DIY Skincare Hacks You Should Never Try at Home

If you are a frequent user of apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, you are sure to have come across a phenomenon that is DIY skincare. Labelled as ‘hacks’ that are meant to make your skincare routine easier and cheaper, unqualified beauty gurus post their homemade and encourage others to give it a go. Whilst these hacks appear harmless advice videos, the creators are rarely well versed in the intricacies of skincare and how products must be formulated in order to benefit your skin. If there was ever an occasion to leave it to the professionals, skincare would be the time. Scientists and expert dermatologists spend years researching ingredients and formulating products that are safe to use on your skin. Not to mention our skin is highly sensitive and can be extremely reactive to specific ingredients if they are not used correctly. Here are to top reasons hacks that are dangerous and the ingredients that's you should stay far away from when it comes to DIY skincare.

DIY Lemon and Honey Mask

Ingredients: The juice of ½ a lemon, tbsp of honey

Vitamin C has been a skincare ingredient that has really taken the beauty world by storm this year, boasting benefits such as skin brightening. The hack asserts that lemon is a great source of Vitamin C and can thus prevent dark spots and hyperpigmentation. However, lemon has highly acid PH level of 2.0 . When nourishing your skin and protecting that all important skin barrier, retaining your skin's PH balance is vital. Skin has an average PH of five, and by applying acid lemon directly to your skin will send this level completely out of whack. As a result, you will experience excess dryness, redness and peeling of the skin. Lemon juice also makes your skin more photosensitive, increasing the likelihood of sunburn. This, ironically, reverses any of the anti-aging properties this mask claims to have. Instead of experimenting with a DIY lemon face mask, invest in a Vitamin C serum. La Roche-Posey’s Pure Vitamin C10 Serum is expertly formulated to ensure the ingredients penetrate your skin. This brand has harnessed the power of antioxidants to but the key is in the formulation that just can’t be emulated by DIY skin care. You can save on this serum available on visiting My Favourite Voucher Codes and getting money off your next Feel Unique order.

Papaya and Pineapple Exfoliating Mask

Ingredients: ½ cubed papaya, ½ cubed pineapple, almond oil.

Whilst his mask sounds like a healthy, antioxidant-rich skin soother, it is in fact quite the opposite. This recipe doesn't have the complete wrong idea; pineapple is in fact full of vitamin C and beta carotene. However, again, the key to maximising and getting the benefits of this great ingredient is clever formulation. Simply mashing papaya and pineapple and applying it as a mask will not deliver your skin any benefits, but instead may further aggravate any skin issues. Similarly to Lemon, pineapple is also highly acidic and create a skin PH imbalance, and its citrus oils are phototoxic, increasing your skin’s sensitivity to UV rays. What’s more, layering fresh ingredients on your face and with fruit containing multiple pollens, these masks have a high potential to cause serious allergic reactions. If you wish to experience the benefits pineapple has to offer your skin, purchase Glow Recipe’s Pineapple-C Bright Serum. This product is 22 percent pineapple and thus still harnesses the brightening powers of the fruit but is also mixed with ascorbic acid natural AHA’s to deliver further benefits to the skin.

DIY Coconut Oil Facial Scrub

Ingredients: 1 tbsp coconut oil, 2 tsp brown sugar

Coconut oil has recently become a much hyped ingredient in skin and hair care. It is praised for its powers in reducing inflammation, delivering moisture to the skin and healing wounds. With many it is extremely easy to make your own products using the oil, but just because it is cheap and easy doesn't mean that you should. This scrub recipe tells you to mix one tablespoon of coconut oil with two teaspoons of brown sugar. Whilst the oil makes the base of the scrub, the sugar granules are there to exfoliate dead skin cells off the face. This scrub is problematic for two reasons. The first is that pure coconut oil applied directly to your skin. All dermatologists and estheticians concur that coconut oil on the face is a definite no no. Coconut oil acts as a form of wax on the skin, with a thick, occlusive texture. It is extremely comedogenic and can cause clogged pores and acne. Plant oils are a far more beneficial moisturisers and don't have the pore clogging properties that coconut oil has. The second reason that you should not use this mask is due to the brown sugar granules used. Sugar granules are far too big and rough to be used your face’s sensitive skin. Prolonged use of harsh physical scrubs can cause the skin to thin and form fine lines and wrinkles. If you are looking for a great physical scrub that is formulated so as to not damage skin, try Mario Badescu’s Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Facial Scrub. Whilst still removing dead and dry skin cells to reveal fresh skin, the particles of almond shell in this scrub are carefully created small enough so as to not tear and thin the skin.

It is important that everyone understands that natural skincare doesn't not necessarily mean that it is better for your skin. Medical and chemical advancements mean that products can be expertly formulated to deliver your skin the benefits of natural ingredients in a safe way. So, spending more on professional products will pay off in the long run and save your skin from potentially irreparable damage.