No tags yet.
We love YouTube for cat videos and winged eyeliner tutorials as much as the next person, but sometimes the beauty regimens and recipes we see make us cringe a little. While we’re all for DIY-ing, if you are getting beauty tips from YouTube, Google or Pinterest you might want to proceed with caution. When it comes to skin care, “non-toxic” or “edible” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is safe or good for your skin. Here are some DIY Skincare Products best left in the cupboard and not on your face:
Chocolate We must admit that contouring with a Snickers bar sounds tempting, but don’t waste any of that delicious chocolate on your face! The chocolate in candy bars has usually been blended with other ingredients that while they taste amazing, will clog your pores and cause breakouts. There are many facial products, like Farmhouse Fresh Sundae Best - Chocolate Softening Mask with CoQ10, that utilize chocolate to give you amazing skin without the additional comedogenic ingredients
Mayonnaise It may be good on sandwiches, but the oil and fat in mayo isn’t going to do anything for your skin except maybe bring on a breakout. While this is a great remedy for hydrating hair and dry ends, it is a product that needs to be rinsed in the sink and not while showering because anything that can cause you face to break out will cause your back to breakout if not rinsed properly. Summer time is no time for bacne!
Citrus No more lemons! Touted as a skin brightener, exfoliant and pore minimizer, citrus fruits like lemon, orange and grapefruit can do your skin more harm than good. The citric acid in the juice is far too acidic and when applied to skin and exposed to sun can lead to discoloration, dark spots and even blistering. Read that again: BLISTERING. The best way to reap beauty benefits from citrus are to stick to using them in tea and fruit infused water.
Honey Honey makes things amazing and we love it drizzled on toast, in baklava and stirred in tea. There are many websites touting the health and skincare benefits of honey. However, while RAW honey does have antibacterial properties, a study done in 2011 showed that at least 75% of the honey sold in US Grocery stores has been adulterated either by the addition of corn syrup or table sugar. What this unfortunately means is that your average Honey Bear isn’t going to give you great skin, just a sticky mess on your face.
Spices If the DIY recipe you’re using calls for something from the spice rack, proceed with caution. Applying cinnamon directly to the skin can cause “skin irritation and allergic skin reactions” in some people, per the National Institute of Health. Turmeric has also been suggested as a home remedy for acne sufferers, likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Topically applied, however, Turmeric can turn the skin yellow and can take up to a week to fade.
Egg whites Lots of spas offer egg white treatments because they’re gentle but effective at tightening and improving tone and elasticity. At-home users should be very careful when applying to the face. Egg whites contain salmonella, which if accidentally ingested can cause a type of food poisoning called Salmonellosis. Salmonellosis symptoms include fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, headache and body aches. YIKES!
Glue Women of the Internet… please, please, please stop applying glue to your faces. Any time you use a product that hasn’t been formulated and tested for topical use there is a chance you could experience irritation, allergic reactions or do the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve by clogging your pores and tearing off the top protective layers of skin, which could lead to blemishes, rashes and dryness. While Elmer’s Glue is “safe and non-toxic”, it is not hypoallergenic and there are still warnings on the bottle in case you get it on your skin or eyes.
If you choose to go the DIY Mask route, do a swatch test on a small space just under the jawline first or better yet, contact you favorite skin care professionals!