DURING our teenage years, most of us, ladies, would most likely seek advice from our mothers and/or grandmothers on what we should do to keep ourselves “pretty” despite the changes upon our bodies and us.

Some advice may sound sensible, while some seems a little hard to swallow, which brings us to wonder - do the beauty practices handed down to us hold a grain of scientific truth in them, or are they merely old wives tales?

Guinevere Ho, a U.K. Certified Image Consultant and Associate Trainer with First Impressions Image International (Singapore), shares with us, during an email interview, her views on this topic.

Beauty Myth No. 1: Plucking white hairs yields more white hairs.
	“Old wives tale,” says Guinevere Ho. “Our hair whitens as part of the natural process of aging or due to stress.” She adds, “Plucking white hairs will not cause the white hairs to spread though it may damage the hair follicle to prevent it from being able to produce hair.”
Beauty Myth No. 2: Shaving the hair makes it grow back thicker.
“This is not true,” says Guinevere . “Shaved hair appears thicker only because when we shave, the razor cuts the hair off only on the skin surface that leaves a blunt edge. Therefore, when the hair grows back, the wide part of the strand grows out, making the hair appears thicker.”
Beauty Myth No. 3: Mayonnaise makes for a great conditioner.
	“Okay, this one is not a myth,” says Guinevere. “Mayonnaise does make for a great hair conditioner. The oil and eggs that can be found in mayonnaise is rich in fatty acids and protein that nourishes the hair.” She adds, “but I have to say this hair trick is certainly a little outdated, there are many products out there nowadays that are affordable and can leave your hair feeling a lot smoother, without smelling like a sandwich.”
Beauty Myth No. 4: Applying ice to the skin makes the pores smaller.
“Nothing can make the pores smaller, even toners only make the pores appear smaller but the actual pore size remains unchanged,” says Guinevere . “The size of our pores is the result of genetics and the result of how you take care of your skin.”
Beauty Myth No. 5: Toothpaste can cure pimples.
	“It depends,” says Guinevere. “Some toothpastes have more baking soda in it, which will dry out your pimple(s).” She continues by saying, “on the other hand, some toothpastes such as whitening toothpaste tends to have high levels of hydrogen peroxide that may irritate or burn the skin.”
“Toothpaste works best on a pimple that has come to a head - like a whitehead,” she adds. “If you are going to try it, use a white paste not the gel type and skip this remedy if you have sensitive skin because it will be too irritating.”
Beauty Myth No. 6: Applying beer on the skin before going for a sun tan results in a golden glow.
Guinevere says, “too much sun is damaging to our skin, so don't go sun tanning if you don't even have a proper sun tanning lotion.” She continues by saying, “I've never heard that applying beer before going for a tan will result in a golden glow.”
Beauty Myth No. 7: Crossing the legs leads to varicose veins.
	“The causes of varicose veins are not entirely understood but it can be caused by many reasons such as standing on the feet for a long time without moving, runs in the family, pregnancy and weight,” says Guinevere. “There is however no evidence that crossing your legs will either cause varicose veins or make varicose veins worse once they start to develop.”
Beauty Myth No. 8: Washing the feet when tired will make the veins swell.
“The veins in the feet really swell when the feet are tired. It is the body's own automatic attempt to soothe the tiredness of the feet,” says Guinevere. “Hence, it is definitely a good idea to soak the feet in warm water to further increase the blood circulation to get rid of the tiredness.”