't need a skincare routine of 10 different products! A simple routine of a cleanser, a serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen (very important) is all you really need, and if you want, you can throw in the occasional exfoliant."
27. "I have normal to dry skin and not over washing my face helps to not dry it out further."
"I only use Dove to wash and I apply almond oil after every wash or shower. Also, masks are fun but if I use them more than once a week I break out. This combo has cleared my skin like a miracle and I only get one pimple right before my cycle lol."
28. "One of my family friends is a dermatologist and she hates when people pop their acne because it leads to acne scars. There's also sanitary reasons not to...either use cream or let it heal on its own."
29. "A white head is a white head; it will pop eventually even if you leave it alone. I think the concern is when people are pealing popping blood everywhere that concept and creating huge holes or scabs on their face unnecessarily. Not all pimples are built the same too. Some are tiny and some need a doctor because of how deep they are."
30. "I'm not a dermatologist, but I am a licensed esthetician. I see people all the time who have tried to do an at-home facial procedure and ended up doing more harm than good. Things like microdermabrasion, microneedling, dermaplaning, and high frequency should be done by professionals who are trained to do them."
31. "Figure out what you’re actually dealing with by going to [a dermatologist]. [I was] struggling...with adult acne for a while, and then realized I actually have rosacea. Once I started treating [it] appropriately, wow, what a difference."
32. "Please moisturize. Everyone. Oily, combo, dry, dehydrated skin. Everyone needs a balance between water and sebum (oil) in their skin. Find the right moisturizer for your type and stick to it. It may differ from summer to winter but it is so important for the balance of your skin."
33. "If you are going to use a moisturizer for oil control, stick to a regimen. Using a moisturizer periodically (or being lazy about it) can actually cause your skin to go into oil production overdrive. Sometimes it isn't the moisturizer that caused you to break out, it is your lack of commitment."
34. "Not moisturizing will make your skin oilier. Just make sure that moisturizer is water-based and not oil-based."
35. "The biggest things I tell my clients is to avoid skincare products that dry you out, ESPECIALLY if you have oily skin. It can mess your pH balance and cause you to produce more oil and cause breakouts."
"I have some patients come in and ask me about K-beauty and I tell them that they are actually on to something. Don't strip down your natural oils; you're destroying the a protective barrier."
36. "People believe that just because a product is expensive means it’s good, and just because a product is cheap/from a drugstore means it’s bad. Do your research on individual products because there are some that are just plain bad, regardless of price."
"Also, if you get a product that has great reviews and you end up not liking it, keep in mind that different things work for different people and/or at different times based on your individual skin’s needs."
37. "Not all skincare products are equal. Some can cost hundreds and be useless. Some can be affordable but have irritants. Some will work for your best friend, mother, sibling, and not for you. Figure out your skin type and with trial and error find a basic skincare routine, and expand from there."
38. "A lot of the drugstore stuff works just as well. I’ve used a lot of Olay and Ponds products over the years. Just find what works for your skin type."
Got any other helpful tips for people? Let us know in the comments!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.