Taking care of your skin is important — and maintaining a daily skincare routine is part of this. But what if your skincare routine was actually causing your skin problems, rather than helping to treat them?

If you’re not doing it right, then that skincare routine that you painstakingly carry out every morning and evening could actually be the reason behind your breakouts or dry skin. 

Read on to find out what you shouldn’t be doing — and what you should do instead:

Mistake #1: Exfoliating too much

Exfoliating too much is probably the most common mistake that people make in their skincare routine.

If it’s winter, then we want to get rid of dry, cold-weather skin and keep our skin looking youthful. If it’s summer, we exfoliate to get that glowing, sun-kissed look for all of our beach pics. Whatever the reason or the season, we over-exfoliate — scrubbing our skin harshly every day or even twice a day.

In fact, you should only be exfoliating once or twice a week. Don’t get us wrong, exfoliating is an important part of your skincare routine; it helps to get rid of excess dead skin cells that can leave your skin looking dull and blotchy, or cause breakouts by clogging pores. 

However, over-exfoliating can actually harm your skin, leaving it looking red and irritated, and feeling sore. It can even make conditions like acne worse by causing your skin to shed too many pore-blocking cells, and cause damage to the delicate skin around your eyes. 

Stick to exfoliating once or twice a week with products like Urban Oreganics' coffee scrub and your skin will surely thank you.

Mistake #2: Using the wrong products for your skin type

Yay for deciding to buy all natural skincare products and invest in your skin’s health. However, if you’re buying the wrong products for your skin type then, frankly, that is money down the drain — and a lot of unnecessary difficulties ahead.

Skin products that aren’t suited for your particular skin type can really upset the balance of your skin, causing dryness and flaking, oiliness and breakouts, or the exacerbation of skin conditions like acne or eczema. 

You can do two things to make sure that this doesn’t happen:

• Find out what skin type you have. Is it dry, oily, or a combination of the two? This will guide you when you’re planning your daily skincare routine and buying products.
• Do some research into the products you’re thinking of buying. Is there a version that works best for your skin type? Each skincare product from Urban Oreganics lists the skin types that it is best suited to, such as “oily,” “acne-prone” or “sensitive.” Or contact us to get a personalized skincare routine recommendation.

By doing this, you’ll help prevent big skin problems in the future, and ensure that your skin is getting the best treatment. 

Mistake #3: Washing with water that is too hot

Cleansing properly is one of the most important parts of any skincare routine, washing away the excess oil, sweat, dead skin cells and dirt from your face.

However, washing with super hot water is a big — and frequent — mistake in our skincare routines. 

Hot water can strip away the natural oils from your skin, disrupting the balance of your skin and causing extreme dryness. This can lead to all sorts of problems, like flaky, itchy skin, irritation, and eczema flare-ups. If you do suffer from eczema, this is one of the easiest ways to prevent flare-ups. 

Turning the water temperature down — even just a bit — can make a huge difference. Warm water is kinder to your skin and will help you to avoid irritation and dryness.

Mistake #4: Applying skincare products right before you go to bed

This is a rookie skincare error, but one that we’re all guilty of: applying skincare products just before you throw back the sheets and jump into bed. 

If you’ve always done your evening skincare in this way, it can be a hard habit to break; after all, there’s something quite soothing and comforting about performing the same skincare routine every night.

However, there is a reason for bringing your routine forward by a few hours: applying all of your skincare products or treatments immediately before bed means that there isn’t enough time for them to absorb and work their magic on your skin. Instead, they’re just going to end up all over your pillowcase!

Apply your skincare products at least one hour before bed instead so that your skin has the chance to absorb your fave products and really reap the benefits.

Mistake #5: Skipping parts of your face (and surrounded areas)

Honestly, guys, what is the point of cleansing and applying products if you’re only working on parts of your face and skipping others?

This is one big skincare mistake that many of us don’t even realize we’re making. Not cleansing along your hairline or down your neck, skipping your eyebrows, not trying hard enough to remove your eye make-up… You’re probably guilty of at least one of these. 

Considering you probably apply cosmetics to these parts, you should probably cleanse these areas too! If you don’t, cosmetics, excess oil, and dirt can sit on your skin overnight, causing clogged pores and breakouts.

A gentle, natural cleanser can wash away dirt and impurities, leaving you with soft, clear skin. Urban Oreganics' "bare" cleaning grains is a mild, soap-free daily facial cleanser that is great for doing just that. 

Mistake #6: Applying products in the wrong order

The order of your skincare routine makes a huge difference to whether the products you use actually penetrate your skin. Mixing up this order could mean that your skincare products make no difference to your skin’s health, or even make it worse. 

If you’re unsure of the order, you should remove your make-up first. Next, use a cleanser, followed by toner, any serums or mists, then eye serum/cream, and finally moisturizer (SPF if it’s the morning and you’re headed out). 

Essentially, cleaning all the excess oil, sweat and dirt from your face before you apply any other products is super important; you don’t want any clogged pores and pimples, do you?

As for the rest of your skincare products and treatments, you should apply lighter, water-based serums first — these are more easily absorbed into the skin.

Once you’ve done that, follow up with thicker or oil-based serums and lotions that will create a protective barrier on your skin. 

These are six of the most common mistakes that many of us make with our skincare routines. If you’re guilty of any of these, don’t worry! There’s still time to turn your skincare routine around and pick skincare products and habits that will make your skin happy.

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Guest post by Dr. Don Grant of The Independent Pharmacy. If you're interested in guest blogging for Urban Oreganics, please contact us.