14 Beauty “Hacks” That You Should Never Try

There’s a beauty hack for everything these days, from brighter teeth to a clearer complexion. But just because celebs and bloggers are saying they work a charm doesn’t mean they can’t actually cause you harm. Even if they’re made with natural ingredients you have in your kitchen, it doesn’t make them safe. Here are 14 “hacks” to avoid at all costs.

  1. Removing blackheads with dental floss. You take dental floss and scrape your skin with it. Um, why? It might appear to work because it’s shedding your dead skin, but it’s actually causing purpura. These are tiny blood vessels that burst under your skin, leaving you looking red. Nasty!
  2. Using baking soda to exfoliate your skin. This has become a classic DIY beauty tip but it’s stupid. Baking soda is alkaline, which disrupts your skin’s pH level. This makes it more susceptible to infections, breakouts, and irritation.
  3. Brightening your skin with lemons. Lemons are being used for loads of skincare tutorials, but you should never put lemon juice on your skin. It can burn your skin because it’s so acidic! Lemon also makes your skin more sensitive to the UV rays, putting you at risk of pigmentation and cancer.
  4. Zapping pimples with toothpaste. This has been around for decades, but it needs to die! Toothpaste doesn’t dry out your pimples—it dries the skin around them, which can make your pimple look worse. Plus, it burns like hell.
  5. Using turmeric on your teeth to make them whiter. This is a mind-boggling DIY hack. Why on earth would you put yellow turmeric spice that stains food yellow on your teeth? Even if it works to make your teeth brighter over time, you’ll have to use a lot of it and it’s abrasive AF. So you get yellow, damaged teeth. Gross!
  6. Putting nail polish on cold sores. Of course you want to get rid of that cold sore ASAP, but nail polish on it? Ugh, just the thought can make you wince! Nail polish is sometimes used to hide cold sores from view, but honestly, it’s just irritating the hell out of your skin and can actually make your cold sore take longer to heal.
  7. Using deodorant to mattify your complexion. You might think that since deodorant keeps your armpits dry, it can remove shine on your face. This logic is seriously flawed because deodorants don’t help you combat oil on your face, which is a culprit of shine. Plus, they can irritate your skin with their alcohol content, and burn like hell if they get into your eyes.
  8. Using lip pencil on your eyes, or eye pencils on your lips. It might seem like doing this is a smart way to make your makeup pencils last longer, but when you use a product that’s not meant for that specific body part, you’re asking for trouble. You can easily transfer germs from your lips to your eyes, or vice versa, causing infections.
  9. Using cinnamon as a face mask. A French beauty vlogger is to blame for this trend, but it’s really bad for your skin. Cinnamon can burn your skin, plus it generates heat which can be irritating. Just leave it on your pancakes, not on your face, okay?
  10. Using hairspray to set makeup. No, no, no! Hairspray is packed with alcohol and it’s very drying for your skin. If you don’t believe this, just see how it feels when you get some on your fingers. Since it sticks makeup to your skin, it can also lead to clogged pores and breakouts. Ugh.
  11. Using permanent marker as eye liner. Oh man. Taylor Swift started this one back in 2010, but it’s stupid. Sharpie fumes can burn and irritate your eyes, plus getting this ink on your eyelids can cause pimples and irritate your lash line. Good luck trying to clean it off!
  12. Putting petroleum jelly on your eyelashes. This crazy beauty hack is said to make your lashes grow longer and fuller. What BS! Petroleum jelly is really gooey and sticky, and you don’t want that getting in your eyes where it can make your vision blurry AF. It can also clog your pores or lead to an eye infection because it’s just not meant for use anywhere near your eyes!
  13. Making mascara out of Oreos. A beauty vlogger made mascara out of Oreo cookies. She mixed them with other beauty products and alcohol, which is dangerous AF for use near your eyes. Smashed up cookies also become crumbs, which you don’t want getting into your eyes. Ouch! Besides, Oreos are food that will expire, which isn’t safe. None of this stuff is safe. Don’t do it! Seriously, just buy some mascara, FFS. 
  14. Using tape to create winged eyeliner. You might feel that this isn’t a biggie, and sticking on some tape when you do your eyeliner could help you perfect the cat-eye look, right? It’s not good for your skin, though. The thin skin around your eyes is very delicate, and you can cause redness and pain when pulling off that tape. Do it every day and you’ll create a lot of unnecessary pain. Ouch!
Giulia Simolo is a writer from Johannesburg, South Africa with a degree in English Language and Literature. She has been working as a journalist for more than a decade, writing for sites including AskMen, Native Interiors, and Live Eco. You can find out more about her on Facebook and LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter @GiuliaSimolo.
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