6 Body Care Habits That Do More Harm Than Good
Skin experts reveal the everyday rituals we think are helping our skin, but are actually damaging it.
When Filipinos talk about skin care, the face usually gets all the attention. But during the Allure Beauty Congress held last November 22, 2025 at the RCBC Plaza, Makati, two experts reminded the audience that the skin on our body deserves the same science-backed care, consistency, and compassion.
Moderated by host and radio DJ Micha Gayle, the panel brought together board-certified dermatologist Francesca “Chesca” Sy-Alvarado, MD, FPDS, medical director of QuAD Clinic and a fellow of the Philippine Dermatological Society; and aesthetic medicine doctor Cel Martinez, MD. In More Than Moisture: The Power of Whole-Body Beauty, an Allure Conversation supported by Vaseline, they outlined the habits many Filipinos practice—habits that may actually weaken the skin barrier instead of supporting it.
Kim Santos
1. Bathing with hot water
When cooler months (like December) arrive, hot showers feel like heaven. But Dr. Sy-Alvarado warns that the comfort comes at a cost. “For the colder seasons… if you bathe with hot water, oh my gosh, guilty pleasure [I know], but it’s actually very stripping of the skin barrier,” she says.
Hot water “strips our skin’s natural oils,” she explains, adding that this makes compromised barriers even more vulnerable. “You tend to lose water more easily, and [you’re] more prone to flare-ups if you have chronic skin conditions.”
And if you already took a hot bath this morning (as many hands in the audience admitted), Dr. Martinez gently reminds: “It’s very important for you to replenish with [lotions].”
2. Over-exfoliating or exfoliating every day
Scrubs, loofahs, and polishing tools are bathroom staples in many Filipino homes, but Dr. Martinez shares that exfoliation, especially when done daily, can be too aggressive. “We exfoliate sometimes manually with loofahs or with body scrubs,” she says. “But sometimes it’s [also] chemical exfoliation with acids you can find in your body cleanser.”
Dr. Martinez warns against exfoliating every day. “You’re not supposed to,” she tells the crowd. And whenever you do exfoliate, it should always be coupled with adequate moisturization.
3. Changing skin-care products too quickly
With so many products promising brightening, smoothing, or whitening, it’s unsurprising that many switch their routines frequently. Especially when we feel like nothing is working. But Dr. Sy-Alvarado emphasizes that results require commitment. “We really want to find something that we like and use it every day,” she says. “That’s the only way that it will work: If we use it every day and consistently.”
Kim Santos
She adds that multi-functional formulas help streamline routines. It would be nice to have products that are multi-ingredient and multi-functional, she says. “If you can have brightening [and] sun protection along with your lotion, it will save us so much guesswork and less steps,” she advises.
4. Using too many products at once
Ten-step routines may be trending, but they’re rarely necessary. “If you are overwhelmed, just keep it simple,” says Dr. Martinez. “You don’t need a 10-step skin care routine for your skin.”
Consistency, not complexity, is what matters. “Skin care is not a one-size-fits-all,” she adds. “But there are now lotions that have all these essential ingredients you need, so you don’t have to look for two or three other products just to complete your skin care.”
Dr. Sy-Alvarado offers a more technical guide to what your moisturizer should contain: “You want to have moisturizers that have the three categories: emollients, occlusives, and the hydrators. And part of the occlusives, actually, is petroleum jelly.”
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly has long been a staple in Filipino households, but it’s often only used for chapped or dry lips. According to Dr. Sy-Alvarado, it can also do wonders for dry skin.
5. Equating ‘makinis’ with ‘maputi’ and going to extremes to achieve “maputi”
One of the most culturally ingrained habits is our tendency to link smoothness with fairness, a mindset Dr. Sy-Alvarado wishes Filipinos would outgrow. “I wish that we could think more of being makinis and not equate it with being maputi,” Sy-Alvarado says. “A lot of people would say ‘ang kinis niya,’ but in their minds, they only qualify what’s makinis with light skin.”
Her reminder is refreshingly practical: “We could just moisturize, see a derma, and treat skin conditions, and be makinis.” And no, you don’t need IV drips for that glow. As Dr. Sy-Alvarado stresses: “You don’t need to send your liver into overdrive with intravenous supplements.”
6. Thinking of skin as separate from your health
Perhaps the most powerful shift the doctors want for Filipinos is how we frame body care. “I wish everyone [viewed] their skin as an extension of their overall well-being,” Dr. Martinez says. “So you see it as something that’s part of your health, and not just vanity.”
Kim Santos
Because when your skin is healthier, your confidence naturally follows. “Caring for your skin means caring for your health,” she adds.
Body care doesn’t have to be complicated.
What Dr. Sy-Alvarado and Dr. Martinez make clear is that body care doesn’t need to be elaborate to be effective. Scalding showers, daily abrasive scrubs, impulsive product switching, and whitening shortcuts often undermine skin health rather than improve it.
A healthier approach focuses on maintaining the skin barrier, choosing multi-functional formulations, and practicing routines consistently rather than excessively. Just as importantly, it involves understanding the skin as part of one’s overall health, and not an isolated surface meant to meet unrealistic standards.
When body care is guided by these principles, the skin becomes more resilient, comfortable, and stable over time. And as both doctors emphasize, that steady foundation is what allows Filipinos to feel genuinely confident in the skin they live in.
