The Sunday Times - UK (2022-02-13

MYTH

‘I should exfoliate

every day’

This one is a bit of a grey area as it depends on your

skin type. “Daily exfoliation is not always necessary

to maintain a healthy cell turnover,” Sharon Wong

says. “Depending on skin type, exfoliation once to

twice a week is usually sufficient for normal and

combination skin, and once a week for sensitive skin.

Overexfoliation can compromise the skin barrier,

strip the skin of its natural oil and increase

sensitivity.” However, the exception is oily skins.

According to Dr Jason Thomson: “Oily, acne-prone

skin types can often benefit from daily exfoliation

with salicylic acid.”

TRY Kate Somerville EradiKate Clarifying

Blemish Gel Cleanser, £38

MYTH

‘Face exercises can

reduce my wrinkles’

Dermatologists on the whole don’t buy it. “There

is no evidence that facial exercise will do anything

for wrinkles. Wrinkles are predominantly the result

of the passage of time and exposure to UV

radiation from the sun,” Dr Beibei Du-Harper says.

Ejikeme feels the same: “I’m not a fan of exercises

that encourage frowning or wrinkling of the area

around the eyes or forehead, lips and chin. The lines

in the face are caused by increased animation and

muscle movement, so on the whole the less

movement the better.” But many skincare pros

across the industry are advocates for other reasons.

“Using your hands or tools can be an effective way to

reduce the retention of fluid and puffiness in our

faces,” says Katharine Mackenzie Paterson, who

recommends FaceGym’s tool.

TRY FaceGym’s Multi-Sculpt tool, £45

MYTH

‘Essential oils soothe

and hydrate my skin’

Caroline Hirons, author of The Skincare Edit, has one

word: no! And Psomadakis agrees. “Excuse the pun,

but you’ll be hard pressed to find a dermatologist who

is a big fan of essential oils. If they work for you and

you love them, carry on. From a science perspective

an oil seals in your skin but doesn’t hydrate it. So if

your skin is dry, it seals in whatever moisture is in

there but doesn’t provide any extra levels. If you are

looking for maximum hydration, you need to apply

a moisturiser first, then seal with an oil on top.

Finally, many people are allergic to essential oils or

get irritation on their skin. Certainly if you have any

issues with your skin barrier, like eczema or rosacea,

I would avoid essential oils.”

MYTH

‘A good night’s sleep will

banish my dark circles’

“More like a good concealer will banish your dark

circles,” Hirons states. Make-up is your best bet

for instant improvement, and Granite explains

why: “When tired or dehydrated, dark circles can

definitely look more pronounced. So in that

sense lifestyle factors such as sleep, targeted

skincare, a healthy diet and exercise will help

circles look as ‘good’ as they possibly can. But for

most people circles are largely genetic and/or

develop with age, so all the sleep and eye cream in

the world can only do so much.” That doesn’t mean

skip the eye cream — it means have realistic

expectations of what it can do.

MYTH

‘I’m gluten intolerant

so I need a gluten-free

skincare regime’

On the whole the experts aren’t convinced.

“Gluten will not be directly absorbed through skin

to cause coeliac issues, so topical creams should not

be a problem,” Dr Justine Hextall says. “If an

individual were gluten intolerant and had a skin

issue after using a gluten-containing skin product,

it’s more likely that common sensitisers such as

perfume or preservatives caused the irritation.”

While Dr Emma Wedgeworth agrees on the whole,

she does add: “It is unusual to react to gluten in

skincare, however, anecdotally, some people have

reported sensitivity to products containing

ingredients such as wheat, barley, rye or oats.”

If it’s something that is playing on your mind then

it’s worth looking into a new brand, Oodee, which

claims to be “allergen neutral”, having removed 14

main food allergens from its range.

TRY Oodee Aurora Perfecting Serum, £65

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

PHYSICAL V CHEMICAL EXFOLIATORS

PHYSICAL manually scrub off dead skin cells with

particles such as seeds and even shells. The traditional

face scrub fell out of favour because it could tear the

skin, but newer formulations such as Medik8 Pore

Refining Scrub (£29), which uses biodegradable jojoba

grains, carefully polish the surface without scratching.

CHEMICAL are skin-dissolving acids including the

aforementioned AHAs, BHAs and PHAs, which

slough off dead skin cells.

EXPERT CAROLINE HIRONS

EXPERT DR JASON THOMSON

38 • The Sunday Times Style