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Top Skincare Product Myths

Everyone seems to fall to at least one of these myths, sometimes more than once!

Product have to expensive to be effective. There are certainly excellent drugstore products, such as cleansers and sun protection, that costs between $10-$25.  You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a serum to get something effective for your skin.

The newest product is the better product.  Sometimes, the most prominent advantage to the latest-and-greatest is its splashy marketing campaign.  Some of the best products are time-tested, with a long track record (and medical studies) of success.

Creams really can make you look younger.  There is no cream, by itself, that will make you appear younger.  The products that have been proven over time to improve skin are sunscreens, vitamin-A cousins (like Renova and Retinol), vitamin-C serums (not creams), a few other antioxidants, and hydroxy acids.

Skin care companies spend a lot of money on research.  Some do, and others don’t.  Of course, it depends upon the definition of “research”. For some companies, their research is marketing and selling.  Other companies do spend significant resources understanding how to apply latest clinical research.  However, many of these companies never do the type of research standard in scientific laboratories, such as controlled trials, double blind tests, and comparing new products to older, known, products.  Just because something sounds new, exotic, and rare, does not automatically mean that it has benefit for skin care.

If it’s healthy to eat or drink, then it must be good in cream form.  This is certainly untrue.  Foremost, may tablet supplements have not been demonstrated to be beneficial to skin over the long run. Furthermore, even if a tablet form does have benefit, that doesn’t mean putting it into a cream alters the way it reacts with skin cells.  The skin is such a good barrier layer, it’s arduous to get active ingredients into the dermal layer where they can actually be effective.  Lastly, companies that put supplements into cream don’t spend much time or money on the research in actual patients to show if it works or not.

Plant based creams are always safe.  Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you.  There are certainly reactions to plant-based ingredients.  Just consider people who have allergies to plants and develop rashes.  Now, imagine those same active ingredients in cream form, and how the skin will react.