The Skincare Treatments to Avoid While Staying at Home

While many of us are spending more time at home, it’s given us extra time to play with our skincare regimen. Even though DIY skincare recipes and homemade skin treatments are tempting to try, you may end up doing more harm than good.

"After a few weeks of social distancing, many have taken to trying at-home skincare treatments," says Erin Jensen, PA-C, founder of The Treatment Skin Boutique (multiple locations). "However, even though homemade skin treatments are tempting to try, in reality, you can do much more harm than good. What’s done in a dermatologist or esthetician office cannot be as easily recreated at home as you may think."

Here, Jensen shares a few tips regarding skincare treatments not to try at home:

 

  • Chemical Peels: Overall, they're a great way to improve the appearance of the skin—if it’s done by a professional. When people try a DIY chemical peel, the most detrimental mistake is using one that’s too strong. Consequently, they end up burning themselves, sometimes severely, and causing significant, long-lasting damage to their skin.
     
  • Lemons: A common home remedy for acne is lemon juice, the rationale being that it has antioxidants and antibiotic properties while promoting skin renewal and improving elasticity. But, it could cause problems: you can have a phototoxic reaction, which can create a blister or pigmentation that can last for months.
     
  • Pimples: Popping pimples can seem like a good—and satisfying—idea, especially since you’re stuck at home and your skin has time to heal, but whenever you create a disruption in the skin, it increases the chance of infection, worsening inflammation and even scarring. Instead, if you have a really prominent pimple you want to pop, place a warm washcloth over it and press gently. This can help release the pus that accumulates under the skin, making it easier to remove.
     
  • Too Many Powerful Products: When we overload our skin with a bunch of active ingredients all at once, it can leave your skin reeling. It’s tempting to try a bunch of things, but in terms of skin health, cleansing, moisturizing, and using a single exfoliant once a week is probably all that any and everybody needs to do.
     
  • Hydrogen Peroxide: Everybody's go-to product to clean scrapes and cuts. And while it does a great job of cleaning things out initially, you should only use just the once. It can be toxic to skin, so if you keep applying it, your wound and the surrounding skin won't heal properly.
     


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