4 Beauty Trends You Should Avoid At All Costs

The world of beauty is ripe with tips, tricks, and must-have products. Unfortunately, many popular beauty trends are ineffective at best, and dangerous at worst.

As a board certified plastic surgeon, it’s not unusual for a patient to have tried one or more of the latest crazes before consulting with me or our Richmond skincare team for help improving their appearance. I’d prefer that these patients—and everyone else—avoid the time, expense and potential dangers of beauty tactics that lack scientific basis and stick to safe, proven treatments. With this in mind, I’ve listed a few beauty fads you should absolutely say “no” to.

Avoid: DIY face masks & at-home chemical peels

We’ve all seen recipes for DIY face masks and skin scrubs that are touted as cheap alternatives to professional products or treatments, but these homemade concoctions are largely a waste of time and money. While most food-based recipes probably won’t do much harm, they won’t help much either, since they don’t contain the concentrated ingredients needed to achieve measurable improvements in skin tone or texture.

Don’t gamble with DIY chemical peels. If the ingredients aren’t right for your skin type or left on too long, a peel can damage or even scar your skin. For a safe peel that works, book treatment only with a qualified, experienced medical provider.

But that doesn’t mean your skin is necessarily safe; benign-sounding fruit masques contain acids that can inflame and irritate sensitive skin. Likewise, scrubs made from ground nutshells, sugar, or salt can be overly abrasive and possibly cause infection. In sum, you will likely get more beauty benefits from eating healthy ingredients like avocados, papayas, and almonds than from putting them on your face!

Mail-order chemicals peels are another thing to avoid. Without a professional guiding your treatment, you are taking a gamble. Many DIY peels lack the ingredients to make a noticeable difference, while stronger formulas are seriously risky. If the peel is not right for your skin type, applied improperly, or left on too long it can damage or even scar your skin. Additionally, since OTC beauty products are not regulated the same way as prescription-only products, there is no way to be certain that an at-home peel contains the ingredients in the concentrations listed on the label.

Instead, try: a medical-grade peel or facial

Chemical peels can be excellent for minimizing skin flaws and revealing a glowing, healthy complexion—if, and only if, they are performed by an qualified provider, such as a board certified plastic surgeon, registered nurse, or licensed aesthetician. These medical professionals not only have access to the “real deal” chemical peels, which contain thoroughly tested, clinical-strength ingredients that will actually achieve the improvements you seek, but they will also have the training and experience to know what peels and concentrations of active ingredients will be safe and effective for your unique skin and goals.

Avoid: waist trainers

Popularized by the Kardashians and other celebs, a waist trainer is just a medieval corset by a modern name—not to mention a dangerous beauty trend. This ultra-tight fitting garment forces your figure into a dramatic hourglass shape while you wear it, but there is no proof that a waist trainer has any lasting effect. What can linger from prolonged use: breathing problems, indigestion, and organ displacement and damage caused by the intense squeezing.

Instead, consider: liposuction

While wearing a corset once in awhile is unlikely to do harm, the only practical, safe way to change your figure is through body contouring, with liposuction being the top choice. A skilled plastic surgeon can perform liposuction to sculpt more dramatic curves that look natural with your unique anatomy. You might be surprised by how quick recovery can be—most patients are back to work with 1 week after surgery. Today there are also non-invasive options to trim bothersome fat deposits, albeit with less detailed sculpting, if you’d rather skip surgery.

Waist training to slim down is only a waste of money (or worse). Juice cleansing isn’t much better. Save your resources for safe, lasting improvements in your body contour, courtesy of a personal trainer, dietitian, or board certified plastic surgeon.

To ensure your safety and get attractive results, choose a board certified plastic surgeon to perform liposuction or body contouring. These individuals have years of training in aesthetic surgery and perform surgery in accredited surgery centers.

Be suspect of any bargain liposuction offers: surgeons who advertise low prices often have inadequate training in the procedure, and may perform surgery in their office or other low-budget facility to cut down on costs. Liposuction is real surgery and you should only consent to have it in a facility equipped to hospital standards for safety.

Avoid: Brazilian bikini wax

Women (and even men) have used waxing to remove pubic hair for centuries. That doesn’t mean it is a good idea. Waxing isn’t only one of the most painful ways to remove hair, but it also breaks the skin, leaving very sensitive areas vulnerable to potentially dangerous infections.

Instead, consider: laser hair removal

When performed by an experienced, licensed medical provider, laser hair removal is a safe, effective way to remove unwanted body hair. Not only will it hurt less (today’s lasers have built-in cooling to reduce discomfort; a numbing cream prior to treatment can also help), but the results can last years, sparing you from repeated exposure to the pain and risks of waxing.

Avoid: multi-day juice “cleanses”

With claims that it can help you lose weight, get perfect skin, and “detox” your body, it’s no surprise juice cleansing is en vogue—still, don’t be tempted by this one. First, juice cleanses don’t detox anything (if you have a healthy liver, you are detoxing just fine). Also, cleanses are just fancy (and often very expensive) crash diets. They don’t help you make any lasting dietary changes, and any weight you lose will likely come right back as soon as the cleanse is over.

At best, the severe calorie restriction required with most juice cleanses can make you feel sluggish and cranky. At worst, extended juice cleansing can lead your body to metabolize muscle tissue for energy or possibly even result in a dangerous electrolyte imbalance.

Instead, try this: team up with professionals for lasting weight loss

If your own diet and exercise efforts haven’t gotten results, you might be surprised at what a difference a professionally-guided plan can make. A registered dietician can help you design meal plans and shopping lists based on your goals and food preferences, while a personal trainer can give you fun, challenging workouts and provide accountability to boot. If you still have improvements you’d like to make after your reach your goal weight, then an experienced plastic surgeon can guide you through your options to refine your shape further.

If I’ve given you some food for thought, or perhaps even piqued your interest in some safe, effective ways to enhance your appearance, I would be happy to discuss your options further during a personal consultation. Please contact my office to schedule an appointment.