7 Beauty Hacks To Never Try (Beware Of Them!)
We millennials can proudly say that we are the inventors of this much loved concept of “life hacks” and “beauty hacks” which save us loads of time. These hacks were invented just for this lazy generation Y so that we can get to spend our precious time on better, more productive things.. like sleeping or binging on Netflix shows!
Here on the world wide web, you would find all kinds of mind boggling beauty tricks and beauty hacks. You might become curious to try them out after seeing their quick results and the little amount of efforts that go into achieving them. After all, Any hack that promises to save your time, money and efforts and still make you look fab deserves to be given a try, no? We don't think so!
No matter how promising those viral hacks shown by your favourite YouTube beauty guru may look - not all of them are worth your try. Certain viral beauty hacks can result in permanent damage to your skin and you would not want that, would you?
With this post, we will be telling you about beauty hacks that you should totally stay away from! Let's debunk them together!
7 Beauty Hacks To Never Try (Beware Of Them!)
Craft Glue To Remove Blackheads
Image Source
Instagram is the most popular hub for such kind of crazy beauty hacks that we are going to warn you about today!
Last year, this beauty hack of using craft glue - alone or with charcoal powder, went viral on the internet and specifically on instagram. The more you scrolled through instagram video feeds, the more videos you would have found of people painstakingly removing craft glue from their face after using it as a face pack or a blackhead removal pack on nose. So the question is, does this hack work to remove blackheads and dirt from face? Yes, to an extent. But is it the correct way to remove them? Nope.
Craft glue contains several chemicals that are not suitable to be put on the skin. It would not cause any reaction if it is left on for only a few minutes, but if you leave it on for too long, you are bound to experience skin allergy.
Nonetheless, This hack must have definitely made the 90s kids nostalgic of the days when applying and peeling off glue from palms used to be a thing, fun times!
Toothpaste For Acne
Call it a coincidence or a bad luck, but most of us women end up getting acne right before any important event like a date, festival or family function - that too on bizarre, noticeable spots like nose or forehead! In a hurry to get rid of the acne, we use our trusted omniscient friend Google to look for beauty hacks that may come to our rescue.
One such viral beauty hack that promises to reduce the size and redness of acne uses toothpaste! Dermatologists say a big no to this hack.
Using toothpaste on active acne involves certain risks. It can irritate your skin around the acne and cause peeling. Chances are, your skin can get chemical burns too if you have a very sensitive skin.
Want to know a natural way to get rid of acne overnight? Just take 2-3 drops of tea tree oil diluted with any carrier oil of your choice and put it on your acne as a spot treatment using a Q-Tip.
Baking Soda & Aluminium Foil For Whitening Teeth
Technically, teeth are also a part of one's beauty, Aren't they? A lot of people feel self-conscious about their teeth if their teeth are discoloured or not as white as they want them to be. So that makes them try all kinds of hacks that in return, end up damaging their teeth and erode the teeth enamel.
The instagram-viral teeth whitening hack that uses baking soda paste and aluminium foil is totally insane! It can be very painful for you if you have metal fillings in your teeth. Those who don't have any metal fillings may also experience soreness. The baking soda paste will make the teeth enamel deplete and your teeth would become more prone to decaying.
Besides this hack, a lot of people are putting a thick layer of their regular toothpaste on aluminum foil and then wrapping it around their teeth, thinking that it will increase the effectiveness of their toothpaste and make their teeth whiter. This hack is equally bad as the baking soda + aluminum foil hack and it should be avoided too!
The best way to get whiter teeth is by getting a teeth whitening treatment done through a good dentist. Yes, it might be a bit expensive, but it is the safest and most reliable way to go for.
Baking Soda For Skin Exfoliation
Turns out people are using baking soda not just for “damaging” their teeth with the hopes of getting pearl white teeth, but they are also using it for exfoliating their skin!
Exfoliating skin at least twice a week is important to keep your skin free of dirt and get rid of dead skin cells, but using baking soda to do so may not be a wise idea. It can cause imbalance in the pH levels of your skin and dry out your skin like crazy. Even after being diluted with water or lemon juice, it is still not suitable to be used on your skin. Perhaps, the best use of baking soda is for baking cakes, it is surely not meant to be used on your skin!
Also Read: Uncommon Beauty Tricks & Hacks That Will Save You A Lot Of Time!
Lemon Juice For Skin Lightening
People can go to any extent to achieve a lighter and an even complexion. But using lemon juice to achieve the same is a nope!
Lemon juice is acidic in nature and when it is used directly on the skin - without being diluted with any other ingredient like rose water or a face pack, it can burn your sensitive skin. The compounds of lemon juice become more active when exposed to UV A rays, so if you go out in the sun with any traces of lemon juice left on your skin, your skin can get pigmented and burnt. This condition is referred as phytophotodermatitis.
There are other natural ingredients like mulberries that can help you to get an even skin tone that you desire for and they are completely harmless! The antioxidants rich mulberry’s extracts brighten the skin tone and lighten up age spot as well as post acne marks since they inhibit tyrosinase activity.
Cayenne Pepper, Wasabi or Cinnamon Powder For Plump Lips
Using cayenne pepper, wasabi or cinnamon powder for plumping your lips is as bad as doing the Kylie Jenner lip challenge(which left many women with bruised lips).
The skin on your lips is very delicate and thin, using such highly spicy ingredients on them can irritate the delicate skin of your lips and the area surrounding them. And if you happen to put them on chapped lips, your lips would burn for hours!
Not everyone is blessed with plump pout like Priyanka Chopra has, but hey, you can still make your lips look pretty with your favourite shade of lipstick! If you wish to have plump lips naturally, you may use 1-2 drops of cinnamon essential oil in a safer way by mixing it with your lip scrub. Take care of the quantity as cinnamon essential oil is very concentrated!
Tape For A Temporary Face Lift
Thankfully, this hack has not reached India yet, but it is being used by various popular Hollywood celebrities during special events. So now it is only a matter of time that this trend reaches India.
Putting tape, (other than medical grade adhesive tape) on your skin for a face lift and to lessen the appearance of wrinkles can make your skin's condition worse. It will make your skin look even older because tape disrupts proper blood circulation to the areas where you have put it on and hence, such areas would not get proper nutrients that they receive through blood circulation.
To sum up the post, all that we would like to suggest you is that don't trust every single life hack or beauty hack that you come across in this pool of internet. Study the ingredients that go into such hacks and the risk involved in using them.