The Makeup Anarchist

I’m tired of companies trying to sell me crap that doesn’t work, as I’m sure you are. No, this isn’t a miracle product ad… I just thought I’d chime in and try and spread the word about the TRUTHs in hopes to defeat the MYTHs that so many people are fed… because knowing the truth might help someone from spending money on crap that CANNOT do what it claims.

Ten Beauty Myths:

You can shrink your pores. FALSE.  Your pores cannot be made any smaller than what your genes say they can be. They can appear larger with oil and bacteria buildup, and the only thing to help, is to find a product that gets rid of this buildup so they can go back to looking their natural size. Other than that, your only option is to find products that minimize how they appear… but it’s not going to actually shrink the pores.

You can repair split ends. FALSE.  You cannot reverse split ends. You can find products (shampoos, conditioners, serums, etc) to temporarily coat and seal them until your next shampoo, or you can cut them off.  Those are your options. There’s no magic product that will fix them back to new. Period.  Think of your hair like your nails (after all, they’re made from the same protein)… if you split a nail, you can coat it with something to hold it together, or you can cut it off… it’s not magically going to mend itself back together… same goes for your split ends.

You should wash your face often if you have oily skin, and don’t use moisturizer. FALSE. The idea behind this is to get rid of the oil, but in reality, stripping your skin of oil can cause your skin to produce even MORE oil trying to re-balance and to moisturize itself.  Everyone’s skin is different, but beware, that constantly washing and using products to take away your skin’s natural oils can quite possibly have the opposite effect.  You have to find what works best for you or consult a dermatologist.

You shouldn’t use anti-aging products until you see signs of aging. FALSE.  Prevention is easier and more effective than trying to fix your skin later on.  Anti-aging products can be used to maintain younger and healthier looking skin.  It’s called ANTI-AGE, not TIME MACHINE.  Just make sure stick to products right for your skin type.

Chocolate and greasy foods will make you break out. FALSE. Research has found no evidence that relate these foods with acne.  A bad diet on the other hand, CAN cause bad skin, but nomming on that candy bar alone every once in a while isn’t going to make you reach for your concealer.

Never tweeze above your eyebrow. FALSE.  This is personal preference. If you have caveman brows and want to pluck all around them, go ahead.  Not everyone is blessed with perfect brows.  My only request when it comes to eyebrows, is that you have two of them, else I reserve the right to stare.

Fair hair can’t be removed in laser hair removal. FALSE.  Laser hair removal works by targeting the melanin pigment in the hair.  Although darker hair will obviously take better to laser hair removal, blonde hair still has pigmentation.  The only hair color that is impossible to remove in laser hair removal is grey hair which has no pigment at all.

Fake nails ruin your natural nails. FALSE. Not anymore, artificial nails nowadays are much better than old school fake nails… if you’re seeing damage, it’s going to be because of not properly removing them, not the fake nails themselves.

Getting your hair cut will make it grow faster. FALSE. Where do people get off even thinking that? That goes against common sense.  Your hair will not grow any faster if you cut it.  Frequent hair cuts will remove split ends breakage which can prevent further breakage that would result in needing more hair cut off later or just shorter hair from the ends breaking off, but cutting the hair doesn’t actually change the rate at which your hair grows.

Shaving makes your hair grow back darker and thicker. FALSE.  Shaving is like a haircut, it changes nothing about the actual hair itself aside from the end.  The angle at which shaving cuts the hair might make it feel thicker when it grows back at first, but your razor can’t actually change the thickness of it.  Your razor also cannot change the color of your hair. Again, I repeat, it’s like a haircut. When you get a trim, does your hair magically change color? No.  Shaving has no effect on the genetic makeup of your hair.  Common sense people.

Now for a beauty TRUTH. The only one I ever preach, because I don’t care what you do with your hair and makeup… paint your face purple for all I care… just wash it off at night.

It has been clinically proven that not washing your makeup off before bed can cause you to age seven (7) times faster. Not twice as fast… not three times as fast… SEVEN times.  And I understand that some mineral makeup is advertised to improve your skin and ’safe enough to sleep in’, but take one second to think about it. You’re not only washing away makeup when you wash your face before bed, you’re washing off the day’s grime, sweat, oil, pollution, free radicals, bacteria, dirt, and germs that have accumulated onto your face that all cause damage and speed up the aging process.  So if you want to wear your ’skin improving’ makeup to bed, be my guest… just wash your face first and put on a new, uncontaminated coat.