You wash your face every night. You drink enough water daily. You eat right. You exercise. You use SPF every day. You get enough sleep.
Great job!
However, a few of your daily beauty habits may still be hurting you:
Wrapping wet hair up in a towel. Rubbing your wet hair with a towel, pulling/wrapping it too tightly, or brushing or combing it too hard can all lead to damaged, frizzy locks.
Instead: Gently blot away excess moisture with a towel. If you must wrap up your wet hair after climbing out of the shower, use a cotton t-shirt instead, since the fabric tend to be more gentle on hair. Also, be sure to use a good leave-in conditioner and a widetooth comb.
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Being too hard on your face in the morning: When you sleep, your skin regenerates, reestablishes its pH, and increases collagen production. So using harsh cleansers and scrubs when you first wake up can undo these great benefits.
Instead: Cleanse your skin well before you go to bed. In the morning, skip the cleanser completely, splash your face with water and apply a moisturizer with SPF. Or, use a mild cleanser, rinse carefully, and apply a moisturizer with SPF.
Misusing your mascara. Moving the brush in and out multiple times forces air, and bacteria, deeper into the tube.
Instead: Gently pull out the wand, moving it around inside the container and scraping the edge as minimally as possible.
Not showing your neck enough love. Not moisturizing and applying sunscreen below your jawline can cause your neck to show signs of aging faster.
Instead: Treat the skin on your neck the same way you treat the skin on your face. Use upward and outward motions. Also, use gentle cleansers, and avoid using anti-aging treatments that contain salicylic acid, glycolic acid, or retinol on your neck.
Using too many beauty products. Did you know that beauty product ingredients don’t necessarily all get along? For example, using retinol and benzoyl peroxide can deactivate the effects of the retinol.
Instead: Simplify things. Use a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, SPF, a topical retinoid, and maybe one other carefully selected antioxidant product. If necessary, talk to a dermatologist or esthetician, who can recommend the most effective routine for your needs.
