Top 10 beauty myths
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Top 10 Beauty Myths Debunked- What You Need To Stop Believing!

Looking for makeup and beauty tips can be very confusing. There is so much advice out there, some of which ought not to be there at all.

When it comes to beauty and skincare there is often no right or wrong. However, sometimes there is! I’ve brought you some of the top 10 beauty myths debunked! To be honest, I grew up with some of these myths as facts! Learning the truth has been liberating and I hope it will be for you too!

1: Chocolate causes breakouts and acne

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Until recently far too many people believed this to be true. Thankfully it’s proven to be incorrect, eat as much chocolate as you want!

I’m sure you know people who eat tons of junk food and they have amazing, smooth skin and others who eat loads of fruit and vegetables but suffer from too many breakouts.

This is because it’s hormones and stress that are the main factors causing breakouts and acne. This isn’t to say that the food you eat doesn’t affect your skin. It does.

Eating well and drinking water improves your skin, making it healthier, but eating chocolate cannot alone cause pimples!

2: Toothpaste helps get rid of spots

Toothpaste is not a good idea for spots. Actually, let me rephrase that, toothpaste is a really bad idea for spots!

The reason that it became a trend to put toothpaste on pimples is that some kinds of toothpaste have an ingredient called menthol. Menthol is known for its soothing properties, it helps reduce inflammation and swelling.

However, this same ingredient can irritate, dry out and cause damage to your skin. My advice to you is to skip the toothpaste and use a product that’s made for your skin.

We have loads of skincare products that are beneficial for skin with pimples and spots. From cleansers to exfoliators and lots more. Unfortunately, this is one of those ongoing myths that too many people still believe today!

3: Clean skin squeaks

There are things that are supposed to be squeaky clean. That is things like your sinks and bathrooms. Not your skin.

Your skin should never feel squeaky clean. After cleansing your face your skin should never feel tight or uncomfortable. If it is, you’re using the wrong products for your skin or you’re using too much of them.

Consider changing your cleanser to a more sensitive one. When you buy skin care products look for products that are pH balanced- these are generally better for your skin.

4: Shaving causes hair to grow back thicker and coarser

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Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser. This is one of the biggest myths out there and there is no science behind it. The only thing that can change the way your hair grows is hormones and genetics.

One of the reasons people believe this myth is because human hairs thin out at the end, kind of like a pencil. When you cut the end off with a razor you are left with a thicker end, which results in the hair looking thicker.

5: Squeeze spots to get rid of them quicker

Squeezing spots does not make them go away quicker. On the contrary, when you squeeze a spot you’re forcing all the pus, dead skin cells and bacteria further and deeper into your skin.

Even if you think you’re getting it all out, a lot of the infection is actually going into your skin. It also often makes the spot bigger and uglier than before and there is very often scarring when the spot has healed.

I think many people know it’s not recommended, however, it’s hard not to squeeze when you see an ugly spot that’s practically begging you to squeeze it! Do yourself a favour and refrain from touching your spots!

6: Pulling out a grey hair causes two more to grow in its place

I know I’m one of those people who believed this myth to be true for way too long. But to be straight with you, it’s complete rubbish!

Pulling out grey hair from one hair follicle does not create two hair follicles. If you have unwanted grey hair the best option for you is to see your hair colourist! Pulling out hair is always a bad habit!

7: Acne is caused by not cleaning your face properly

Not cleaning your face properly causes spots and minor breakouts. It does not cause acne!

Acne is caused by genetics and stress. Furthermore, if you have acne and you wash your face too much you’ll only aggravate the acne, causing more oil to be produced. If you have acne, consult your dermatologist for the best course of treatment for your skin.

8: Never tweeze above your eyebrow

This is an old myth that one must not remove hair above the eyebrow, only below. Why? I’ve no idea, but it’s nonsense!

All you will achieve is your eyebrows looking half-done. If you don’t want to shape the top completely, remove only the messy hairs.

9: You can shrink the size of your pores

Your pore size is determined by your genetics and not by your lifestyle. Therefore, you cannot change their size.

However, there are ways to improve the appearance of your pores. When pores are clogged they can appear bigger because of the dirt that’s in them.

Using a gentle cleanser every day will clean out your pores, resulting in them appearing smaller in size. A great product for cleaning out pores is the Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid.

Exfoliating also helps since it removes the dead skin cells which make your pores bigger. Using a good primer also helps make the pores appear smaller.

10: Drinking a lot of water keeps your skin from drying out

Far too many people believe this myth, and understandably so. If you drink water, it makes sense that it will go into your skin and soften it.

However, it’s not quite like that! Oil is what keeps the skin soft, not water. Drinking a lot of water does hydrate the skin, but if you have dry skin, you will still have dry skin after drinking.

Not drinking enough water for a long period of time will affect your appearance. But on the flip side, if your skin feels dry one day, don’t drink more than the recommended amount of water. Too much water is not good for you and it can have a reverse effect.

To get soft skin opt for a moisturizer for dry skin. These are proven to help dry skin get soft and stay soft!

My Thoughts On Beauty Myths

It’s not always easy to differentiate between beauty myths and beauty truths. I hope I’ve cleared up some of that confusion for you. Once you think something is true, it’s hard to convince yourself that it’s not so bookmark these myths and reread them when you have doubts creeping in!

