Good old Mom — always telling us to eat our veggies, that our faces would freeze like that if we kept scowling…and heaping on the beauty advice. But there are quite a few things Mom shared about our appearance that just aren’t true. Here are a few of the rules Mom taught that it’s OK to ignore. First, don’t pop zits, no matter what your mom said. All popping will do is create scarring. And if she told you that popping would give you larger pores, that’s also wrong. Popping won’t change your pore size. If she caught you waxing or pulling stray hairs from your chin or lip, you might’ve heard her say the hair would grow back thicker and more visible. Not true. In fact, when you wax, hair grows back finer and less dense. Shaving, however, may have that effect on hair, so stick with wax or plucking facial hair.

Did you find yourself in hot water when washing your face? Maybe it was because your mom told you to wash it in the hottest water you could stand. Not great advice – in fact, very hot water can exacerbate acne and rosacea, plus it strips skin of essential oils. Try lukewarm or cool water when washing your face. And Mom relied on good old Vaseline to remove makeup – which isn’t entirely wrong. Many women use it to remove eye makeup, and it’s great for protecting the thin skin around the eyes. However, using it on your entire face is a no-no – petroleum jelly can clog pores and is difficult to remove. While we can thank Mom for a lot of advice, beauty advice is best taken with a grain of salt.