The internet is a crazy yet interesting web of sometimes useless and sometimes quite useful information, and the same goes for beauty hacks found on the net, too.
Earlier this week, beauty vlogger Farah Dhukai uploaded a video that essentially showed her using baby diaper rash cream as an overnight spot treatment (or a full face mask, if you dare) to cure her acne. Of course, like most ready to test out the most side eye-worthy tricks for flawless skin, the video went viral immediately. However, when it comes to skincare more so than beauty trends, you have to be very careful about what you try because everyone’s skin reacts to products differently. After commenters had mixed opinions on Dhukai’s hack and people around the web continued to chime in with their own responses, InStyle decided to get down to the bottom of the experimental treatment by asking prominent New York city dermatologist, Dr. Leslie Gerstman, her thoughts.
So, is this a beauty fad or the real deal? Here’s what Dr. Gerstman says:
“Obviously, you have to look through the list of ingredients. Different brands have different ingredients but the main ingredients are Zinc and Petroleum. Zinc is typically a good ingredient, it’s anti-inflammatory and it’s good for wound healing and that’s essentially what a pimple is. There’s a lot of inflammation and bacteria and it needs to be healed. However, the petroleum is a protective agent, which is why it’s good for babies — it protects the skin. It’s almost like having cellophane on the skin. The problem is that if you have skin that has acne you’re completely closing the pores when you apply petroleum. That’s why it’s not a good idea. Basically you’re taking oily, inflated and potentially infected skin and putting a barrier on it and potentially making it worse.”
Although zinc is a proven acne-combating ingredient, petroleum will seriously clog your pores. So, at the end of the day, you should probably steer clear of this beauty hack if you cherish your skin and don’t want to invite any other zits that will then turn into blemishes and then pesky hyperpigmentation.
