Top 8 Skincare Mistakes YouTubers Make on Camera

YouTubers share everything.  They’re supposed to, that’s why we fall in love with them and we develop that ‘relationship’. That being said I watch a ton of YouTubers.  I rather enjoy the insight into how other people do things, new products, how to use them, just seeing that other people have the same day to day stresses I do and how they cope with those stresses is entertaining to me.   I live in my office all day or I’m out in the field.  I don’t get much in the way of adult conversations so watch Youtubers is kind of a way to hear adult conversations.  Team introvert.

1. Using the wrong cleanser for their face

Since YouTubers do share a lot on the camera they do say if they have oily, normal, combination, or dry skin.  I’ve already shared it.  I’m dry in the winter and combination during the summer. So it’s always painful when I see YouTubers trying out incredibly drying cleansers and they have self-confessed dry skin.  Of course that Boscia Activated Charcoal Jelly ball isn’t going to work for you.  You have dry skin.  Yes, your skin feels tight and that’s the reason why. So frustrating.  Who doesn’t want to try fun stuff, just make sure it’s for your skin type. Otherwise, you’re just going to hate the product when it really isn’t the products fault.

2. NOT WASHING OFF YOUR MAKEUP AT THE END OF THE DAY

YouTubers, Fashion bloggers and beauty bloggers alike, love to do the ‘Getting out of bed’ or ‘Weekend Routine’ videos but here’s something to think about:

  • They don’t ever have makeup when they go to bed. If they did they wouldn’t have the gorgeous skin many of them have. They’ve already been up and are wearing a minimalist amount.
  • Many have lash extensions or false eyelashes, myself included.  My lash extensions are for my wedding and will not be replaced afterward.  I can’t wear false eyelashes because I have a problem with many of the glues. But I will say my lashes are on point even though nothing else is.
  • Eyebrows tend to be microbladed or are tattoed, the same thing with eyeliner.  Tattoo eyeliner is a hugely popular form of permanent makeup.  My mom had it done.  It hurts, oh boy does it hurt. She said it may have hurt more than childbirth.

Just remember what you see on Twitter and Instagram isn’t always what people look like.  This doesn’t even get into the use of filters.

3. Over-exfoliating

How many times have we seen a YouTuber exfoliate their face?  I’ve counted up to 5 times in a week.  If we watch enough weekly vlogs, you’ll see them do it.  I understand a certain number of products need to be tested by a specific time.  BUUUUUUT don’t exfoliate more than 2-3 times per week. You’ll agitate your skin, it will become red and irritated.  You can produce even more oil.  If you have oily skin, you’ll make it worse.  A mistake I made when I was younger.  There’s a diminishing return when it comes to aiding acne prone skin. I can actually do a lot to my skin, but I can’t exfoliate more than 4x per week every week.

And we’ll add this one here.  If you can afford one, get a good chemical exfoliant.  They’re great.  They burn a little, but the skin is so incredibly evenly smooth.  There’s a reason some facials include a chemical peel after microdermabrasion. My favorite is Peter Thomas Roth’s Pumpkin Enzyme Mask ($58 for 5oz, and 5oz will last you awhile). You only need a quarter size amount for your face and neck and it’s both a physical and chemical peel. I also love Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Smooth & Flawless: Peel + Moisturize. The Ritz Carlton uses Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare products in their facials. Just sayin’.

4. Gym time with Makeup

OMG!! YouTubers do this all the time.  I live in a college town.  I see it every time I go to the gym, especially yoga. Ladies quit doing your full makeup routine to go to the gym. I don’t know very many people who picked up their husband at the gym who weren’t already gym rats.  You’re just clogging your pores and wasting makeup. I know mine can get pricey and I don’t want to sweat that off. The majority of the makeup ends up on your clothes and getting full coverage foundation out of a white cotton shirt is murder, trust me.  Mascara, I get.  I have girlfriends who are blonde and they never leave the house without mascara.  Full coverage + concealer + bake + blush + Contour….. it’s not needed.  Let the skin sweat comfortably.  You should wash your face after the gym anyways with a gentle cleanser, which would wash your makeup anyway.  So why do it?

If you look on the internet there are lots of ‘Do’s and Don’t of Gym Makeup’ for me it’s a hard don’t.  I’ll do my makeup after the gym, thank you.

5. Only wearing Full Glam makeup

If you are only wearing full glam makeup you’re doing some pretty decent moisture barrier damage to your skin.  I’m assuming here that full glam makeup = full coverage makeup with concealer and baking/powder everywhere.  Most of the full coverage makeups on the market today are matte or near matte finishes.  Fenty’s is something I consider near matte, it’s matte but still feels hydrating. It keeps oil shine to a minimum, but if you have dry or combination skin it can actually overly dry your skin cause it to be oilier.  I only wear full-coverage for a special occassion or when I just feel like it, which might be once a month.  I wear mostly light to medium-light coverage.

6. Wearing too many skin products at once

You can thank the nightly routine videos and posts for this. Beauty bloggers and vloggers can get a lot of PR packaging and sponsored content. Sponsored content has to go out within a certain time frame that is to coincide with a launch.  So depending on when these launches come out a *logger might be testing several products at once and this can lead to some nasty things.  Certain chemicals just can’t be mixed or else they will irritate the skin.  Salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide with renoids/retinols are two of the better known combinations.  This can lead to over drying and unless your face is extremely oily it just isn’t recommended. Dermaplaning and retinoids do not mix.  Be gentle to that face after a dermaplaning appointment.

If you’re looking to add retinoids or retinols to your skincare I highly suggest visiting your dermatologist first.  These can be very harsh to the skin and your dermatologist will known if your skin can handle it.

7. Changing products too often

This one is kind of a symptom of the business.  When you change your products to often your skin doesn’t really know what’s happening.  Although you can use multiple serums (there are some you can’t so do your research) it isn’t recommended by anyone to be changing your routine up every week.  It takes your skin roughly 7 days, up to 4-6 weeks as you age, to have the newest and freshest skin.  These *loggers who change their routines up once a week aren’t getting the full benefit of those products.  In general you won’t see the fullest of results for at a minimum a month.  If you’re using a retinoids/retinol those can take 6 months.  After that time if you still haven’t seen any changes you’ll be safer to switch to a different product.

8. Assuming your foundation has enough sunscreen on your face

I’m guilty of it.  SPF 20 in my foundation?!?! Sold, two birds one stone.  I did this once, came back from a walk, and I had a sunburn.  So if you want to watch an amazing video that opened my eyes take a look at this:

Literally 10-11 pumps in order to get the SPF protection.  That’s INSANE!!! Each bottle of foundation would last a month.  A MONTH!!! Besides having rather short videos (10 mins on average) Wayne Goss is also a makeup artist and is awesome. Love his videos.  I can’t watch them at work because they are technical videos, I need a notepad and concentration, but he’s funny and I start laughing and often. Back on topic, I wear an SPF 50 everyday.  EVERYDAY! Photoaging is the leading cause of early wrinkles.  Do I wear enough SPF 50, after watching that video, No. Thats still a lot of sunscreen.  In reality I’m probably only wearing enough sunscreen to count as an SPF 30, which is perfectly fine and will block around 90-95% of UVA and UVB rays.

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