Dr. Theresa Pacheco M.D. appeared on ABC News to talk about skin care mistakes that people, both men and women, often make with their skin care. When I first saw her on ABC, and heard the promo, I immediately thought that these mistakes would be big and complicated, like not seeing a dermatologist on a regular basis! The mistakes were pretty normal however, and I was surprised that you could get such great results just from changing a few things around the house or spending 30 seconds on your skin in the morning.
When you hear skin care, you may immediately think about dermatologists, toners and expensive moisturizers, exfoliators and cleansers, but skin care can be very simple. You don’t have spend hundreds of dollars on skin care products when you can actually find what you need at your local grocery store for under 10 dollars. These products aren’t special either – they are everyday things that we never think about when we hear about skin care.
The number one skin care mistake that Doctor Pacheco talked about on ABC News is not wearing sun screen. She did say that this was more a problem for men, because they don’t really like to put things on their faces, and women get sunscreen from most of the makeup they wear. However, women should still put on sunscreen before their makeup, because the little amount in makeup isn’t as beneficial as using sunscreen as a moisturizer. Sunscreen does quite a bit for your skin. It is known to protect your skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun, but it also contains some rich moisturizing qualities that are great for your skin. Sunscreen has also been linked to anti aging due to the fact that the sun gives wrinkles and sunscreen protects you from that. Also, sunscreen has many healthy ingredients in it that make your skin very healthy.
The second mistake was the use of harsh soaps. I don’t know how many times my mother sent me into the bathroom when I was a child, to wash my hands – really wash them, as she put it! She believed that nothing cleaned better than the hard core bar soaps, like most of us do. If you were handed a foamy cleanser and a bar of soap, which one would you say was the better cleaner? Probably the bar soap. However, both clean the same! The difference between them is the way they leave your skin feeling after washing. Bar soaps are usually harsh on the skin, leaving it feeling dry and irritated. If you wash with a moisturizing cleanser, you will be just as clean, but your skin will thank you.
Finally, the doctor talked about was not having a regular regimen of skin care products. We tend to think that less is more. However, the better the product you use, the better your overall outcome will be. Sunscreen, cleansers and a great anti-aging wrinkle cream are key to keeping your skin younger and healthier looking.