3 Common skincare mistakes that could be ruining your skin

This week I wanted to share the 3 commons skincare mistakes that I see time and time again in clinic that can totally ruin your skin…. The funny thing about them though, is they’re perhaps the easiest things to rectify. So, today we’re going to break them down and get you on your way to your best skin ever!

#1. Feeling hot, hot, hot…

In our house, I’m always freezing cold and my partner, Will, is baking hot. We thought it was just our individual quirks, but this week I discovered that since us women have a lower metabolic rate, we tend to produce less heat than men and this makes us feel colder…Scientific proof as to why I’m always turning the heating up and LOVE a hot bath or shower! However, these hot baths and showers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and can be very problematic for our skin.

Hot water strips our skin of its natural oils and breaks down our protective skin barrier, that locks hydration in and keeps bacteria out. This means if we damage it, we end up with red, inflamed, dry skin and usually some form of congestion too.

It’s such a common error that I see repeatedly but thankfully, it’s super easy to correct. All you need to do is resist the urge to bathe in the heat and instead wash your face and body with warm water and not the scorching hot stuff. I promise you’ll notice a difference in under a week and your skin will be softer, clearer and more even. I can speak from personal experience on this one too and once you’ve made the switch, you won’t go back.

#2. What comes first?

You know that well known predicament of the chicken and the egg? Well, I think serums and moisturisers can understandably cause just as much confusion.

One of the most popular questions I receive is how to layer products and what goes where for best results. This is super important because if our products are layered incorrectly, some can be rendered completely useless, and you won’t see any benefits at all.

For example, if you apply SPF and then your moisturiser on top, your moisturiser won’t be able to absorb and nourish your skin and your SPF won’t be as effective, as its protective layer has been disturbed.

This is why I always include a set of ‘Skinstructions’ in our Proactive Age Kit so I can guide you through each step of the routines, as if I were stood next to you. How and when you apply your products is just as important as the products themselves, so I’ll pop a little cheat sheet below to keep you on track and achieving the best results.

#3. Shake off complacency

Last week I did a skin treatment on one of my wonderful clients who is the most incredible yoga instructor. I was rapidly getting my excuses in as to why I hadn’t made it to class recently and she said ‘Please don’t worry, this is always the way life happens. We come to yoga, feel incredible, life gets better, we stop coming because we’re thriving, then life challenges us again, we feel like we can’t juggle it all and we’re called back to the mat’…. This is truer than I care to admit, and her wisdom always blows my mind!!

The thing is, sometimes the exact same happens with skincare. We have a concern we’d like to treat, we start a brilliant routine to correct it, our skin is then the best it’s ever been, we get complacent because we feel great, the results slip and then we have to start again.

To swiftly put a stop to these unhelpful cycles, all we have to do is turn up to our daily practices as planned and without excuses. We’ll look and feel our best 365 days a year and thrive in all aspects of our life. So, I’ll get back to yoga and you guys keep at your skincare routines, deal?

If you can dodge these 3 common mistakes, I can guarantee you’re on your way to your best skin ever! If you have any questions at all, please know my inbox is always open.

Amy x