Skin care

7 Skin Care "Rules" You Need to Break

Think your routine is working for you? Wait until you see these sneaky ways your skin care habits are causing wrinkles, zits, and more

by Sarah Carrillo

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Rule No. 1: You should wash your face twice a day While we're not saying you should abandon hygiene all together, Spunt and O'Connor say that you don't always need to wash twice a day. If you skipped wearing makeup and don't live in a polluted city, you can likely get away with sudsing up once a day or even every other day.

In fact, washing less can even be better for you. O'Connor says that cleansing (especially with a harsh product) strips your face of its natural, hydrating oils, drying skin out and also leaving it vulnerable to bacteria. Do that too often, and you could be looking at zit-causing bacteria making its way into your pores.

SEE NEXT PAGE: Rule No. 2: Exfoliating often is crucial

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Older comments

Thanks for the info. Lots of great tips; lots of things I didn't know at all.

by sarah_kim Friday, March 29, 2013 at 10:09AM Report as inappropriate

Oops. I've done many of these. It's good to see which rules were made to be broken

by Chica181 Friday, March 15, 2013 at 07:07PM Report as inappropriate

Lots of great tips! I wonder why my dermatologist never recommended using coconut or lavender oil on my super-dry skin? I'll have to look into it!

by LaBoheme Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 09:30PM Report as inappropriate

Excellent tips. If you have very puffy eyes, a heavy cream will exacerbate the problem. Otherwise, I've been "freed" by learning that I can use the same moisturizer on my eyes as on my face. These are great tips!

by GigiSD Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 08:20AM Report as inappropriate

Really great tips thanks.

by Alana_Danes Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 07:23AM Report as inappropriate

In my case since I have hyperpigmentation, I exfoliate daily with Murad AHA/BHA cleanser, which is very gentle enough and 2 or 3 times a week I use philosophy's Microdelivery Peel. It's a vitamin C peel and it's excellent! These products allow whatever is used to treat the hyperpigmentation to sink better into the skin and work to get better results.

by IoSonoBella Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 10:25PM Report as inappropriate

Good info! I'm guilty of quite a few of these...

by thequietnoise Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 08:47PM Report as inappropriate

This article answered EVERYTHING I've been wondering for years! Thank You!

by sweetKARAcakes Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 05:10PM Report as inappropriate

Gotta wash off that makeup!

by LittleBunny Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 08:43PM Report as inappropriate

I still need the extra moisture from my eye cream especially that I use a concealer.

by tiffany_gallehugh Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 06:29AM Report as inappropriate