Learning how to take good care of your skin is hard enough. It gets even harder when you’re constantly bombarded with misleading advice and overblown marketing claims to make you splurge on products you don’t need and waste time with things that don’t work.
That’s why today I’m going to bust 4 of these common skincare myths. Ready? Here we go:
Skincare Myth #1: Skincare Products With Collagen Firm Skin And Fight Wrinkles
If only it were that easy!
It’s true your skin needs collagen. It’s this protein that gives your skin its texture and structure, and keeps it firm and supple. But, like everything else, it depletes with age. After you turn 21, you lose 1% a year. And, the more you lose, the more easily wrinkles form.
So, it’s easy to assume that a cream with collagen can replenish the collagen that you have naturally lost. Sadly, it doesn’t work this way.
For collagen to firm skin, it’d have to penetrate deep into it. But, it can’t. Collagen is such a big molecules, it stays on the surface, where it hydrates skin.
So, it’s not useless. But not even the miracle worker it’s claimed to be.
If you’re really interested in replenishing lost collagen, here are some better ways to do it.
Related: 8 Science-Backed Ways To Rebuild Lost Collagen For Younger, Firmer Skin
Struggling to put together a skincare routine that minimises wrinkles, prevents premature aging, and gives your complexion a youthful glow? Download your FREE “Best Anti-Aging Skincare Routine” to get started (it features product recommendations + right application order):
Skincare Myth #2: You Need A Separate Eye Cream
Don’t get me wrong. You do need a cream. It just doesn’t need to be labelled eye cream. Any cream, as long as it is well-formulated and fragrance-free, will do the trick. Here’s why:
- There aren’t special ingredients just for the eye area: Caffeine and all that stuff that’s supposed to treat dark circles doesn’t work. I mean, have you ever used a cream that actually does anything for dark circles? Me neither.
- Eye cream use the same ingredients as face moisturisers: The moisturizing ingredients, sunscreen actives, antioxidants, etc that are used in facial moistuirzers are used in eye creams as well. Check out the ingredients of your eye and face creams, if you don’t believe me. They’re the same.
- If it irritates the eye area, don’t put it on your skin: It’s true the skin on the eye area is thinner and more prone to irritation. But if an ingredient gives you a rash there, do you really want to use it on the rest of your face, too?
Eye creams are facial moisturisers in a smaller pot. Why are you spending twice as much money for that?
Related: Why You Don’t Need An Eye Cream (And What To Use Instead)
Skincare Myth #3: Drinking Lots Of Water Will Keep Skin Hydrated
Water is pretty much the only thing I drink (that, and an orange juice or smoothie once in a while), and let me tell you, I still suffer from dry skin from time to time.
Fixing dry skin is not simply a matter of giving it more water. It’s a matter of helping skin retain water. Skin becomes dry when its protective barrier is damaged, allowing water to evaporate.
You could drink 20 glasses of water a day, but if you don’t repair this protective barrier, they won’t do nothing for you (you’ll just spend more time in the bathroom).
By all means, do drink water. Just don’t forget to apply an occlusive moisturizer to help skin retain moisture and stay hydrated.
Related: Why Drinking 8 Glasses Of Water A Day Won’t Fix Your Dry Skin
Skincare Myth #4: Skincare Products Can Eliminate Cellulite, Stretch Marks, And Wrinkles
We’re all looking for the magic potion that can get rid of all imperfections forever. But, if such a wonder existed, you’d know. No one would have cellulite, stretch marks, and wrinkles anymore.
Instead, we still have them, don’t we?
That’s not to say these products are completely useless. They often can improve the appearance of cellulite or wrinkles, so they look smaller. But, when their effects are over, the imperfections are still there, as big as before.
Some creams can also help prevent wrinkles. The very few that can get rid of them work extremely slowly, and they never eliminate them completely.
As for stretch marks, some creams can get rid of them, but only if they’re brand new.
So, don’t buy the hype. If something seems too good to be true, it usually doesn’t work.
Related: 5 Unnecessary Skincare Products You Should Stop Wasting Money On
Gio the mythbuster!
This is a wonderful article, Gio. I use a separate eye cream simply because the skin around my eyes are so sensitive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even bother. Eye creams are expensive, anyways.
Dao, lol. And thanks.
I think using a separate eye cream is necessary when your face moisturizer contains fragrance or other harsh ingredients that may irritate the skin. But in that case, I wouldn’t use it on the face either lol. May you can try looking for avery gentle moisturizer so you can use it all over the face and save some money. Eye creams are very expensive considering the small amount you get. 🙂
Thanks for a great post! I knew about the eye cream before, but I’m so glad to hear about not having to drink a lot of water all the time! Not that I did, but I did feel bad about since I knew I should! I’m just not that thirsty!
Antonia, thanks. Drinking water is important but that’s no need to drink that much a day especially cos foods contain water as well and we get most of the water our body needs that way. Drinking more than necessary would just make us run to the toilet more often lol.
hm, yes, that’s what happens to me!..=/
lol. me too, lol.
Thanks so much for this, it really helps out. I don’t use eye cream for the anti aging properties, but I like them for helping to brighten up my area – and you’re so right, they don’t work at all! Regular moisturizer does the trick! Haha.
Dee, I’m glad you find this article useful. Eye creams promise to deliver so many benefits but if that were true no one would have dark circles and bags anymore. Instead than looking for a miracle eye cream (which doesn’t exist sadly), it’s better to just use a good moisturizer all over the face. Works well and saves money. 🙂
Lovely post!! 🙂 I have a separate eye cream (thank God it wasn’t expensive), but I don’t use it lol ! I just use whatever is left on my hands after I’m done with the rest of my face! After your post I feel less guilty lol !
Stavroula, that’s exactly what I do too and it’s always worked well. I have sometimes tried samples of eye creams that come in those travel size or GWP sets, but they never did anything for dark circles and stuff like that so I must just as well save the money and use face moisturizers instead.
You know, that’s probably true about the eye cream lol. Never thought of that!
I do think it’s good for your skin to drink water, though. Not to keep it hydrated, but I find that when I drink water consistently and eat healthier foods, my skin always stays nice and clear.
Makeup morsels, I agree with you that drinking water is important and has lots of benefits for the body and skin as well. I’m sorry if that didn’t come across well. What I meant was that while drinking water has benefits for the body (and when the body is healthy skin looks better too), hydrating skin is sadly not one of them.
I’ve heard of that eye cream thing before but I’ll stick to a separate eye cream. My face moisturizer is gel type and doesn’t seem moisturizing enough for my undereyes. I wouldn’t use heavy ones under my eye though. Milia seeds!
Anyway, some products with hyaluronic acid actually do work.. Like the Hada Labo lotion. It doesn’t feel like just slapping moisturizer on your face.
Isabel, I usually apply moisturizer on my face and then only what’s left on my hands on my eyes so even if the texture’s heavy, only a very small part ends up on the eye area. Enough to moisturize but not enough to cause problems. I understand why some people prefer to still use an eye cream due to the consistency of some face moisturizers though. But being the cheapstake that I am, I’d just switch to a product that I can use everywhere lol.
I didn’t mean to say that products with hyaluronic acid don’t work at all. Hyaluronic acid has moisturizing properties and prevents water loss, keeping skin soft and hydrating. It just doesn’t have anti-aging properties so if the product you’re using has those benefits, it’s something else in the formula that provides them, not hyaluronic acid.