• Skipping SPF – sunscreen is necessary to protect against the sun’s UV rays which can cause premature ageing of your skin with fine lines, dark spots and in the long term can even lead to skin cancer. It’s a common mistake to believe that darker skin types don’t need sunscreen but we’re all at risk, so wear SPF even inside as UV rays can pass through glass.

• Not cleaning your face tools – this includes your makeup brushes and even tools such as jade rollers and gua sha, although the latter is much easier to clean. Makeup brushes should be cleaned once every two weeks at the least, as bacteria builds up on them and we use it on our face and in our makeup which may often lead to breakouts.

• Using masks after your skincare – I’ve seen a lot of influencers apply all their serums and essences and then apply a mask after, washing it off. That does not leave enough time for the serums to sink into the skin and essentially all of it is washed down the drain. So apply your masks before your skincare.

• Oil before serums– the order of your skincare regimen is highly significant, oils can penetrate any barrier, that is serums and moisturisers, but none of your skincare products can penetrate oil. Face oil should be the last step in your routine, so that your other products are effective and if face oils break you out, this may be the reason as your other products just lay on top of your skin instead of being absorbed.

• Over-exfoliation– this depends on your skin type, some people cannot exfoliate more than once a week while some can go up to three times a week. Over exfoliation can irritate your skin and strip it of its natural barrier, we exfoliate to remove the layer of dead skin cells on our skin and twice a week should suffice. It’s also important to avoid exfoliation when you are breaking out as it can irritate it and cause it to spread.

• Drying blemishes – a common solution when we notice a blemish is to dry it out, but this depends on what kind of blemish it is. For example papules which are deep pimples can lead to scarring if dried out before they turn into pustules. It’s best to study the problem and use the appropriate solution; such as a warm compress for papules.

• Too much cleansing – twice a day is usually enough, over cleansing strips the skin of its natural oils and this is common with foaming cleansers, if your skin feels tight then it’s possible you may be using a harsh cleanser or overusing it. This is a common mistake which can irritate and dry out your skin.

I hope you found something helpful here, if you have any skincare mistakes you’d like to share, comment them down below. Please like and follow for more skincare tips xoxo.