Hollie xx

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About Hollie

Hi, I’m Hollie, and I’m passionate about everything beauty. Over the last decade and a half, I’ve tested thousands of products to bring you the best of the best! I also love bringing you fun and creative beauty looks. Learn more.

Beauty profile – 35, dry, aging skin, focused on aging well with a healthy glow and natural makeup look ✨



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15 Comments

  1. Good morning,

    your site is very interesting, yes most of the myths I had not thought or agreed to be true, but 2 of them did surprise me.. The pore shrinking not being a reality was a surprise and for that matter there are many many products out there with very false information regarding our pores. Many product specifically say on the bottle “pore shrinking cream or mask”

    the other is the water, I just assume so much of our body is made of water, when my kids lips get chapped I always tell them to drink water, they are dehydrated. I realize there are other factors that cause the chapped lips, specifically with 1 of my sons,, however I would have bet on the water being a factor.

    thanks for the info

    1. Thank you for your comment:) I understand the confusion and I hope I can clear that up for you.
      When you see products that say pore shrinking what they actually are doing is either making the pores tighter (a good primer), or the product makes the pores appear smaller. These are great because they make it look like your pores are smaller!
      If one is dehydrated they usually have chapped lips. However, if one has chapped lips it does not mean they are dehydrated. Chapped lips is very common. Drinking water does help with dry lips but it won’t help if your face or say, your arm is dry. If you do have chapped lips I would recommend using a lip balm or vaseline which will have a better effect than water.
      Have a good day,
      Hollie:)

  2. Marvin Nguyen says:

    Hollie,
    Thank you for your beauty tips.
    As a religious water drinker, I believe that we need to consume a lot of water on a regular basis as dehydration will cause a lot of trouble for your health.
    What amount of water do you think will be too much per day ?
    P/s: Back then, I usually used toothpaste on a puss-filled pimple before going to bed. Obviously it didn’t help that much.

    1. Hi,

      You’re right- drinking enough water is very important for our bodies to function in the best way. It’s hard to say what amount is too much since all circumstances and all people are different. If you’re in a hot climate or you exercise a lot you will need to drink more than the a person who doesn’t exercise or live in a hot climate. The best way to know if you’re drinking too much is to listen to your body which tells you when it’s too much. A few signs of water intoxication are headaches, insomnia, decreased metabolism, cold hands and feet, poor emotional health, dizzy spells.

      Good luck,

      Hollie

  3. I was bombed with Myth #6 for pulling out my grey hair frequently at one point. People started telling me that my hair will start to thin and I will develop a bald spot around those areas. The reason I was doing it was because back then, there were only 5 to 10 strands.

    Now that I have more, I’ve resorted to dying with organic substances every 2 months. It was just too painful. But just so you know, I never developed any baldness whatsoever and my hair is as thick as always.

    1. I understand you totally- recently I’ve spotted quite a few grey hairs! You’re lucky you didn’t develop a bald spot. If you would have pulled out enough hairs you probably would have. However, hair always regrows!

      Hollie x

  4. A very interesting write up you’ve got here.  It’s more of an eye opener. Most of the myths looks funny.I could remember few years ago, when I do apply toothpaste every night before going  to bed. At first it looked like the solution I’ve being seeking until I couldn’t recognize my face again, due to some swellings it brought.

    1. Aww, poor you! You’re not the only one who makes that mistake:)

  5. Good afternoon Hollie,

    I am happy to read that chocolate does not cause bad skin as I would not want to give up my daily piece of black chocolate.

    Since many years I make my own face lotion, cheap and good. In the pharmacy, I buy 1 liter of Rosewater and put a little 96 alcohol. With that, I clean my face in the morning and evening.

    I have now reached the age where tired from painting the roots all my life I have decided to go natural. I am happy with this pepper and salt look as the hair is very shiny.

    You are right, there are many myths out there so it is good you wrote this post about it.

    Regards, Taetske

    1. Hi Taetske,

      Dark chocolate actually has many health benefits so keep eating it:)

      Good for you that you are confident to go natural. I happen to think that it beautiful and if only more women were as confident as you! 

      Have a lovely day

  6. Pasc Paul says:

    I’ve always thought that if you shaving your hair will grow bigger and more often. How can I get rid of the hair I do not need back for example on your back? I enjoyed reading, your page and I learned something new today .I thought chocolate really helped the beauty. :)Have a nice day Paul.

    1. The only way to permanently get rid of body hair is through laser which is very expensive.

  7. Emmanuel Buysse says:

    Great post and good info.

    I have to show this to my wife because she believes some of these myths, and the biggest is the chocolate. 

    She eats a lot of chocolate honestly, and she has a bit of acne, but I already believed it was not because of that. 

    Now I have the proof that I was telling the truth to her, and that she had the acne because another problem. 

    Thanks a lot for sharing this, because now I hope she will believe me. 

  8. Hi Hollie, your blog is full of helpful information. There is lot of these myths that I also trusted before, but the reality is that any of them comes with proven source. I always open myself to learning and education because most of the time we believe in something without being able to come up with their sources. And by the way I love your site and I will continue visiting for more beauty ideas.

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