Less is More: Especially true when it comes to ingredients in beauty products or the amount of products you use.

In its eternal quest to sell us more stuff we don’t need, the beauty business is pretty much predicated on lies. There are lies around claims, around effectiveness, around ingredients. There are lies around lies.

Here’s a list of some of the worst offenders, made worse by the fact that we often take them for granted as truths. But surely we’re forgetting a few. Can you think of others?

You should shower daily. And that of course means, lathering up from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. That way your skin can be scaly dry, your scalp a wreck, and you can invest in the myriad of moisturizing, conditioning and so-called soothing products to tame your flyaways, and assuage your flaky skin. This post offers a refresher on other reasons why daily showers may not be ideal.

Exfoliation turns back the clock on aging. While we’re onboard with very moderate and occasional exfoliation, for the last ten years the industry has been pushing extreme scrub and burn beauty rituals: from AHAs to glycolics and beyond. As holistic skincare expert Evan Healy pointed out in our book, this behavior is likely what lead to the rosacea epidemic she saw in her practice, among women who weren’t predisposed to it. I know for myself, using glycolic acid left my skin red and sensitive for years.

Soap isn’t good enough for your body. Why would you use a simple bar of soap with three ingredients when you can use a body wash, specially designed for your body and filled with some of the absolute nastiest chemicals the industry has to offer. Oh and add to that lie, this one: Anything designed for “washing” doesn’t also moisturize as many a body wash likes to claim. And add to that, you don’t even need to use that much soap either.

Cleanse your face morning and night. What could possibly happen to your skin while you’re asleep in your bed that it requires a full scrub down upon waking. I remember reading somewhere how back in the day a big antacid company had the genius idea to picture 2 tablets dropping into water, instead of just one. Within months their sales doubled. That’s what this twice a day face washing is, if you ask me.

Your eyes need their own cream. Siobhan’s gonna fight me on this one (she loves her a good eye cream!), but while I acknowledge that using a special cream on your eyes is a beautiful and gratifying ritual, in my experience they’re just a slightly thicker version of face cream. The skin around our eyes is sensitive and more delicate, but that’s precisely why natural eye creams have been become my favorite face creams.

Your split ends can be fixed. No product can fix split ends, because hair is dead and no amount of conditioner can bring it back to life. Sure, it can help coat or mask, but if your ends are split you should either ignore them (if like me, you live in fear of hair cuts) or get a trim.

Your stretch marks can be cured by cream. While we’re still willing to believe that heavy-duty moisturizing with skin-loving oils and creams may help in the prevention of marks—once you have them, learn to live with them. The darker ones usually fade with time through the skin’s natural repair system, and there’s just no cream that will make them disappear. If you read the book, you’ll remember that I also tried laser to get rid of mine. Terrible idea. It left the area red for months, and did nothing.