Beauty Hoaxes

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The recent devastating earthquake at Haiti was hit by a series of rumors that the Americans were behind it – it was caused by a U.S. test of an experimental shockwave system that can also create "weather anomalies to cause floods, droughts and hurricanes.  This claim was first made by Venezuela and soon Russia and some other European countries backed the claim

Frankly I don’t know what this world is coming to. News gets harder and more unreliable by the day, and I find it hard to separate my fiction from fact.

It is the same with beauty and skin care. From the very famous “Lipstick has lead – don’t believe us? Use your gold ring to prove” hoax,  to “Mineral oil will suffocate your skin” Below is a quick list of some of the biggest beauty myths that a lot of people still swear by.

MYTH #1 CHOCOLATE  CAUSES ACNE

Nothing you eat causes acne. Rather it is what you don’t eat (like Vitamin A and fiber) that can cause acne. Some people think that they absorb the oils from greasy or rich foods and somehow secrete them out of their skin glands. Acne is caused when a gland sheds cells that stick together, plug the gland, hack up the oil and blow up the skin. Bacteria on your face have a field day with this.

What leads to acne?

•           Various studies point not to chocolate, but to the high glycemic nature of certain foods containing simple carbohydrates as a cause of acne. Chocolate itself has a low glycemic index.

•           High levels of stress--which can make people gravitate to fast and fatty cheeseburgers and milkshakes, hence the connection--and high levels of the male sex hormone - testosterone.

•           Taking steroids or using face creams that block your pores.

•           A diet low in Vitamin A and E has also been linked to acne

MYTH #2 "DOING FACIAL EXERCISES WILL TONE MY MUSCLES AND MAKE ME LOOK YOUNGER."

If you do facial exercises, you'll just pull the skin more and probably enhance lines. The face is your only body part in which muscles attach directly to the skin without the aid of ligaments and tissue; the direct pull of muscles on skin, in fact, is what enables myriad subtle facial expressions. Add gravity to the constant tug and you produce lines, furrows and sagging. Daily facial maneuvers will only turn you into your crow's--footed, double-chinned that much faster. So stop mugging in the mirror.

The skin's sagging and drooping are caused by four major factors:

1.         Deteriorated collagen and elastin (due primarily to sun damage);

2.         Depletion of the skin's fat layer (a factor of genetic aging and gravity; body weight);

3.         Repetitive facial movement (particularly true for the forehead frown lines and for smile lines from the nose to the mouth);

4.         Muscle sagging due to the loosening of facial ligaments that hold the muscles in place.

Facial exercise is not helpful for worn-out collagen, elastin, or the skin's fat layer, because none of that is about the muscles. It is especially not helpful for the lines caused by facial movement! Instead, facial exercises only make those areas appear more lined.

Oh, and don't bother with those "seen on TV" gadgets that deliver electromagnetic stimulation and penetrating photon energy probes to promote deep intercellular repair. If you want to spend money on science fiction, go see Avatar again.

MYTH #3 "I USE CHAPSTICK SO OFTEN THAT NOW I'M ADDICTED."

I don’t know how many of you have visited that hilarious website that offers a twelve step program for lip balm addicts (if you need the plan, go here), but this myth is not true at all!

Lips are among the most sensitive of all body parts, and they produce natural emollients. But, lip balm doesn't signal your body to halt moisture production. If you have a chronic case of chapped lips, you're more likely to be addicted to outdoor sports, especially biking or skiing. You may also be licking your lips excessively or exposing yourself to lots of dry air (like air conditioning)

But do bear in mind that chronically chapped lips may signal a medical condition or allergy. When in doubt, consult a dermatologist.

MYTH #4: FACIALS AND MICRODERMABRASION ARE GOOD FOR MY SKIN CARE ROUTINE.

Ok, this is news to me too as I believed in this for a long time and would chide myself each time I missed a facial at the parlor. (Btw, have not got a parlor facial for about 3 months now) But a recent study from India concluded that facials actually cause acne breakouts in 80% of people. 

People on the myth side say that facials feel good but have no long-term skin benefit beyond relaxation. Like microdermabrasion, which merely sloughs off the top layer of skin, they are a complete and total waste of money. So you may might as well save the time and money and buy a good scrub and face pack and do a facial at home itself.  People on the fact side point to thousands of satisfied individuals who get these procedures done.

Personally, I would like to believe this is a myth, and that no facial can undo everyday neglect. A good daily cleansing regime will not only gently clean out the pores over time and ensure daily sloughing of dead cells, but also prevent acne, blackheads. A daily gentle exfoliation treatment is far superior to monthly crash courses of exfoliation.

MYTH # 5: EXPENSIVE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS WORK BEST.

Many mass market products are better than expensive ones. Personally I look up to Himani Boroplus body lotion, Himalaya face washes and Ponds Cold Cleansing Cream as the best answers to bust this myth.

For example most active ingredients found in face washes or moisturizers are similar, whether they are sold by a local store or a fancy boutique. Expensive skin care products can be good, of course. It's just that you can usually get something similar for a lot less.

If you want to pay for the brand name, feel, smell, and package, that's up to you.

MYTH # 6: ANTI AGING PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN COLLAGEN AND ELASTIN CAN ERASE WRINKLES.

Most wrinkle creams simply hydrate skin, plumping them out and making them look temporarily better. Collagen and elastin are present in healthy skin, but adding them to a cream is not going to make your skin younger. The molecular size of collagen and elastin molecules is very big, and they are not able to penetrate the pores of the skin – which they need to do if they are to become a part of the skin structure to make it healthy. So don't buy into the hype.

There is one product that has a solid history and reputation for reversing fine lines, however, and that is topical retinoids,.

Often sold under the name "Retinol" or "Tretinoin," these creams penetrate the skin and increase skin cell turnover. Studies have shown them to be fairly effective at treating acne, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and reversing the effects of photoaging, or sun damage. Some retinoids can be purchased over the counter. However they do have side effects like intense skin dryness so be careful and consult a dermatologist before use.  The Ponds Age Miracle line contains Retiniods.

But nothing is magic.

 MYTH # 7: IF IT IS NATURAL, IT MUST BE BETTER

In the world of skin care and makeup, the claims about all-natural products are either exaggerated because the products are laden with lots of unnatural ingredients. Just because an ingredient grows out of the ground or is found in nature doesn't make it automatically good for skin, and the reverse is also true, just because it is synthetic doesn’t make it bad.

Many companies claiming to be all-natural are anything but. They achieve the appearance of being all natural by listing a natural ingredient description in parentheses next to the more technical-sounding ingredient on their label. Although this appears to be helpful information, it still leads consumers in the wrong direction. For example, ammonium lauryl sulfate, a standard detergent cleansing agent, is listed on ingredient label as being derived from coconut oil. While that makes the ingredient sound natural, what the label doesn't explain is what the coconut oil has to go through to become ammonium lauryl sulfate. Along with this deception, products from companies that want you to believe they are all natural often, if not always, contain a vast array of synthetic ingredients.

It's hard to glamorize and advertise a "synthetic," unnatural-sounding ingredient. Silicones show up in over 80% of all skin-care, makeup, and hair-care products you buy. Yet you rarely hear about them because the cosmetics companies think consumers won't find them as sexy or alluring as plants, or oxygen therapy, or cellular repair, or a thousand other marketing angles that have nothing to do with what really works for your skin.