The Dark Side Of Magnifying Mirrors

If not for a magnifying mirror helping us land that liner at just the precise angle, some of us would certainly go out of the house looking like Divine after a raging bender. We’ve all seen how terribly wrong a smoky eye can go. But the scaled-up view that makes your makeup application spot-on also makes every tiny imperfection loom terrifyingly large. What was indiscernible to the naked eye becomes Mount Rushmore in the magnifier’s reflection. And that can have some serious consequences.

Over-Plucking

Your eyebrows just want to peacefully coexist with your face. Left to their own devices, they will happily grow thick and lush enough to hide a small army of Pokemon. When you start examining them under the glare of the magnifying mirror, they suddenly appear wildly unkempt and in serious need of taming. This leads to plucking and more plucking and soon you have a misshapen pair of emoticons adorning your face where your eyebrows used to be. Do this too often, and the damage will be permanent, as repeated plucking can kill hair follicles. You will have only yourself and your magnifying mirror to blame. If you’ve already been down this road, see our recent post on help for the over-plucked brow.

Over-Picking

Pimples, scabs, flaky skin, anything that sticks up on the highly detailed topographical view of your face is going to get your attention and likely, your fingernails. Once seen, these things can’t be unseen and the OCD part of your brain will step in to smooth the landscape once again. All that scrutiny is setting you up for skin damage—divots, craters, inflammation, all things that invite bacteria and can lead scarring. Swap product for picking. Derm-A-Gel® vitamin A therapy accelerates cell turnover and promotes collagen production. Use to clear away impactions and keep skin healthy and glowing without irritation.

Over-Scrubbing

At 10X magnification, your pores look like gaping sinkholes that could swallow a micro Fiat. This distorted perception can lead to obsessive scrubbing. But rather than shrinking your pores, you’re likely to cause irritation, redness and moisture depletion that will result in patchy, flaky skin, which you’ll then want to pick at. And so the cycle continues. Your pores are fine. Instead of punishing them, give them a twice daily swipe with a gentle, refining toner like Vivant's Normalizing Tonic with witch hazel, glycolic and lactic acid to minimize the appearance of pores and restore pH balance.

The magnifying mirror has its place, but unless you are disciplined and reasonable enough to look past the exaggerated vision it presents, you may want to consider ditching this two-faced bathroom accessory to save your skin.