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Too Much Face Cream Can Do More Harm Than Good

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Are you obsessed with face lotions and potions to try and look younger? Do you think more is better? Well, maybe not.

The products you're using could be causing more harm than good. CBS 2's Mary Kay Kleist has a skin cream reality check.

"I got all kinds of stuff, you wanna see?" said Lindy Antonelli. "I am totally obsessed with face creams!"

Every day, Antonelli – who's in her 40's – loads on the skin creams.

"More is better. I can never over-do a face cream. Morning or night. Love it," she said.

It's all to try and keep her skin looking younger.

"I mix and match everything, yeah, I will layer, I usually put on 2 or 3 layers of things and they're not out of any single line or product so they're mix and match totally," she said.

Experts say we should lighten up and go on a beauty diet. And like any diet, that means we should check our labels.

Dr. Jessie Cheung from Rush University Medical Center said, "Labels will tell you what's inside and what works, the active ingredients for these products."

She says it's not a good idea to cross your creams.

"When you pick and choose across different brands, you wind up using the same thing over again sometimes, or combining the same ingredients on top of each other, and that can be very irritating," Cheung said.

Avoid mixing anti-aging products like: Retinoids (retin-a), alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid), or products with Vitamin C. They can interact with each other, causing irritation, redness and even more wrinkles.

"You're stressing out your skin. There's too much going on. You should focus on one product, one ingredient, one active component of it," Cheung said.

To avoid more acne, don't use zit zappers together, products that contain benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid or prescription medication. Dr. Cheung says mix these, and you're wasting money.

"You can wind up deactivating some of the active ingredients that you're spending your precious money on," she said.

Cheung's best advice: more isn't better. Piling on the creams can cause problems you never imagined.

"So if you're using very rich creams that are kind of too thick, these kind of clog up the pores and you end up causing these little millias cysts to happen. Little white heads we call them," Cheung said.

She also said you can save money and simplify by using an all in one product: moisturizer, anti-aging with sunscreen. Some of these are just $20 at the drug store.

It's advice Lindy may put to use.

"I could try! I could really try," Antonelli said.

Experts say the single most important product for your skin is sunscreen, all year long. It stops pre-mature aging caused by the sun.

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