Six Common Beauty Myths Debunked

We’ve all heard those old wives tales and taken a lot of beauty advice from our in-house skincare experts (moms, friends and aunts) at some point or the other growing up. However, not all of these beauty tips are necessarily true. Read on to find out the simple truths behind some of the common beauty myths:

 

You can shrink your pores

Nope! Pores don’t open and close and actually pore size is mainly genetic. There are tons of products out there claiming to shrink the size of your pores but they can’t reduce pores permanently. To keep your pores in check, you need to use a salicylic acid based exfoliator (like this one) regularly – it clears out the debris that clogs pores thus making your pores appear smaller. Quick tip – Stick to applying the recommended amount of exfoliating products, excess can cause drying out of the skin which in turn can lead to breakouts.

If you pluck out one gray hair, multiple gray hairs will grow back in it’s place

False! Although plucking gray hairs won’t make more gray strands sprout in its place, it’s a bad habit that you better give up because plucking out can damage the roots.

Cocoa butter can help get rid of stretch marks

Stretch marks are caused by weight gain or loss, and unfortunately can’t be reversed. While keeping your skin well-moisturized definitely helps to minimize or make the stretch marks look better, none of the creams and lotions can make them disappear.

Frequent face washing can eliminate acne

Over-washing your face can actually cause excessive drying of your skin by stripping natural oils, which can put your face into over-oil production mode. So don’t try to be an overachiever when you see those zits popping up! Washing your face twice-daily, once in the morning and once at night, is ideal for most skin types.

 

Stress can make your hair fall out

Thank God this isn’t true! You actually lose about 50-100 hair strands everyday anyways. So, while it’s possible that your hair is falling out a little more than usual when you are highly stressed out, don’t think of stress as the prime culprit (and probably feel more stressed about the situation!) There could be other factors responsible for excessive hair fall such as nutritional deficiencies, excessive heat styling or even some antibiotics.

You need to use sunscreen only when it’s sunny

The sun’s damaging UVB rays (the ones that cause sunburns) may not be strong enough on a cloudy day but the UVA rays (the ones responsible for wrinkles) are in full effect every single day of the year and easily penetrate through glass windows. So, make sure to cover up with a broad spectrum sunscreen (SPF 30 or more) year round – rain or shine. It’s the most effective anti-aging treatment to keep years off your face and prevent the appearance of dark spots, wrinkles, or in the worst cases, skin cancer.

 

And here’s one that’s not really a beauty myth but worth the mention :

Cravings: is your body missing something?

It is commonly thought that when you have a craving, it is your body’s way of telling you that you lack certain nutrients that the food that you’re craving has – but that’s flat out not true. The foods that we crave generally have a combination of sugar, fat and salt that triggers pleasure in the brain – cravings are an emotional release rather than a need of nutrients. When cravings persist it is better to go for a “controlled indulgence.” A trip to the store to purchase a single serving will not only satisfy you but make sure your treat doesn’t come back to bite you.

images : weheartit.com