Have you looked in the mirror lately? Did you like what you see?
Women are vain when it comes to their appearance. We like to look great because it boosts our confidence. That’s the reason why taking care of your skin is important.
Yet, glowing and youthful-looking skin is not easy to achieve. There are times when you believe that you’re putting all the right creams and serums on your face and still your skin remains dull and lifeless.
Why? Well, because you are most likely committing some bad skin habits all along.
Bad Skin Habits
1. Over Cleansing
Wait, before you think that it’s okay to skip washing, you might want to think again. It’s still important to wash your skin or your face to remove makeup residue.
However, what’s not healthy is washing more than what’s required.
According to How Stuff Works taking showers daily is not good for your skin. How?
There are three layers of your skin. The outermost layer is called the stratum corneum. It is made of dead skin cells that actually protect the underlying layers of your skin. It also composed of lipids and other fatty compounds that hold moisture in your skin.
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The lipids of your skin are swept away whenever you take a shower, especially a hot one. Using harsh soaps for facial wash doesn’t help either. This will result in dry, flaky, and irritated skin. Also, when your skin becomes too dry it will produce more oil that will most likely cause clogged pores.
“You should wash your face twice a day. Once in the morning when you wake up to remove the dirt and bacteria that gathers on your face while you’re sleeping, then again at night to take off makeup and the grime collected throughout the day,” Dr. Jeannette Graf, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center informed.
Avoid hot water when washing your face
While hot water may feel divine, it strips your face of its natural oils and leaves it dry. Use lukewarm water and a gentle cleanser instead for the naturally moisturized skin.
2. Using Harsh Exfoliators
It’s advised to slough or exfoliate dead skin cells from time to time. Once a week will do, those with sensitive skin should exfoliate less.
While exfoliation is an important part of skincare, try not to go overboard with it. Over-exfoliation could lead to breakouts, excessive redness and inflammation, and drier or oilier than usual skin. Over-exfoliation even accelerates premature aging.
Exfoliating once or twice a week is more than enough for healthy skin.c
While this is an amazing way to bring radiance to your skin, it can be harmful as well. Good exfoliators and scrubs are not supposed to hurt your skin, when this happens then you are most likely using a product that’s not good for you.
Instead, opt for a gentle exfoliator. Find a product that can slough off your dead skin without causing any harm to it. Queen Helene Oatmeal N Honey Natural Facial Scrub is a favorite. It’s not only affordable it does the job well. Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser, on the other hand, is a little steep when it comes to pricing users with sensitive skin sing praises to this product.
If you’re not willing to spend on an exfoliating product, you can get away with DIY. You’ll be surprised that you’ll be able to find amazing skincare products in your kitchen. Mix honey and a teaspoon or two of baking soda as a scrub. Baking soda is finely milled that it won’t irritate your skin. Meanwhile, honey provides moisture to your skin.
3. Too Much Skincare Products
Having a good skincare routine is a must. The basic skincare routine usually includes cleansing, toning, and moisturizing. However, dermatologists and skin chemists have come up with more products that promise to provide youthful looking skin.
You often get excited in trying out many products at the same time and this could lead to disappointing results.
How?
There are certain active ingredients in these skincare products that don’t go well together. For example, salicylic acid and glycolic acid should not be used together. Both contain strong active ingredients that may irritate your skin when used together. They have potent drying properties that will dehydrate your skin. Instead of having rejuvenated skin, you’ll end up with a dull and lifeless complexion.
“Negative interactions are most likely to happen if someone is treating different problems at the same time, such as sun-damaged skin and adult acne, and the ingredients are either too harsh together or incompatible,” New York City dermatologist Patricia Wexler explained.
Choose products per your skin type
Before investing in products for skin care, take the time to find out what your skin type is, and buy products accordingly. What works for you may not work for someone else and vice versa.
The best thing you can do is visit a dermatologist and ask for his/her guidance.
4. Not Using Broad-Spectrum Sunscreen
Gone are the days when you can bask in the warmth of the sun without having to worry about the bad effects it can cause you.
Both global warming and pollution have lead to a number of diseases. It has now come to a point where wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen is a must.
The harmful UV rays from the sun will not only cause premature aging it also imposes danger to your health. Ever heard of skin cancer? Sadly, it’s now a common disease, especially in countries like Australia and New Zealand.
Maintain a healthy skin and don’t forget to put on broad-spectrum sunscreen every day.
The thick consistency of sunscreens usually puts off users, but, there are already amazing choices in the market that offer great protection If your issue with sunscreen is its thick consistency, then you won’t have to worry any longer. There are already amazing choices in the market that offer great protection without that icky yucky feeling.
Clinique’s City Block is an oil-free sunscreen that offers amazing protection. Eve Lom’s SPF 50 sunscreen is pretty expensive but it also offers added benefits like vitamins C and E that helps fight premature skin aging. A cheaper and equally effective alternative is Biore. It’s one of Japan’s best-selling sunscreens and it feels lightweight on the skin.
