1. Drinking water alone will hydrate your skin. Well, maybe a little. If you’re still in your formative years, you’re fine. Of course, you also have to take into consideration the climate (humidity), level of activity (how much you’re perspiring), and how you eat and what you drink (some drinks actually dehydrate you). Without going into great detail, let me just say that as we age, the parts of our skin that held the moisture in when we were younger are no longer able to do the job effectively. Thus, moisture evaporates quickly. To ensure good hydration you must supplement your drinking habit with topical products that provide the extra moisture needed.

2. More is better. Nope, generally not. When it comes to your skin, it’s important to know what your skin needs (it doesn’t need everything that’s out there – at least not all at once!) and to be gentle with it. Here are three areas in particular where more is definitely not better:

• Acne (or regular breakouts): Over cleansing the skin actually does more harm than good by stripping the natural oils and causing the skin to produce even more.

• Exfoliating: This is very common. Over-exfoliating your skin can be harmful. Either by way of using products that are too harsh, being too rough with your skin, or by using too many exfoliating products at one time. Of course, some exfoliating is critical to creating healthy skin.

• Age Management: If one wrinkle cream, line diffuser, or firming lotion is good then all of them together triple your results, right? No. Using too many products at one time is unnecessary and expensive at best and counterproductive and downright harmful at worst. Reassessing your product use every 9-12 months is a good idea. But be careful about doing too much at one time. Some of the overdone results are irreparable.

3. Acne is for teenagers only. Don’t we wish! You can pretty much bet that if you had oily skin as a teenager, you’ll have oily skin as you age. Although sebum (oil) production slows down as you get older (especially after menopause), you still have hormones, stress, and most importantly, pores that can get clogged. Add to this the growing numbers of people with rosacea (which is most often accompanied by acne) and adult acne is not as uncommon as you’d think (or as we’d like it to be). Keeping your skin well exfoliated (gently, remember!) and using products that don’t clog your pores will help.

Author's Bio: 

Over the past 22 years, Ginger Burr, believing that your image is about representing the best of you (not making designers happy), has built a remarkable career as an expert personal image consultant working with women from all walks of life. Whether it’s the “dynasty” shoulder pad era, the never-ending confusion of business casual, or the low-rise pant controversy, she has helped women navigate through (and sometimes completely ignore!) the styles of the season and feel good about how they look.

In 1987, Ginger launched her own company, Total Image Consultants, with the simple credo that a dynamic personal and professional image could be created without having to relinquish personal style or comfort. Today, Ginger offers private consultations and remarkable makeovers for women, brides-to-be and transgender clients. Ginger also directs corporate seminars and community education programs for some of Boston's most prestigious organizations including Harvard Law School, Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels Law Firm, and Fidelity Investments and has been the media spokesperson and fashion expert for Rowenta, Inc.

In 2005, Ginger adopted veganism as a way of life and quickly realized that this personal commitment directly impacted her business. At a time when the terms stylish and vegan rarely appeared in the same sentence, Ginger’s mission became to prove that the two could happily co-exist. Her passion for health, beauty and her commitment to a cruelty-free way of life also led to her being selected as one of VegNews Magazine’s “25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians” in 2007. She now offers guidance, support and insight to her vegan (or just curious and open-minded) clients showing them how to dress fashionably and still be true to their values.

Ginger is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (a music major -- who would ever think that would lead to a career in fashion!). She is also the Past President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) and has served on the AICI's International Board as the Vice President of Member Communications. In addition, Ginger is a past President of the Boston Wedding Group.

Ginger recently launched her one-of-a-kind body image, self-esteem, and style home study program “Who Taught You How to Dress?” which allows women to overcome the obstacles and learn the skills they need to create a wardrobe they love all in the comfort of their own home! In addition, Ginger's book, Fashion Secrets Mother Never Taught You is used today as a style and wardrobe consultation tool.