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

5 of 8

Rule No. 5: You should use benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid to dry out zits If you suffer from acne, your routine probably involves using a benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid spot treatment on any blemishes that pop up. But there's good reason to re-think that advice.

Spunt and O'Connor point out that these ingredients are harsh, irritating, and drying for almost everyone. So while they may kill bacteria and eventually get rid of your zit, they can also leave you with red, flaky skin that's practically impossible to cover with concealer. A better solution? "Try gentler products like willow bark and clay to calm inflammation and draw out impurities," Spunt says. "Gentler products can still fight pimples, and do so without drying your skin and making it look worse during the process."

SEE NEXT PAGE: Rule No. 6: You need a separate product for your eye area

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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