Celebrities love to say that the secret to glowing skin is to drink a lot of water—and by the way, use this cream, or take this supplement. But not everyone has a camera-ready complexion, every cream doesn’t work for every skin type, supplements aren’t magic elixirs, and drinking plenty of water is a super healthy habit, sure, but guzzling a ton of H2O isn’t going to remedy chronic eczema I’ve been dealing with since age 8. After spending more than a decade playing with beauty products as part of my job—and more importantly, interviewing hundreds of dermatologists and skin experts—I’ve learned to parse out the BS advice from what really works and is worth spending your hard-earned money on. Here’s the most important skin-care advice I’ve learned. Oh, and make sure to drink plenty of water.
1. Squeezing a pimple will never, ever make it better, faster.
Translation: Stop touching your face. Your hands are covered in bacteria most of the time (just think about all the stuff you touch). If you’re touching an already-inflamed zit or infection, you’re only adding debris to the pimple and delaying its demise. Plus, popping a pimple doesn’t do your skin or the zit itself any good, particularly if it’s a swollen, large cyst without a whitehead on top, which will only get worse when you try to squeeze.
2. More product does not equal better skin. In fact, there are certain products you should never mix.
As a product hoarder, I have an entire armoire filled with masks, lotions, creams, peels, oils, and serums. It’s incredibly tempting to pile on at least one of each every day and night because, it’s right there, and well, it’s my job. But more product isn’t a good thing. Too much product can clog pores (especially if the moisturizers aren’t non-comedogenic). Plus, certain ingredients don’t play well together. For example, retinol and other exfoliating ingredients—salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and benzoyl peroxide—should not be used at the same time because the skin can get really dry.
3. You don’t need to spend $300 on a skin-care product for it to be really good.
Listen, we’ve all heard about the miraculous powers of ultra-expensive potions and lotions, but there’s just zero reason you’d ever need to spend a week’s worth of grocery money on a little hydration boost. Frankly, most top dermatologists I’ve worked with prefer skin-care products sourced from the drugstore. For example, my current derm, Michele Farber, M.D., of Schweiger Dermatology in New York City, pushes drugstore-staple CeraVe samples on me after every visit. It’s just the best one, in her professional opinion. I have combination skin, but derms love it for acne-prone complexions, too.
