10 Skincare Mistakes That Are Secretly Damaging Your Skin

• Nikhil Rana
• May 4, 2026
• Beauty
• Skincare Mistakes
• 0 Comments

Alright so here is the thing.

I used to think I had this whole skin thing figured out. You know? Wash your face. Smear some lotion on. Done. Easy.

Yeah no.

My skin started getting weird. Red in some places. Dry in others. Random breakouts for absolutely no reason. I was so confused.

And then slowly. Very slowly. Embarrassingly slowly. I figured out that I was the problem. Not my skin. Me. Just me doing stupid stuff every day without realizing it.

So let me tell you what I learned. The hard way. So maybe you don’t have to.

10 Skincare Mistakes To Avoid

1. Overwashing Your Face

I used to wash my face constantly. Like wake up? Wash. Feel a tiny bit oily at lunch? Wash. Get home from work? Wash. Right before bed? Wash again.

My face was so tight and dry. But also oily. At the same time. Made zero sense right?

Here is what is happening. When you wash too much, you strip everything off. Your skin freaks out. It thinks you are attacking it. So it makes double the oil to protect itself. You end up greasier than before. Backwards I know.

Just wash twice. Morning and night. That is plenty. Your face knows what it is doing. Trust it a little. It’s one of the biggest skincare mistakes.

2. Not Wearing Sunscreen on Cloudy Days

I never wore sunscreen on cloudy days. Ever. I was like “there is no sun genius. What is the point?”

Yeah so I was an idiot.

Those UV rays go right through clouds. Through car windows too. Through the office window you sit next to for eight hours every single day. You are getting damaged and you do not even feel it happening.

This is one of those common skincare mistakes that just quietly hurts you over time. No drama. Just damage. Put on SPF every morning. Even if it is raining. Even if you are not leaving the house. Just do it.

3. Over-exfoliating with Harsh, Gritty Scrubs

Oh man. I loved scrubs. You know the gritty ones? They feel so good. Like you are really getting in there and cleaning properly.

Turns out that gritty feeling is actually tiny little scratches. You are basically taking sandpaper to your face. Every single day. No wonder my skin was always red and angry.

Look exfoliating is fine. Good even. Just not every day. Two or three times a week max. Your face is not a wooden floor you are sanding down. Be nice to it.

4. Sleeping with Makeup on/not Removing Makeup Before Bed

I am not even going to pretend I do not sleep in my makeup sometimes.

You get home late. You are exhausted. The bed is right there. The bathroom feels like it is a mile away.
>I know. I really really know.

I swear on my life. And every single time I fall asleep in my make up, my face is sure to make me painfully aware of that choice the following morning. I wake up. I look in the mirror. And there they are. But this is a face staring back at me from the sunny side of my life — and yet there are three fresh little ghouls scowling at me.  And I still do it anyway. Because I was tired and made a poor choice.

This is one of the oldest mistakes in skincare because it feels like nothing on a single night. But it adds up. Just get a box of wipes and leave it by your bed.

5. Not Cleaning your Makeup Brushes and Phone Regularly

Be honest with me. Really honest.

Last time you washed your brushes?

Yeah. That is what I thought.

And your phone. We all know that you put your disgusting smudged up screen up against your cheek for hours every day. Next thing you know, you’re questioning why the fuck are you only getting pimples on one side of your face.

In fact, the reason this is such a silly common skincare mistake takes two minutes to sort. Two minutes! Shampoo wash the brushes every month. This means wipe your cellphone with a tissue every few days. Done. Fixed. You are welcome.

6. Applying Skincare Products in the Wrong Order

I used to just slap stuff on in whatever order. Thick moisturizer first. Then serum on top because I forgot I owned serum.

That is completely backwards.

When you put thick stuff first, the thin watery stuff cannot get through. It just sits on top. Doing nothing. You are literally throwing money down the drain.

Just remember this. Thin to thick. Watery things first. Then serums, moisturizer, then sunscreen. That is the order.

7. Picking or Squeezing Pimples

Every single one of us. You stand in front of the mirror and you lean in real close and tilt your head. You think “just one little squeeze. What is the worst that could happen.”

It gets bigger. And redder, leaves a dark mark for three months.

I still do this sometimes. I know better and I still do it. It is so hard to stop. This is one of the hardest skincare routine mistakes to break honestly.

Try those pimple patches. The little sticky dots. Put one on and walk away from the mirror. It works so much better I promise. Just walk away.

8. Neglecting your Neck

You know how you put nice cream on your face and then you just stop right at your jawline?

What about your poor neck?

Your neck is just sitting down there getting zero love. Zero attention. Getting all the sun. Getting all the wrinkles. And one day you are going to have a nice smooth face attached to a crepey old neck and you are going to be so annoyed at yourself.

Just bring everything down to your chest. Every product. Even the cheap drugstore stuff. Your neck will thank you later when you are older.

9. Not being Patient and Constantly Switching Products too Quickly before they have Time to Work

We are so impatient. I am so impatient.

You try a new thing on Monday. By Friday you do not see a difference so you buy something else. Then something else. Then something else. Your bathroom shelf looks like a pharmacy exploded.

Here is the thing nobody tells you. Most skincare stuff takes two months to work. Two months! Your skin needs time to adjust and figure things out.

This is probably the biggest common skincare mistake I see everyone making. We want results right now this second. But skin does not work like that. It is slow.

10. Using very Hot Water on your Face

Hot showers feel amazing. I never ever going to tell you stop the hot showers. Thus, I would be a hypocrite and also a monster.
However, when you do it with the same boiling water on your face however, now that is doing yourself a disservice. That hot water is stripping out your natural barrier. Your face is left feeling tight and itchy and somewhat stingy.

That is not clean. That is damaged.

Just turn the temperature down a little when you wash your face. Lukewarm is fine. Your face will stop feeling so angry after a few days. Just try it.

Conclusion

Look here is the real truth

Nobody has perfect skin. Not the people on Instagram with the ring lights. Not your friend who claims she never gets pimples. Nobody.

We all make skincare mistakes, we all get lazy and squeeze pimples sometimes. It is fine. You are fine.

Just pick one thing from this list. One single thing. Maybe stop sleeping in your makeup. Or finally clean those nasty brushes. Or just wear sunscreen on cloudy days.

Do that for two weeks. That is it. Just two little weeks.

You will see a difference. I promise you will.

Your skin is not your enemy. It is just tired. Be gentle with it. That is all. Really.