Never, ever go to bed with your makeup on :

Most women think terrible things will happen to their skin by not taking off their makeup before bed. But the reality is it’s usually not much of a problem. Think about it this way: What’s the difference between wearing the makeup on your skin for the eight hours that you’re sleeping as opposed to the 12 hours that you wear it during the day? There’s really not much of a difference, particularly if you sleep on your back. It is possible to get eye irritation from your pillow rubbing makeup into your eye but that’s very uncommon.”

Popping a zit will help it go away faster :

Only pimples that have come to a white head are safe to extract. Even then, it is best to visit an aesthetician or other skin health professional to get a treatment and have these extractions done properly. Randomly squeezing papules (pimples that have not come to a head) can lead to infection and scarring. It is best to keep skin clean and hydrated and use products with either benzoyl peroxide, retinol, or salicylic acid to clear the skin overall.

A base tan will protect my skin from burning :

Your skin cells see every tan or burn as damage to the cellular network, which signals your skin cells to repair the damage. Repeating this over and over throughout your lifetime causes cellular mutations, and can ultimately lead to skin cancer. This is why it’s important to always protect your skin with sunscreen.

Facial exercises will cure my wrinkles :

I recently had a patient tell me she does daily ‘facial yoga’ exercises in order to tighten her skin and remove her wrinkles. This is not the first time that I have heard about this craze, and it simply is not possible to eliminate existing wrinkles on the skin. Actually, these exercises can aggravate the wrinkles that are present, due to the persistent movement of the facial muscles. Unfortunately, once wrinkles are formed there is no way to permanently erase them naturally.

Toothpaste will zap a zit :

Many people use toothpaste as a home remedy to quickly reduce the size of the cold sore or pimple, but there is no real evidence that toothpaste can help either of these conditions. Some toothpaste contains hydrogen peroxide, which is in fact an antiseptic, so skin bacteria and virus levels may temporarily go down from its application. But other ingredients in toothpastes can irritate the skin and cause further breakouts.

You can’t get skin cancer under your swimsuit! :

When the sun shines on one spot on your skin and does damage, that damage is transmitted via a very complex process throughout all of your skin, even to places that have never seen the sun. That’s why during a skin cancer check your dermatologist looks through your scalp and places where your bathing suit covers because no part of your skin is immune to melanoma. The reality is you can get a skin cancer anywhere on your skin if you have had exposure to damaging ultraviolet radiation. SPF from head to toe is a non-negotiable.

Moisturizers never work for me; my skin is always so dry :

Sometimes moisturizers can’t do their job well because aging and/or sun-damaged skin has too many layers of dead cells built up, so the moisturizers can’t penetrate. A little gentle exfoliation should do the trick, then you moisturize.

My acne has nothing to do with what I eat :

There are now several studies indicating that acne can be related to milk and to high-glycemic diets. My experience is that many who suffer with acne can be helped with a customized diet and the right supplements. It is true that one person may be able to eat the foods that cause another to break out without getting any acne herself.

Tying a string tightly around a skin growth will make it die and fall off :

“This was a very common old wives’ tale, especially among older generations. While this may work for certain benign skin tags, dermatologists shudder at this old-fashioned treatment. Not only can this cause excessive bleeding at the site, requiring a doctor’s attention, it may also cause incomplete removal of the lesion and permanent scarring. Even worse, it may delay the diagnosis of something more serious, such as skin cancer, which requires diagnosis by a board-certified dermatologist.

I can get rid of dark spots with a little soap and elbow grease :

Excess pigmentation in the skin is a result of many factors, but inflammation, typically from the sun, is the main cause of these spots or dark patches. Trying to scrub them off can make them worse. Hyperpigmentation needs to be treated gently with ingredients designed to lighten and even out skin tone. Sunscreen is also critical, as it will protect the skin from further sun damage.

Tanning clears up acne :

A tan can briefly mask redness and irritation from acne, but there is no evidence-based research supporting the idea that tanning can help clear up acne. In fact, tanning can make acne-prone skin worse as it leads to dry, irritated, and burned skin. Not to mention, tanning promotes sweating, and excessive sweating leads to clogged pores, which ultimately can lead to more acne. Tanning can also lead to hyperpigmentation of the skin, making preexisting acne scars appear darker.

Any red bumps on my face have to be acne, right? :

Rosacea can seem like acne as both conditions can share common features, like redness and pimples. There are three simple differences between acne and rosacea: age of onset, location, and symptoms. Acne can occur at any age, but is most common in teens; rosacea typically occurs after age 30. While both acne and rosacea can appear in the central portion of the face, acne also commonly appears along the hairline and jawline, body, arms, and back, whereas rosacea can irritate the eyes. Blackheads are common with acne, but not typically seen in rosacea.

Botox makes you numb :

This misconception is so popular it was even part of a comedy bit on the TV show Frasier but the truth is that all neurotoxin injections, including Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin, only block the nerve that leads to the muscle fiber, not the sensory nerve that mediates touch and sensation. If you are experiencing a mild degree of numbness after getting Botox, that may be related to the numbing cream and/or the ice pack. If severe or prolong numbness persists, that may be a signal of a more serious, unrelated condition to your Botox treatments, and I would recommend proceeding to the nearest ER immediately to rule out the possibility of something more serious.

I can pop a cyst just like I pop a zit :

Most lesions that patients call ‘cysts’ are what we call ‘epidermal inclusion cysts.’ These are essentially deep pockets of dead skin cells that get slowly bigger with time and require surgery to remove. ‘Popping’ these hurts and drains the contents temporarily. The cysts typically fill back up with time. Instead, a simple initial surgical removal would cure the problem.

When it comes to cancer, I only have to worry about spots that stick up :

While it is true that advanced melanomas are often raised above the skin, many melanomas, particularly early melanomas, are flat. There are also many benign growths that begin to appear on the skin, especially after you turn 40, that are raised but have no malignant potential. A yearly skin exam by your dermatologist is the best way to be sure that all of your ‘spots’ are OK.