Things you should never put on your face

How many beauty products do you use in your skincare and makeup routine? According to The Telegraph, the average woman uses 16 — per day. It's no surprise, then, that the beauty industry is booming.

While these products may be selling at a steady pace — global sales should reach $130 billion by 2019 — that doesn't necessarily guarantee their safety. Believe it or not, cosmetics — including skincare products — are "very lightly regulated" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to Fortune.


Although cosmetics are required to contain labels, companies can cry "trade secrets" to avoid having to share what they've used. Additionally, anyone who's anyone can sell these products. Steve Xu, a resident physician in the department of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, confirmed to Fortune that no documentation, pre-market approval, or registration is even required. Yikes!


If you're now thinking you'd be better off just DIY-ing your skincare products, that isn't always a surefire way, either. The best option? Leaving this matter up to professionals. According to the experts, here are some things you should never put on your face.

Body lotion is a no

How many times have you run out of facial moisturizer and decided to just use some body lotion? In a pinch, it's fine, right? Well, probably, but routinely lathering your face with lotion that's designed for your body is a big fat nope.

Michael Kaminer, a board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon explained to Skincare.com, saying, "[Doing this] too often can lead to blocked pores." Of course, no one wants to deal with blocked pores!

"If you're staying at a hotel and you have to use the body lotion they have on your face, it's probably fine," Kaminer explained. It's the habitual use that's the real problem. If you've been relying on body lotion for your whole body, you should look for moisturizer specifically designed for your face.

"Moisturizers provide key nurturing ingredients to your skin, leaving you with a clean and hydrated surface," Dermatologist Ellen Marmur told Self.

Avoid the bar — soap that is

Just what should you be using to wash your face? As a kid, you may have used a handy dandy bar of soap. As an adult, however, that's not the best idea.

"Washing the face is a complex interaction," Zoe D. Draelos, a clinical associate professor of dermatology in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, explained to Fox News. "Cleansing the skin is a fine balance between balancing the skin's hygiene and leaving substances that are integral for the functioning of the skin."

Bar soap just doesn't seem to be able to strike that delicate balance. "I never, ever use a harsh, regular soap as a face or body cleanser," Marmur said when speaking to Power of Positivity. "Regular" soap, or bar soap, actually strips your skin of the nutrients it needs. This is because the soap utilizes chemicals that are both tough on the skin and unnatural. The result is "rough, dry, and itchy [skin]," Marmur explained.


Toothpaste is for teeth

It may sound a little silly, but when you've developed a zit, and you want it gone immediately, you're likely to try anything — even toothpaste. If it's safe to use on your teeth then it must be safe to use on your skin, wouldn't you think? Unfortunately, that's not true.

While people have been using and touting toothpaste as a "zit-zapper" for years, it's simply bad advice. "It's just not good for your skin over the long-haul," Kaminer told Skincare.com. While it most likely will help to dry out the pimple, toothpaste can irritate your skin and has the potential to be overly-drying.

That's not to say you have to forego spot treatments, you just shouldn't use toothpaste. Alternatives, according to Kaminer, include products containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Salicylic acid, a type of beta-hyrodxy acid (BHA) works to exfoliate the skin and get rid of dead skin cells while benzoyl peroxide works by fighting off and killing acne-causing bacteria, according to Dermatologist Whitney Bowe's comments to Teen Vogue. Both are great choices for spot-treating those pesky pimples.

Hairspray is not a substitute for setting spray

Setting spray, also called finishing spray or makeup setting spray, is a really useful tool in helping your makeup stay put all day. You simply mist and voila! Your makeup is set in place and you can stay all dolled up without the fear of your makeup breaking up. Well, couldn't you just use hairspray to achieve the same result? People do, but that doesn't make the tip full-proof.

David E. Bank at The Center for Dermatology in Westchester, New York recognizes the affordable trend of using hairspray as setting spray but he doesn't endorse it. "Hairspray contains alcohols, which can strip the skin of moisture," he explained to Bustle. "It can also clog your pores and lead to irritation and acne flare-ups."

Setting sprays, on the other hand, "destroy bacteria while keeping makeup in place," Dermatologist Dendy Engelman explained to Refinery29. This makes the sprays far superior to misting your face with water and/or hairspray.


When life hands you lemons, don't put them on your face

Does citrus belong in skincare? Some think so, but just remember the last time you peeled an orange or cut a lemon without realizing you had a cut on your hand. Not exactly a rejuvenating experience, was it?

Additionally, lemons contain the chemical psoralen, New York Dermatologist Doris Day, explained to CNN, and you can't put lemons on your face without also transferring psoralen. This powerful chemical makes your skin very sensitive to light. According to Day, it takes as few as ten minutes to activate and as long as 24 hours to wear off. If you were to then go out in the sun, your skin could actually blister. Ouch!

"I see it on people at the beach if they're having a Corona or a margarita," Day explained. "Because they squeeze the lemon and get a rash on the back of their hand. It's the splatter pattern of how they squeezed the lemon, and the sunburn effect." Now imagine that — but on your face. No thanks.

The same is apparently true with limes and lime juice, which are actually common DIY acne treatments, reported Reader's Digest. The thinking behind it is that, due to the antioxidants and antibiotic quality in limes, it will cause skin renewal. Instead, it causes blisters much like lemons, and can even cause abnormal skin coloring that Dermatologist Alejandra Vivas told Reader's Digest can last for months. Yikes! Let's add that to the list of things you should never put on your face, for sure.

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