Updated June 6, 2024

Skincare trends have been swirling around — but not all advice from the internet is good. Have you thought about trying a skincare trend you saw while scrolling through your social media feed?

Here’s a breakdown of summer’s hottest skincare trends and whether they’re good or bad ideas, based on what dermatologists have to say.

Sunscreen Contouring (Bad Idea)

Sunscreen is a “trend” every summer, but it took on a life of its own this year. Sunscreen contouring quickly made headlines at the beginning of the summer—for all the wrong reasons. This trend has racked up millions of views thanks to Gewneyth Paltrow and other popular online creators. They claim that the face will look “naturally snatched” when applying SPF 30 sunscreen all over the face and a more protective second layer (SPF 90) to the higher points on the face. 

The goal of this skincare trend is to contour the skin naturally, but it’s a bad idea. Not only can trying this trend give you patchy sunburns and tan lines, but the sun’s harmful UV rays could impact specific parts of your face. 

Routine Sunscreen Application (Good Idea)

While you shouldn’t try sunscreen contouring, protecting your skin from the sun is always a good idea. Anna Lien-Lun Chien says, “Wearing sunscreen is one of the best—and easiest—ways to protect your skin’s appearance and health at any age. Used regularly, sunscreen helps prevent sunburn, skin cancer, and premature aging.” 

When it comes to your skincare routine, we recommend placing a quarter-sized amount onto your face and neck. Your sunscreen should be at least 30 SPF, and should always be the final product in your morning skincare routine!

Have you ever thought about what “SPF” actually means? Here’s a quick definition from the FDA website: “SPF (sun protection factor) is a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn on protected skin (i.e., in the presence of sunscreen) relative to the amount of solar energy required to produce sunburn on unprotected skin. As the SPF value increases, sunburn protection increases.” 

Kimberly Mallett, research associate in the Penn State Prevention Research Center, says, "Imagine that your skin normally begins to burn after 10 minutes in full sun without any protection. A 30 SPF sunscreen would provide 30 times the protection of no sunscreen."

Does that mean that you have about 300 minutes before you’d start to burn? Not necessarily. She continues, “I recommend sunscreen application every one to two hours when outdoors, especially if swimming or sweating a lot. Even if the sunscreen has a SPF of 100, claims to be sweatproof and waterproof, and provides all-day protection, it needs to be reapplied to provide optimal protection."

Moral of the story: you can’t rely on using a higher SPF to protect you for longer. It doesn’t matter which SPF you use—apply sunscreen every two hours for maximum protection. 

DIY Skincare Trends (Bad Idea)

DIY skincare treatments have become very popular this summer—people are gravitating toward using the most natural ingredients possible. 

Here’s the thing: natural ingredients can cause harm to your skin if misused. Coconut oil can cause breakouts. Lemon juice and coffee grinds can cause burns. See where we’re going with this? Formulating skincare products can do much more harm than good. 

Dermatologist Dr. Hope Mitchell spoke to Insider about how harmful DIY beauty treatments are to the skin. She said, “DIY beauty trends may cost you more money in the long run. Improper skin care management, wrong product mixing, and products with strong, active ingredients used on sensitive skin may cause scarring and skin trauma. That may lead to untreatable hypo and hyperpigmentation, chemical burn, skin irritation, and infection.”

Instead of formulating your own beauty products, your skin will benefit from sticking with the brands and products that work well for you. 

Clean Skincare (Good Idea)

Clean skincare products are becoming more popular than ever. It’s a good idea to be intentional about what you place on your skin. The ingredients in a product really make or break it. Why put harsh chemicals on your skin when you don’t need to? Clean skincare is gentle and effective. 

Luckily, you can use clean skincare without formulating the products yourself. Instead of formulating your own DIY face mask that could damage your skin, try our best-selling Anti-Wrinkle & Rejuvenating Gold Facial Mask made with all-natural and vegan ingredients. 

Maybe ditch the coffee grinds that could burn your skin. You can safely enjoy the benefits of caffeine on the skin with our Rejuvenating Caffeine Eye Cream with Ginseng.