Copyright (c) 2010 Nick Clipton

One of the most common mistakes that a lot of people make when it comes to skin care tips is that they are not aware of how to clean the face. Most young men and women who first develop acne are told to leave them alone for they will disappear on their own. This common belief actually has merits. Leaving them alone means that the individual should not poke and pinch out their acne with their fingers or some other instruments to force the comedowns out. The use of instruments which are not properly sanitized can cause further bacterial infections which may complicate the condition. However, what most do not realize is that by leaving the comedones alone, they can be now a new source of infection. That is why dermatologists remove the comedones using sanitary instruments like comedone extractors. These instruments have been either through an autoclave or are immersed in a sanitizing solution.

Another mistake is to use astringent on the face. Now, astringents are really harsh on the skin and there are some preparations which contain medications which the skin of certain individuals may be sensitive to. Thinking that the astringent can actually cure the pimples is simply not true. In fact, what it does is to dry out the skin to an extent where the skin layers are thinned out and it becomes dry and itchy. Some individuals will unconsciously scratch on the skin and cause breaks on the surface where the bacteria can get in.

Another common mistake is over drying the face if they wash more than three times a day. There are some magazines which offer skin care tips that include advice on cleaning the face only once or twice a day. To allow the oils to develop you need to keep the skin supple. Again, not true. Cleaning the face more than three times a day, especially if the skin is very oily due to sweat or simply over production of the oil glands, will not harm it, instead it will keep the skin clean and the dirt that is in the oils will not have a chance to irritate the surface.

One last common mistake is not to use sun block because it is overcast.Wrong again. Especially for men and women who have very fair skin, even if the sun is blocked by the clouds, the UVA can still penetrate and cause harm on the skin. Always apply sun block when going out during the day.