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30 Hair and Beauty Products that Aren’t Worth the Money

We’ve all wandered the aisles at the store and grabbed a product off the shelf that claimed to get rid of something on ourselves that we’re not jazzed about. It could be cellulite, skin tags, tattoos, and any number of things. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not. As you throw it in your cart, you may think that it’s worth it, but you’re actually wasting your money. Some products don’t really do anything to help issues that you’d rather not have with your skin or hair.

The beauty market is one of the most marketed things around. Each day, we see tons of advertisements that show off a new cream with an ingredient that’ll definitely get rid of those fine lines. It’s no surprise that companies have a huge budget on marketing, one that might even dwarf the amount they spent on research and development.

Over the years, brands have released a lot of stuff that’s just…crap. They don’t do anything, and we’re constantly falling for it. To help save you money, we’ve made a list of 30 things that aren’t worth the money. These are items that are nothing but a black hole for our money, and it’s time to start saving.

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High-End Mascara

High-End Mascara

High-end mascara isn’t too different from formulas you’d find at the drugstore. You can purchase L’Oréal Paris Lash Paradise, and it’ll be just as good as some other more expensive brands. Most high-end mascaras have a better brush, but you can always save the brush and use it in a drugstore brand – just make sure to wash it thoroughly!

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Foundation with High SPF Sunscreen

Foundation with High SPF Sunscreen

Foundation, concealer, and any other makeup with sunscreen is a total sham. The amount of product you’d have to use is utterly ridiculous. You’d literally have to slather it on, using three times as much as you normally would. Your best bet is to use sunscreen under your foundation.

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Expensive Body Scrubs

Expensive Body Scrubs

Body scrubs are pretty much all the same. The expensive ones don’t have any different products that something the drugstore might carry. You can save yourself some serious money by picking up something at CVS or Walgreens.

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Shave Minimizing Lotion

Shave Minimizing Lotion

No shave minimizing lotion can decrease the speed your hair grows. It might make it finer, but the jury is still out on that one. Some people swear up and down that it makes their hair thinner while dermatologists say otherwise. One thing is for sure: it won’t slow down the growth of your hair.

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Eyelash Primer

Eyelash Primer

Eyelash primers don’t do anything. They’re a marking gimmick to get you to add another step to your beauty routine and to force you to buy another product. Your eyelashes don’t need a primer. Instead, wear two coats of mascara for a thicker and longer lash.

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Lip Exfoliators

Lip Exfoliators

Many beauty gurus say that you should use a lip exfoliator, and while that may be true, you don’t have to buy one. You can get the same effect with a little coconut oil and sugar. Your lips will be just as smooth without the heavy price tag and chemicals in makeup.

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Natural Hair Makeup Brushes

Natural Hair Makeup Brushes

Natural hair makeup brushes may seem like a fine investment, but synthetic fibers work just as well. In general, high-end makeup brushes are usually a sham. Some brands last longer than others, but drugstore brands like ELF make quality makeup brushes for around a dollar that work just fine. Plus, it’s worth noting that you get better pigment with your finger anyway.

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Cellulite Products

Cellulite Products

Cellulite products don’t work, or else everyone would be using them. Some products may cause temporary blood vessel dilation, which could lead to swelling, but it won’t treat the cellulite. If cellulite is an issue for you, just build muscle.

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Anti-Aging Creams

Anti-Aging Creams

Companies that produce anti-aging creams use any marketing technique they can think of to get you to buy their product, including trendy ingredients like snake venom and stem cells. In reality, it’s all snake oil. The best way to keep your skin healthy is to drink plenty of water, use sunscreen, and eat a healthy diet.

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Pore Strips

Pore Strips

It’s hard to believe pore strips don’t work because you can see the results once you rip it off your face. The only problem is that you could be damaging your body. Repeated abuse of the skin causes irritation that could make acne worse. Furthermore, dermatologists say that pore strips can break the blood vessels that are near the skin’s surface, causing even more redness. The stuff on the pore strips is most likely the sebaceous filament – oil that keeps dirt from settling into your pores and causing pimples.

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Anti-Aging Shampoo

Anti-Aging Shampoo

As we age, our hair naturally dulls in color and changes color. No shampoo can stop the color change, and the hair dulling is from years of heating products and styling. You can get the shine back with a DIY hair mask. Anti-aging shampoo can’t penetrate deep enough to do anything to improve the look or feel of your locks.

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Oil Blotting Sheets

Oil Blotting Sheets

Oil blotting sheets have become especially popular lately. First of all, oil is all bad. It helps moisturize and protect your skin. Second, you don’t need them unless you’re extremely oily. Finally, oil blotting sheets can’t do anything that a tissue can’t. If you have to buy oil blotting sheets, go for drugstore brands.

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Pore Strips

Pore Strips

It’s hard to believe pore strips don’t work because you can see the results once you rip it off your face. The only problem is that you could be damaging your body. Repeated abuse of the skin causes irritation that could make acne worse. Furthermore, dermatologists say that pore strips can break the blood vessels that are near the skin’s surface, causing even more redness. The stuff on the pore strips is most likely the sebaceous filament – oil that keeps dirt from settling into your pores and causing pimples.

