Small changes, major benefits
We’re all guilty of keeping a bad beauty habit or two, be it stress-chewing our nails or going to bed without removing our makeup. But some of these habits can lead to irreversible damage in the long run. Your hair, skin, and nail habits may seem harmless in the short term, but these could require huge efforts to repair eventually.
So this year, start paying more attention to your beauty habits and making these small changes that will bring you major benefits in time to come!
1. Ditch the Drinking Straw
Trust us, you will be glad you quit this habit. The repeated pursing of the lips leads to lip lines being formed over time. (These are also sometimes called smoker’s lines.) The most effective way to prevent this is simply to stop the continued action that causes them.
2. Change Your Pillowcases Regularly
Our pillowcases contain a scary amount of microscopic bacteria. So even if you can’t detect it, it is most definitely affecting your skin more than you think. Change your pillowcase as often as twice a week to prevent sweat, dirt, and germs from accumulating and causes blemishes and breakouts on your skin.
3. Cleanse Your Face Before Going to Bed
Remnant makeup, dirt, and sebum can accumulate on your pillowcase, especially if you hit the sack without a thorough cleanse. This not only dirties your pillow (see above for that dirty pillowcases do to your skin), which leads to a toxic cycle that continuously harms your skin, it can also cause skin irritation, blocked pores and thus breakouts. Not pretty.
Our recommended method for cleansing:
https://thread.zalora.com.hk/the-beginners-guide-to-double-cleansing-b17199bddec0
If you’re simply too tired to cleanse at night, leave a packet of makeup wipes or cleansing towelettes on your bedside table. These may not be as effective as traditional cleansers, but they can stand in occasionally on days you’re feeling too lazy or tired.
4. Remove Your Makeup Before Exercising
You see a pattern here. It never helps to leave your makeup on for too long, especially during your sweat sessions.
For one thing, your makeup will most likely smudge while you’re exercising, even if you’re wearing waterproof.
For another, makeup and sweat make up a recipe for skin disaster. Our body naturally cools itself by producing sweat when we are hot, and sweat escapes through our pores. The makeup you wear causes those pores to be blocked and sweat, bacteria, and makeup to be trapped, thus causing pimples.
Don’t forget to cleanse after your workout, too!
5. Show Your Hair Some TLC
This year, to make up for all the damage you’ve done to it in the past year — what with all the heating tools and chemical-laden products — it’s time to give your hair some lovin’.
Dry, brittle, and damaged hair is usually due to the stresses caused by chemicals, heat, sun, and chlorine. Over-processing can break down the protein (keratin) in your hair, leading to breakage and split ends, and damaged cuticles that cause frizz. Applying hair masks to your hair once a week can help to restore it back to health.
Also, don’t play with your hair. It may be cute when you were a child, but you’re actually creating stress to your hair and encouraging your scalp to produce more oil. Brush when necessary, and keep your mitts off your locks!
6. Clean Your Makeup Brushes Regularly
Dirty brushes are a major breeding ground for undetectable bacteria and mould. Using them can lead to breakouts or worse, a skin infection. When your brushes are caked in old makeup, you also get less precise results and makeup from the past week all at once. It doesn’t take very long to clean your brushes every week, but your skin will be grateful if you do it diligently.
Here’s our quick guide:
https://thread.zalora.com.hk/the-beginners-guide-to-double-cleansing-b17199bddec0
7. Stop Biting Your Nails
If you’ve just gotten a gorgeous manicure, but find yourself chewing it off soon after, this is the time to break that habit. Instead of constantly reminding yourself not to bite your nails (after you’ve already bitten them), focus instead on caring for your digits. Schedule regular visits to the nail salon and always have some hand cream and cuticle oil stashed in your handbag or desk drawer. After all, if you put so much effort into caring for your nails, you are less likely to chew away at them.
8. Skincare Beyond Your Face
Tonight when you go through your regular skincare routine, don’t forget to apply those beauty products onto your neck, upper chest and the back of your hands as well. These often neglected areas are just as exposed to the elements as your face, and they reveal your age instantly. The products that work for your face will work equally well for your neck, chest, and hands.
9. Get Enough Z’s
Yes, it can be really hard to clock those full eight hours of shut-eye every night. But insufficient sleep can lead to insufficient oxygen going to the eyes, resulting in dry, tired eyes and dark circles.
Sleep not only helps to prevent those under-eye bags, it also helps to improve memory, curb the hormone that causes us to raid the fridge in the middle of the night (thereby aiding in weight loss), and reduce stress.
If you just can’t squeeze in the recommended eight hours, try to slowly ramp up the amount that you’re getting night after night until you arrive at a healthy number of hours that works for you. That number is how much sleep you need to wake up feeling rested, not bleary.
10. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
This one has been espoused time and time again, but it does hold water and it bears repeating because it is so vital. You may think that your oily skin doesn’t need any more moisturizer because, well, it looks greasy. However, insufficient moisture in your skin actually leads to more sebum production (as your skin tries to compensate for that shortage), causing your skin to become even oilier. This is why even oily skin requires moisturizer, although with a lighter formula than that meant for dry skin.
What beauty habits are you guilty of making and what do you resolve to do in 2019? Share your thoughts with us in the Comments section below!
By Joyce Chua for THREAD SG
READ MORE:
https://thread.zalora.com.hk/the-beginners-guide-to-double-cleansing-b17199bddec0https://thread.zalora.com.hk/the-beginners-guide-to-double-cleansing-b17199bddec0https://thread.zalora.com.hk/the-beginners-guide-to-double-cleansing-b17199bddec0