I remember when I was little learning never to go to sleep with wet hair or you’ll get a cold… Nope… not true. I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t true! As far as I thought this was gospel. So, after that huge shock I took it upon myself to investigate other beauty tricks I had grown up with.
We have all been told ‘beauty tips’ or ‘secrets’ over the years. Or been told old wives’ tales about sleeping with your make up on or spot cures. Is there any truth to the old-school myths? Or are they all a load of locker room mumbo jumbo like sleeping with wet hair? Let’s have a look…
1. Toothpaste helps heal spots.
Absolutely not!!
To be fair who hasn’t done this as a teen. I know I did, but thankfully getting into beauty therapy, I stopped. But I do know people who still do this. All I can say is STOP.
Yes, toothpaste can dry out the spot, but it also has other Ingredients like menthol and sodium lauryl sulphate. These ingredients can really irritate your skin and even make your spots worse. This is a myth that needs to be busted. Just keep a good regular skincare routine or try a little tea tree oil but stay away from the toothpaste.
2. If you pluck a grey hair, seven will grow back.
Absolutely false.
When you pull out an individual hair, you’re only affecting that one follicle. Not the surrounding areas. A grey hair will most likely grow back in its place…… but it was grey to begin with so no change really. I’m not sure how this myth originated. I remember my mum even telling me this, so clearly it has been around for a while. But have no fear, tweezing that odd grey hair will not turn you into a silver vixen.
3. Only dry skin needs moisturiser
FALSE.
ALL skin needs moisturising and moisture. I’ve heard this so many times over the years and I don’t know where people have got this from. If you have oily skin, then cleanse to remove your excess oil. But, if you don’t moisturise afterwards, your skin will produce more oil to replenish the oil that it has lost. You should use a gentle cleanser and a light hydrating moisturiser to help keep skin radiant, nourished and balanced.
4. Shaving makes your hair grow back thicker and darker.
Nope
Now, this is more of an optical illusion. The hair appears thicker and darker as the hair has been chopped. So, it isn’t a soft, fine point like the hair would be if it naturally grew, but blunt and stubbly. So thankfully the hair isn’t actually coarser. But the hair will grow back appearing finer if you wax or tweeze it.
5. You’ll age seven years if you sleep with makeup on.
No, it won’t!
I think this is one of my favourites. Most of us know this isn’t true. How could it be? Sleeping with makeup isn’t the best but it’s absolutely not going to age you. Thank goodness or I would look even older, as I have done this the odd time over the years!
I think this was probably started to make sure people cleanse and look after their skin properly. Which isn’t a bad thing… I do secretly worry that if I don’t wash my face every night, I’ll wake up looking 10 years older. Even though this myth has been busted it’s still not great for your skin. So let’s keep our skin glowing and continue to cleanse every night.
6. Tanning easily and not burning means you’re less likely to get skin cancer.
FALSE!
Now this is dangerous myth. Anyone exposing their skin unprotected in the sun is putting themselves at risk of getting skin cancer.
When you’re tanning, you’re increasing your production of melanin, which is what creates the appearance of your tan. This also means you are getting sun damage. Your skin produces more melanin to prevent further damage. So even if you never burn cream up!
7. White spots on your nails means you need more calcium.
False
I remember being really surprised when I found this out at college. If you get the odd white mark on your nail it actually means you banged or finger above the nail (matrix) and caused a little damage while it was developing… So simple.
If you get lots of white marks on every nail, however, it’s likely that you have a deficiency. So be sure to get it checked out. But the odd one here and there doesn’t mean you need to go and guzzle a pint of milk.
8. The average woman consumes 6lbs of lipstick in her lifetime
*snigger* False
That’s A LOT of lipstick. I don’t think I could own 6lbs of lipstick, let alone ingest it. This is one of the funnier myths I’ve found. 6lbs is the equivalent of 680 tubes! It was worked out that if, over a life span of 70 makeup-wearing years, you were to wear it every day, you could possibly eat up to 1lb (133 tubes). That is, however, if you apply it 4 times a day, every day for your entire life… Unlikely. This is unrealistic as most of us don’t wear nearly this much lipstick. We all like to have makeup-free days.
It’s amazing that all these myths have been around for so many years and are still being told today. And how many of us have never questioned them? Or even keep it at the back of our minds? What other beauty myths have you grown up with? These are ones I have learnt growing up, but I would love to know yours! Leave a comment with yours I would love to hear your favourite.
Remember
Keep glowing 
