This Is Why DIY Skincare Is Not Real Skincare
Don’t trust lemons
My co-worker suggested me I should change my skincare routine.
She wanted to convince me it was the right choice for my condition and that I should do so by replacing each product with its organic, natural equivalent.
Cleanser? Switch to almond oil.
Eye cream? Nah, shea butter.
Glycolic acid? Lemon juice.
My answer to this unasked-for advice? That she’s better at her job than being an amateur dermatologist.
My skin is not going through its best phase. I’ve been fighting for years against PCOS, which causes me sudden breakouts that are difficult to treat and hide under make-up.
This issue has always created severe insecurities in me. Ironically, I started having acne when my friends were healing from it.
I realized early on that it wasn’t something related to puberty. That’s why I learned over time to soothe the breakouts that appeared on my face every month by studying and trying any type of product. Starting from prescription treatments to old grandma’s remedies.
The latter has caused quite a bit of damages.
After years of attempts and experiments, here’s why I can say that no, all-natural and DIY skincare on problematic skin is not the right solution.
Have you ever tried to remove your make-up with olive oil?
Just because dehydrated skin needs hydration, it doesn’t mean it needs the most dense, emollient substance on the planet.
As a result, trying to moisturize or cleanse an already tried-and-true skin with olive oil will not only make you so greasy you could be fried like churros, but it will encourage more pimples to appear. A face can be moisturized without being greasy.
Beyond its many properties, olive oil is considered mildly comedogenic and could worsen your skin condition.
So yes, olive oil is good for your skin and no, better to opt for something less… oily.
Do you have acne? Have you ever used toothpaste?
I have. Pure and with antibiotics. Mixed with baking powder and tea tree.
What came after was a pleasant peppermint scent on my face.
Pimples were still there.
Toothpaste is a cult classic when it comes to DIY zit treatments. But its main ingredients, peroxide and baking soda aren’t so great for your skin.
If pimples seem to speed up healing at first, your skin will recover afterwards by drying out the top layer, stimulating sebum production and worsening inflammation.
You run the risk of being left with marks and discolouration after the acne has faded as well.
That’s why I can state that toothpaste is only for brushing your teeth.
Just leave it.
Post-acne scars? Lemon juice is what you need.
Maybe for a salad dressing, not for treating my skin.
We all know that lemon juice is a natural antibacterial. But it is any dermatologist’s worst nightmare as well.
The pH of lemon juice is extremely acidic. Lemons have a pH of about 2, which can really mess up the skin’s natural pH of 4–5. It is also photosensitizing and could cause skin blemishes if we expose ourselves to the sun without protection.
Our skin doesn’t need such torture.
Baking Soda is such a great exfoliator!
Of all the products I tried on this poor skin, baking soda was the worst. Not only did it dehydrate my dry skin, but it also gave me severe skin rashes.
Baking soda, in fact, destroys the lipid barrier of the skin making it prone to dehydration.
It has a basic pH much higher than where healthy skin should live, says Dr Annie Chiu, attending dermatologist at Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center.
To avoid reactive, rashy skin, use this product for a footbath only.
How about sugar and salt?
Salt and sugar are at the bottom of the list of condiments you can put on your face to fight acne. With oils, you could make great body scrubs.
Scrubs. Made for your body.
Not for your face.
On the face salt and sugar crystals will scratch the skin, leaving small wounds on the surface. The skin will become more vulnerable and will encourage the proliferation of acne infection.
Thus sugar, along with lemon is great.
In a sorbet, after dinner.
Healing from PCOS and generally from a skin breakout is more complex than it sounds.
It is essential to treat the skin gently, without exaggerating the treatments. You should never try a DIY remedy without doing your homework first.
Even if the ingredients seem harmless and natural, the wrong combination could scar you for life.
It’s okay to try something natural with some ingredients you have at home, as long as you get your recipes from a credible source, such as a dermatologist.
To all my PCOS fighters reading this story:
May my experiments assist you in improving your healing process, you’re not alone.
Now you have no excuses. Put that lemon aside.
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