5. Leaving Your Makeup On Overnight
At the end of a long work day or after a late-night party, the last thing you want to do is get the makeup off your face but believe us when we say it’s worth it.
Who wants to sleep with clogged pores and potential bacteria breeding on your face when you can spend an extra 5 minutes to wash it all off and sleep with a squeaky clean face instead?
Having a solid skincare routine is as important as removing your makeup before you sleep. No matter how tired you are after work or how much you want to hit your bed after a long trip, you have to remove your makeup.
First of all, makeup products contain various ingredients that may be harmful to your skin. Even those organic brands may clog your pores and cause breakout when not removed.
If you’re used to wearing makeup every day or even if you only wear makeup once in a while, it is important to allow your skin to breathe.
There are now products that contain micellar water that can effectively clean your face without rinsing. It’s a makeup remover with added skincare benefits.
Bioderma Micellar Water is probably the most famous. Garnier and Simple, on the other hand, are drugstore brands that offer cheaper alternatives.
6. Dirty Makeup Brushes
If you’re busy to remove your makeup at night then you’ll most likely have no time cleaning your makeup brushes regularly right?
Well, if you have enough time to apply makeup then you should have enough time to clean and sanitize your tools. Makeup brushes, sponges, and other makeup tools are a magnet to bacteria.
Clogged pores cause pimples. So if you want to maintain a healthy looking skin then you should have time to clean your makeup tools.
You can use baby shampoos to clean your tools, but since it will take longer to dry. Good thing, there are products that can clean your makeup tools without having to wait too long.
In addition to dirty makeup brushes, sharing your brushes is also one of those bad skin habits you must avoid.
7. Popping Your Pimples
There’s a reason why you’ve probably heard this one from the time you were a teenager. Popping your pimples will most likely cause more swelling and redness and could leave permanent scars.
Be patient and let your pimple do its thing. Apply Benzoyl Peroxide gel or rub some garlic on it to speed up the process.
8. Working Out With Makeup
Regular exercise is without a doubt one of the best things you can do for your body.
But when you do so with a face full of makeup, you end up not letting your skin sweat freely. This, in turn, could lead to clogged up pores, blackheads, and acne.
9. Not Enough Sleep
Ever notice that when you don’t sleep properly for a couple of days, your skin acts up almost immediately?
Dark circles become more prominent, under-eye bags appear out of nowhere, and you may even see spot a pimple or two. Our skin rejuvenates itself during the night. By not getting adequate rest, you end up harming your skin more than you realize.
You have to have enough sleep! Sleep is not a privilege, it’s a must. You may not feel it when you’re younger but when you hit the age of 30, you’ll see how sleep deprivation has taken a toll on your skin. So, try your best to get at least 7 hours of restful sleep every night. Also, remember to wash your sheets and pillowcases regularly and sleep on your back and not on your stomach. Lastly, invest in quality sheets with a higher thread count that will let your skin breathe.
“Your skin can rebound from the occasional late-night, especially when you’re young, but a few in a row will catch up with you,” Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist in New York City explained.
Puffy and dark eye bags are never pleasant. In addition to this, sleep deprivation can also aggravate stress and other skin conditions like acne or psoriasis.
10. Smoking
Do you really need a reason to stop smoking? As if there’s not enough bad effects smoking cause to your body.
Well, if you need an explanation, in addition to cancer and heart failure, smoking will suck the life out of your skin.
“Smoking causes premature aging of the skin, makes sun damage worse, and makes precancerous lesions worse,” dermatologist Clay J. Cockerell, MD, medical director of Dermpath Diagnostics in Dallas, Texas claimed. “It increases wrinkling, adds a yellowish discoloration of the skin, and increases skin cancers.”
11. Too much alcohol intake
Alcohol is not generally bad for your health. In fact, red wine can help in blood circulation. However, too much of something is never good, right?
Partying at night and drinking alcohol can cause dehydration. Your skin will lose its moisture and it will eventually lead to premature aging.
12. Not Drinking Enough Water
We all know this. Water is essential for our skin, hair, health and general wellbeing.
Water removes waste products and toxins from the body. Lack of water can cause asthma, allergy, hypertension, migraine, and many other health problems.
13. Poor Nutrition
Who would have thought that poor nutrition had something to do with bad skin? Well, apparently topical products are not the only things that can affect your skin condition.
Food intake is as important. Your choice of food will have a great effect on your skin. In fact, a study claimed that high-glycemic foods will cause high blood. It can trigger an increase in insulin production. Insulin will cause oil production, which will eventually lead to breakouts.
Instead, stick to healthy nutritious food like fruits and vegetables. It’s also important to have enough protein in your diet.
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