While everyone’s skincare journey is so unique and there is no simple formula to follow to achieve your best skin, there might be mistakes you are making that is actually doing more harm than good. Check out the 5 skin care mistakes that you want to avoid making:

Hot water can dry out your skin and remove the natural oils that your skin needs. If you have oily skin, you might be thinking removing oil is a good thing. However, when those natural oils are stripped away, your skin will react by producing even more oil. So, regardless of skin type, it’s important to avoid washing your face in hot water. Dermatologists recommend that you use lukewarm water instead.

We always recommend that you patch test prior to using a new product because the last thing you want is to have a horrible reaction to a product. However, it’s also important you are not introducing multiple new products at the same time. Think of your skin care routine as an ongoing experiment. Like any science experiment, ideally, you want a single manipulated variable (the skin care product you are testing). That way, you can evaluate the true effectiveness of the product. If you are new to skincare, you’ll want to start building your routine slowly.

It’s so easy to forget to clean your makeup brushes, but those things are filthy! Over time, brushes and sponges collect dirt, oil, and bacteria; when applied, these brushes and sponges can cause can a skin reaction or worse, an infection. There have been horror stories of people getting infections such as staph infection from their makeup brushes. Yikes! An easy tip you can follow: Set up an alarm to remind yourself to clean your makeup brushes and sponges.

It can be extremely tempting to want to pick at your skin, especially when you see a pimple, whiteheads, or dry patches. Sometimes, we might not even realize we’re picking at our skin. But it’s a horrible habit that can lead to inflammation, infection and scarring. This habit may be the hardest to break, but make conscious efforts to stop picking at your face, and your skin will thank you!

Leaving your skin care and makeup products in direct sunlight can affect the ingredients and their efficacy and cause bacterial growth. It’s always best to leave them in a stored, dry place. Be careful with products that have Vitamin C as they can oxidize in the presence of light and higher temperature. Oxidization will cause the products to degrade.

Are you guilty of making these skin care mistakes? Recently broke one of these skin care habits? Let us know in the comments about your experience!