General Health & Beauty Myths

Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) clogs pores and does not moisturize

False.

It does not clog pores, and I use it as an eye cream every night. It has made my under eyes and sides of my eyes super soft.

It IS a derivation of a petrochemical, but it’s considered a rating of 0-1 in terms of toxicity, as per the Cosmetics’ Database, although it has a 91% data gap.

Anyway, it seems to be all right. No extra stuff added, it works great.

I don’t use it on my face or my body only because it’s really greasy and I’d rather have an absorbent lotion or butter like 100% shea or cocoa butter.

Ms. Tyra Banks uses it too, by the way.

(The video is worth watching just for how crazy she goes over Vaseline. She went bananas!)

Fake sugar is derived from coal

True.

It contains saccharin with is a coal-tar compound.

I’m not saying that this saccharin stuff is bad for you (I don’t know, am not a scientist), but I have heard others say that their headaches stopped when they stopped drinking diet sodas and using it in their coffee.

Early studies have also linked it to causing cancer. How true that is, I cannot say.

Anyway, the taste sucks. It’s like cardboard.

Agave syrup, maple syrup, and honey is better than refined white sugar, but to lose weight, don’t drink any diet drinks – just eat less and cut back on sugar and fats.

You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated & to keep your complexion gorgeous

False.

We actually get enough water from our veggies, and other things that we eat.

Water DOES help clean your kidneys and suppress your appetite but it does it by temporarily bloating you.

If you are dehydrated, your body will let you know, and in fact, when you drink TOO much water, you can lead to water intoxication (who knew that was possible?), drop sodium levels in your body, and continuous, annoying trips to the bathroom every 5 seconds.

I also heard somewhere (unconfirmed) that you cannot hydrate your body from the inside out. It’s why we need moisturizers (well, I do.)

Split ends in your hair cannot be repaired

True.

You can’t glue split ends back together. Impossible. Don’t believe the lies.

Split ends happen when you damage your hair with chemicals, styling (like straightening or curling your hair) and shampooing too often.

I don’t even use shampoo or conditioner any longer, nor do I blow dry or style it, and my hair looks better than it ever did when I tampered with Mother Nature. My own naturally produced hair oil is the best!

Hair oil and that greasy feeling is just in your scalp.

It accumulates there, so if you do use shampoo, wash your scalp and not your entire length of hair — when you rinse out the shampoo, it’ll clean the rest of your hair.

Your skin will age like your mother’s

False.

You get your colour, texture & pore size from your momma but if you drink, smoke, tan like a mofo and have a high stress job, you are going to get hit big-time with premature aging.

It’s never too late to use sunscreen!

True.

Studies have shown that you DON’T do all your damage before the ripe age of 19. You are damaging your skin your entire life, so don’t think that even at 50, sunscreen is useless.

Soap is bad to use as a facial cleanser

False.

Soap back in the day was bad because they just didn’t have the right recipe or the chemicals down!

Today, soap can be moisturizing and good for your skin. I find it too drying, and it causes my face to dry up and feel tight, and over produce oil, so I just do a quick wash with water and some toner instead.

Eating veggies & fruits helps your skin

True.

You are what you eat. Chocolate and chips may not cause acne, but it sure doesn’t help your skin with any good nutrients.

Dry skin causes wrinkles

False.

Most of that is done by the sun, or by showing any sort of emotion on your face (THE HORROR!)

If you smoke, it just makes the wrinkles deeper, and if you don’t keep adequately hydrated with fruits & veggies you will APPEAR wrinkly but will be fine once you chug back a bottle.

As you get older, you make less oil to keep the wrinkles at bay, so the wrinkling will look more pronounced.