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Foot and Heel Creams

Foot and Heel Creams

Moisturizer for any specific part of the body is a genius marketing tactic the public has fallen for. You don’t need a foot and heel cream. A good, hydrating lotion will do the same thing without forcing you to purchase several different products.

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Expensive Makeup Removers

Expensive Makeup Removers

Expensive makeup removers can’t do anything that the drugstore brands cannot do. In most cases, they have the same active ingredients, although they may add a different type of perfume. A bottle of micellar water or Cetaphil gentle facial cleanser is your best bet and costs significantly less.

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High SPF Sunscreen

High SPF Sunscreen

Dermatologists and skin cancer experts agree you shouldn’t buy high SPF sunscreens. Anything over SPF 30 is a waste because it already protects your body against 97% of the sun’s harmful rays. SPF 50 blocks approximately 98%, and experts aren’t sure that 50+ does any better. Nothing will protect you 100% other than staying out of the sun completely.

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Beach Spray

Beach Spray

Beach spray can give you that Fiji look without the expensive price tag of flying to the island. However, it can damage your hair, especially if you use it often. The salt can dry out your hair, making it more prone to breakage, split ends, and other types of damage.

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High-Priced Dry Shampoos

High-Priced Dry Shampoos

Dry shampoo comes in a variety of prices from around $7 to $30 per can. You don’t need to go for the expensive products for better oil control. The drugstore brands will do the same thing at a fraction of the cost. In all honesty, you can cut out dry shampoo altogether and buy arrowroot powder from the store. It also soaks up oil and is even cheaper.

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Fancy Hair Accessories

Fancy Hair Accessories

We’re always losing our hair accessories, so why spend a lot of money on something that’ll go missing in a few weeks anyway? Bobby pins, hair ties, and other accessories you may lose on a regular basis should be purchased as cheaply as possible. The fancy ones are pretty until they disappear – along with the money you shelled out for them.

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Skin Detox

Skin Detox

Our bodies don’t need a detox, inside or out. Our bodies are incredibly efficient in removing heavy metals, chemicals, and anything else we can’t use from our bodies. That’s why we secret oil – to remove any dirt that could get stuck in our pores. No one should ever buy skin detox products.

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Stretch Mark Creams

Stretch Mark Creams

This one broke my heart, but it’s the truth. Stretch mark creams don’t do anything. A recent study by the British Journal of Dermatology found that these products don’t do anything to improve the look or feel of our skin. This means if your stretch marks went away after using cream, they probably would have gone away without it, too.

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Split End Serums

Split End Serums

Split ends happen, and there’s nothing a serum can do to improve them. The only way you can remove split ends is by cutting them off. Otherwise, they’ll just continue and make the look and feel of your hair worse. Once damage begins in your hair, it can be hard to fix it.

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Lip Plumpers

Lip Plumpers

We all want bigger lips, but over-the-counter products can’t give us supermodel's lips. The lip glosses and other things we schmear on our lips temporarily irritates them to plump by dilating blood vessels, but this may only last ten minutes. The other products do pretty much the same thing, but the swelling can be much worse, which, in turn, can cause damage to your lips.

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Expensive Electric Toothbrushes

Expensive Electric Toothbrushes

Electric toothbrushes are mostly the same whether it costs $8 or $108. The only difference is maybe the brush head and the price tag. Regularly brushing and flossing is the best thing you can do for your teeth, even if it’s with a manual toothbrush.

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Eyelid Primer

Eyelid Primer

Eyelid primers are basically the same thing as silicone-based facial primers. Some may have a bit of tent, but the quality of your eyeshadow is the most important thing. Skip the eyelid primer, use a silicone-based facial primer, and buy good eyeshadows.

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High-End Body Wash

High-End Body Wash

It doesn’t matter if Yves Saint Laurent or Dior came out with a new body wash. Most of the time, these cleansers have so much perfume that it can dry out the skin and make the feel of it so much worse. You’re better off buying drugstore body wash and spritzing on the perfume.

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Box Hair Dye

Box Hair Dye

Box hair dye may be cheap, but you’re paying a price. It can damage your hair and can even be expired. Instead, you can buy color, developer, and whatever else you need from a beauty store. You never know how long that box dye sat on a shelf before being sold.

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Most Custom Products

Most Custom Products

If you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen custom shampoo, mascara, and other products that seem to be tailored just for you. While lipstick and foundation may be a great idea, most custom products are a waste. Custom shampoo isn’t really designed for you other than your favorite smell. The custom mascaras are usually something the brand already sells as a ready-to-buy product.

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Skin Tag Removal Products

Skin Tag Removal Products

Skin tags are annoying and can look unsightly, but you should never try to remove them at home. It’s one of the most dangerous things you can do. At-home skin tag removal kits try to mimic the care you get in a dermatologist’s office, but there’s a reason they went to school for so long. Their methods don’t damage the skin – something you can do with the products that are readily available on the shelves.

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Hair Minimizing Lotion

Hair Minimizing Lotion

No shaving or hair minimizing lotion can decrease the speed your hair grows. It might make it finer, but the jury is still out on that one. Some people swear up and down that it makes their hair thinner while dermatologists say otherwise. One thing is for sure: it won’t slow down the growth of your hair.

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