Beauty Hacks That Could Be Ruining Your Skin, According To Our Esthetician

We've all been there. Watched a viral beauty hack on social media, read a couple of enthusiastic comments from people who swear these hacks are miraculous, and then felt ready to hop on board with the latest fad. Granted, many of these hacks do work. Take, for example, the viral TikTok red lip hack that creates the ultimate lived-in glam look, or TikTok's supermodel face lift makeup hack. On the other hand, several of these trends have proven to do more harm than good. For instance, a horrified YouTuber who tried DIY dermaplaning saw her face break out in spots as a result.

To help us separate the good hacks from the bad, Glam spoke exclusively with licensed esthetician of 25 years Gregory Dylan, owner of Gregory Dylan Skincare. With over two decades of experience under his belt, our esthetician can tell from the get-go which of these hacks could be ruining your skin, and which are relatively safe to use. 

"Viral skincare hacks can certainly be beneficial to your complexion and sometimes help get great results or streamline your regimen. However, a lot of hacks out there are actually not great for the skin and can even be potentially damaging. [These] are a few that I see over and over again that are the worst culprits," Dylan tells us. We bet you've probably heard some of them before, and might even have tried them, but these beauty hacks can ruin your skin.

We get it. Sunscreens are expensive products and "while the concept [of DIY sunscreens] sounds appealing to some and certainly could be economical, sunscreen is serious business," Gregory Dylan tells us exclusively. In fact, with homemade sunscreens, you run the risk of burning.

"SPF products go through rigorous testing, and formulation is complicated," he goes on. "It is also highly regulated, as you see by the 'Drug Facts' portion on the side of any sun protection product box. And the government has cracked down on labeling guidelines as well for more accurate wording regarding features like water resistance. Using something homemade does not allow for accurate testing to gauge protection levels and could easily cause more harm than good." Dylan advises trying out different sunscreens, and once you find your perfect match, you should use it on a daily basis. Of course, applying once won't cut it; you should re-apply every few hours.

"There are so many great SPF products at varied price points," Dylan goes on. "I have always liked SuperGoop City Serum SPF 30, which is a light texture that blends so nicely into the skin. La Roche Posay also has several formulas that are cult favorites. And I highly suggest checking out the brand Vacation, which has so many unique and effective formulas with a really fun '80s throwback vibe." Our esthetician also suggests taking extra precautionary measures to protect our skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays, such as wearing wide-brim hats, sunglasses, and clothes with sun protection

Perfecting your color-correcting technique can ease the appearance of hyperpigmentation. However, resorting to pure lemon juice to tackle those pesky spots is not only ineffective but potentially harmful to your skin. "I see this one a lot. And while people assume that something they use in their kitchen and consume on a regular basis is safe and gentle to use on their skin, that is just not the case," Gregory Dylan reveals. "Straight lemon juice is highly acidic. Using it directly on the skin could easily cause irritation or a burn, even more so if exposed to sunlight."

But if lemon is so harmful, why do we see it as an ingredient in several skincare products? To this, Dylan explains, "If you do see lemon extract in a skincare formula, it is a cosmetic grade version that has been rendered safe for use in that product at an appropriate pH and in an effective delivery system."

Rather than using lemon to target pigmentation, Dylan exclusively advises ingredients such as vitamin C, retinol, niacinamide, licorice root, and kojic acid. "And of course, no lightening regimen is complete without SPF!" he says. "I'm a big fan of the Le Mieux Vita-C Clear Skin Pad, using twice a week is a great boost to your lightening and brightening regimen."

Sugar and salt are natural ingredients that we all keep handy in our homes. They are also our body's BFF combo when it comes to DIY body exfoliants. Gregory Dylan is also a fan of salt and sugar scrubs, but he will never use them on his face. "Salt and sugar are both rough and jagged structures," he tells us exclusively. "These can cause micro-tears and irritation on sensitive facial skin. Body skin is thicker and more resilient and responds very well to these types of exfoliators, so keep the salt and sugar for neck down only."

Store-bought facial exfoliators are specially formulated for our sensitive facial skin, so stay away from DIY facial scrubs to avoid causing damage. "Facial exfoliators typically have rounder and softer ingredients, many of which will also start to dissolve as you use them," Dylan explains. 

Our esthetician's suggestion for the perfect exfoliant? "I also love an enzyme powder wash like Tatcha's The Rice Polish," he says. "These are a fabulous polish on the skin that give both gentle mechanical exfoliation with dissolving grains and enzymatic exfoliation with ingredients like papain or bromelain from papaya and pineapple." Whichever product you end up loving, Dylan reminds us, "For facial exfoliants you want to move the product over your face like marbles on glass. Not like you are refinishing an old dresser!"

One beauty hack that is currently rising in popularity is sunscreen contouring (yes, it's a thing!)."I know that I nearly passed out, along with my other estheticians, when I saw this trend," Gregory Dylan reveals in our exclusive conversation. "This is flat out a horrible idea and so dangerous for the skin. While this may provide a contouring effect, it is also creating so much damage." It's a no-brainer why this is a very dangerous hack to use on your skin; it's basically using SPF lotion on only half of your face, protecting part of it and exposing the rest to the sun's harmful rays.

"The areas of the face that are not covered are getting excessive sun exposure, and while you may not see it now, down the line all of this damage will start to show itself," Dylan says. "Pigmentation, lines, rough texture and even potentially skin cancer are what may show up in those areas. And the overall look of this damage will be exacerbated by the fact that the surrounding skin was protected and not exposed to the sun as much."

Why expose your skin to such dangerous trends when there are so many (harmless) makeup hacks that can give you those chiseled jawlines and well-defined cheekbones you are craving? After all, TikTok's triangle makeup hack can make contouring easier than ever! "There are far too many fabulous bronzers and contouring products out there to justify exposing your skin to this type of damage," Dylan tells us. Instead, he recommends Beauty Pie's Quick Color Contour Supergel which "blends effortlessly" into the skin. "Your future face will thank you, I promise."