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In this age of social media influence and the ability to Google or YouTube just about anything, our society is awash in misinformation. Many viral trends are relatively harmless (soaking your feet in mouthwash, anyone?), but some carry the risk of significant negative effects. This month, in recognition of National Health Skin Month, we want to highlight some unhelpful, unhealthy, or dangerous trends we’re seeing with skin care in the hopes of helping our patients avoid unfortunate consequences.

Face Taping

This social media trend involves using tape to smooth wrinkles. While it can sometimes reduce the appearance of wrinkles, any smoothing effect is very temporary. And in the process of putting tape on your skin and then peeling it off, you could be damaging the stratum corneum, or outer layer, of your skin. Also, the adhesive material on the tape can cause breakouts, rashes, or blisters. There are tapes made especially for the face, so if you’re really curious about this trend and want to give it a try, do your skin a favor, buy the face-approved product and leave the giftwrap tape in the drawer.

Sunburning

Sure, it’s nice to have a healthy glow to your skin, but purposefully letting your skin get damaged from the sun is never a good idea. Some social media influencers are claiming that the ingredients in sunscreen are more harmful than the sun’s rays, and this simply isn’t true – especially if you’re choosy about which sunscreen you use. Excessive exposure to UV rays leads to DNA damage in your skin, raising your risk for developing skin cancer. If you’re craving a sun-kissed look, consult the cosmetics shelves. For women and men, many products exist to help you achieve the just-sunned appearance, no UV damage required.

Vacuuming . . . your face

Have you heard of pore-vacuuming? Using these devices to try and remove blackheads from your face may seem like an innovative idea. However, the suctioning can cause significant damage to your skin including broken capillaries, breakouts, bruising, or microtears in the skin. To clean your pores, we recommend using exfoliants or cleansers with ingredients such as glycolic acid or salicylic acid. Better yet, treat yourself to a high-quality facial where the aesthetician can remove blackheads effectively and safely.

DIY lip filler

One of the most dangerous trends we’ve seen lately is DIY lip injections using a Hyaluron pen, which injects air into the area. Not only is this process not FDA-approved, but it can cause damage to your skin. Some of the complications you could face with this DIY procedure include asymmetry, bruising, bleeding, scarring, infection, or permanent pigmentation changes. It’s recommended that you see a professional for lip-filling injections to plump your lips, and not take matters into your own hands.

Permanent freckles

Another one in the DIY basket – some wannabe freckle faces are dotting their skin using self-administered tattoos. Top on our list of “shouldn’t be sold on Amazon,” tattoo guns require licensing, skill, and education to use properly. Tattooing yourself can lead to infection, skin damage, scarring, or permanent disfigurement.