Skin Care

6 Epic Pinterest Beauty Fails -- and How to Fix Them

Stop pinning immediately. These popular DIYs are ruining your skin

by Allie Flinn | 2 COMMENTS

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The DIY: Face Scrub With Coffee Grounds Why you should skip it: There's many a coffee grounds face scrub on Pinterest, claiming antioxidant- and glowy-skin benefits. First off, know that because the coffee beans are roasted, the antioxidant benefits are much less, according to Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, MD, PhD, FAAD and founder of 37 Actives. Plus, she says the abrasive nature of coffee grounds is not something many people's faces will tolerate or benefit from; coffee grounds are too harsh, and cause micro-cuts in the skin. These micro-tears present as irritation, and can even harbor breakout-inducing bacteria. Not exactly the radiant skin you had in mind when you decided to re-purpose this morning's coffee beans.

What you should do instead: If you love the feeling of a physical exfoliant scrubbing away your dead skin cells, Fusco says a better option is to add finely ground sugar to your cleanser -- it melts as you use it, making it a gentler option. It's also a natural source of glycolic acid.

SEE NEXT PAGE: The DIY: Baking Soda as a Face Scrub

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