Viral skincare myths, checked
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The short answer
Do viral skincare hacks like beef tallow and homemade sunscreen actually work?
Mostly not. Beef tallow moisturises like any fat and does nothing more, homemade sunscreen gives far too little protection to rely on, and the evidence that drinking extra water changes your skin is weak.
Evidence: No good evidence How we grade evidence
A short list of the things we get asked most, each with the actual answer rather than the polite one.
Is beef tallow good for your skin?
Beef tallow moisturises, as any fat does, and there is no evidence of benefit beyond that. It is thick enough to cause congestion in acne-prone skin, and the BAD lists greasy moisturisers among the things that can cause or worsen acne. It can trap heat in rosacea-prone skin, where heat is a common trigger. It is often sold unregulated, with inconsistent formulation and often no preservative. There is no good evidence that the vitamins it contains reach the skin in useful amounts, and there are cheaper, better-studied occlusives.
Is homemade sunscreen safe to use?
No, homemade sunscreen is actively dangerous. Sun protection depends on filter concentration and even film formation, which cannot be achieved in a kitchen. When researchers made 15 sunscreen recipes found online, three contained no sun filter at all and the other 12 all measured below SPF 6. The NHS advice is to use a tested sunscreen of at least SPF 30 with good UVA protection.
Do pores open and close with steam or cold water?
No, pores do not open and close, because they have no muscle. Steam does not open them and cold water does not close them. How big they look changes with how much oil is in them, how firm the surrounding skin is and the size of the hair follicle. There is more in our piece on oily skin and pores.
Does drinking more water give you glowing skin?
Drinking more water has not been shown to give you glowing skin. A 2018 systematic review found only six studies on water and skin in healthy adults, all weak, with at most a slight rise in skin hydration, mostly in people who drank little to begin with. Water is good for you. It is not a skincare product.
Is expensive skincare better than cheap skincare?
No, expensive skincare is not reliably better than cheap skincare. Price follows packaging, marketing and brand positioning far more than formulation. Several of the best-evidenced ingredients, including niacinamide, azelaic acid and ceramide moisturisers, are available cheaply, and the cheap versions work; our graded ingredient guide sets out the evidence. A MyAgenix read builds a routine around the ingredients, not the price tag.
Does natural skincare mean it is gentle on skin?
No, natural does not mean gentle. Fragrances and other cosmetic ingredients, many of them plant-derived, are a common cause of allergic contact dermatitis, and the BAD warns people with eczema that 'natural' herbal creams can cause allergic reactions or irritation. The word itself has no legal definition for cosmetics. It is covered in full in our piece on natural skincare.
Does your skin need to purge when you start a new product?
Only retinoids and similar treatments cause anything that deserves the name purging. The BAD notes that treatments such as retinoids can make acne worse for a few weeks before it gets better, and that is real. Everything else called purging is usually irritation or a reaction, and if your skin keeps getting worse beyond those first few weeks, it is not purging. There is more in our piece on retinol.
Questions people ask
Does putting toothpaste on a spot get rid of it?
No. Toothpaste is made for teeth, not skin, and its flavourings and other ingredients can irritate and dry the skin around a spot, which can leave it looking redder. A pharmacist can suggest a product actually made for spots.
Is lemon juice safe to put on your face?
It is not a good idea. Lemon juice is strongly acidic and can sting and irritate, and citrus juice on skin that then goes out in the sun can cause burns and dark marks. A properly formulated exfoliant or brightening product is gentler and more predictable.
How can you make your pores look smaller?
You cannot change the pore itself, but you can change how visible it is. Keeping oil and dead skin from building up, for example with a salicylic acid product, and protecting the firmness of the skin around the pore with daily sunscreen both make pores look less obvious.
How do you tell purging from a breakout caused by a product?
Purging only happens with products that speed up skin turnover, such as retinoids, and shows up where you usually get spots before settling within a few weeks. Spots in new places, stinging, itching or redness that keeps getting worse point to irritation or a reaction, so stop the product.
Sources
- greasy moisturisers among the things that can cause or worsen acne (skinhealthinfo.org.uk)
- heat is a common trigger (nhs.uk)
- three contained no sun filter at all and the other 12 all measured below SPF 6 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- NHS advice (nhs.uk)
- how much oil is in them, how firm the surrounding skin is and the size of the hair follicle (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- A 2018 systematic review (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- a common cause of allergic contact dermatitis (skinhealthinfo.org.uk)
- 'natural' herbal creams can cause allergic reactions or irritation (skinhealthinfo.org.uk)
General information about skin, not medical advice. MyAgenix offers cosmetic guidance to help you choose products. It does not diagnose or treat any condition. For anything that needs treating, see a pharmacist, your GP or a dermatologist.