12 Common Habits That Affect the Skin and Hair
So many hair and skin issues, such as backne, split ends, hair loss,
puffiness and others are common nowadays, affecting our confidence and
discouraging us from using skin and hair care. But don't be discouraged,
as all it takes is a bit more attention and knowledge and you'll be
able to get rid of these problems.
1. Old Makeup and Beauty Tools May Be the Hiding Place for Bacteria
Makeup brushes, hairbrushes, and sponges are all essential grooming tools, but if we don't take care of them and don't replace them regularly enough, they will start harboring bacteria, which then can cause dermatitis, acne and scalp issues. Even old makeup can become the breeding grounds for bacteria.
Some items need to be replaced regularly, such as your mascara, foundation and makeup sponges, whereas others, e.g. makeup brushes, simply require thorough and regular cleaning. Make sure to wash your makeup brushes and sponges with warm water and soap (or a dedicated brush cleanser) once a week and set out to dry on a clean towel.
2. Drinking Through a Straw All the Time Will Give You Wrinkles Around the Mouth
Yes, it's true, a simple thing like drinking from a straw can speed up skin aging.
3. Your Shampoo Can Cause Breakouts
I myself have struggled with this problem, as I couldn't understand what's causing breakouts around my hairline and on my shoulders until I realized that it must be the hair care items I was using that irritated my skin. Little did I know that this problem is so widespread and so many people have the same problem. Luckily, there's a quick solution to it, too.
4. You Wait for Hours After You Get Out of the Shower to Apply Your Skincare
If you find that your skin is dry and parched, this might be why. Many people fail to moisturize their skin right after they hop out of the shower, which makes their skin lose a lot of hydration. This, in turn, can accentuate your fine lines and wrinkles, even if you apply moisturizer later on. The best time to apply moisturizer and any other skin treatments is right after the shower, which will make sure you lock in all the moisture in your skin, both face and body included.
Even experienced skincare enthusiasts make this mistake sometimes, so don't worry and simply follow this general rule: apply your skincare products from thinnest to thickest.
6. You Overindulge With Salt
Despite popular belief, a diet that contains too much salt doesn't necessarily dry out your skin if you make sure you drink enough. However, what it can do is make the skin under your eyes and your face puffy, even if you drink enough, as high sodium intake makes your body worse at draining all the excess liquids from your body, i.e. causes water retention.
7. You Apply Eye Cream the Wrong Way
Some people apply eye cream right under their eyes all the way up to their lashes, as well as the upper eyelid. That's not the best way to apply eye cream, as it may actually make your eye area puffier and irritate the gentle skin around your eyes, causing premature lines.
8. You Put Your Hair Up in a Ponytail or Bun While It's Wet
When you're having a bad hair day, it's just too tempting to just put the hair up in a ponytail or bun and forget the problem ever existed. But if you're doing that while your hair is still wet, you might be doing double damage. This is because your hair is a lot more fragile and elastic while it's wet, and by wearing it up you're actually encouraging hair breakage and split ends in the area of the hair tie, as well as increasing the likelihood of getting traction alopecia.
9. You're Not Looking After Your Diet
It turns out that a healthy diet shows, with both your hair and skin health suffering greatly from crash dieting, overeating and not drinking enough water. But even foods that are otherwise fine can cause your skin to act out, be it in the form of breakouts, increased skin dryness or oiliness and pore size. For one, dairy and foods that contain a lot of white flour, such as white bread and pastries, have been found to affect the skin.
10. Your Pillowcase Is Affecting Your Skin and Hair
You read that right, your pillowcase may be the culprit behind some of your skin and hair issues, too. In fact, dermatologists suggest you replace your pillowcase with a clean one as often as possible, up to two times a week, if you're suffering from acne or any other skin conditions.
Estheticians and consumers, on the other hand, point out that the material of the pillowcase also matters, giving preference to satin and silk pillowcases that reportedly cause less hair breakage and don't leave crease marks on your face that can speed up the formation of wrinkles.
11. You're Using a Moisturizer That's Too Heavy for Your Skin
If you're using a moisturizer that's too thick and emollient (softening the skin) for your particular skin, you can develop milia, small white bumps on your skin. These typically appear around the eyes, like in the photo above, but they can also occur on any part of your face where you've been using a moisturizer that's too rich for you.
12. You're Heat Styling Hair That's Dripping Wet
Heat-styling is our final bad habit, as it promotes hair breakage and hair loss if done regularly, but it's especially harmful when you're applying heat to hair that's dripping wet because you'll have to use a lot more heat to dry it completely. It's fine to do in an emergency or during a trip to the hair salon, but doing so several times a week will really damage your hair.
Instead, towel-dry your hair or let it air-dry until it's at least 30% dry, and then proceed with the hairdryer. This way, you will be able to blow-dry your hair much quicker and inflict significantly less damage to your hair.
Unfortunately, we are often
to blame for these issues, as we unknowingly irritate and harm the skin
and hair, stretching them to the limit. Are you guilty of these 10 bad
habits? Even if you are, you can learn how to avoid them and treat your
body the right way with this informative guide.
Makeup brushes, hairbrushes, and sponges are all essential grooming tools, but if we don't take care of them and don't replace them regularly enough, they will start harboring bacteria, which then can cause dermatitis, acne and scalp issues. Even old makeup can become the breeding grounds for bacteria.
Some items need to be replaced regularly, such as your mascara, foundation and makeup sponges, whereas others, e.g. makeup brushes, simply require thorough and regular cleaning. Make sure to wash your makeup brushes and sponges with warm water and soap (or a dedicated brush cleanser) once a week and set out to dry on a clean towel.
2. Drinking Through a Straw All the Time Will Give You Wrinkles Around the Mouth
Yes, it's true, a simple thing like drinking from a straw can speed up skin aging.
Let
us point out that we think that there's nothing wrong with wrinkles and
fine lines, as beauty is ageless, but if you do want to prevent and
decrease those vertical fine lines around your mouth, ditching the straw
is a good start, plus it's good for the environment.
I myself have struggled with this problem, as I couldn't understand what's causing breakouts around my hairline and on my shoulders until I realized that it must be the hair care items I was using that irritated my skin. Little did I know that this problem is so widespread and so many people have the same problem. Luckily, there's a quick solution to it, too.
Certainly, you can't and shouldn't stop shampooing your
hair, but what you can do is to change up your hair care products to
more hypoallergenic ones. Apart from that, shampoo and condition your
hair before washing your face and body to make sure you get all the
remnants of the hair care products off your skin, especially the
hairline.
If you find that your skin is dry and parched, this might be why. Many people fail to moisturize their skin right after they hop out of the shower, which makes their skin lose a lot of hydration. This, in turn, can accentuate your fine lines and wrinkles, even if you apply moisturizer later on. The best time to apply moisturizer and any other skin treatments is right after the shower, which will make sure you lock in all the moisture in your skin, both face and body included.
5. You Apply Your Skincare Products in the Wrong Order
If
you're someone who has several steps in your skincare routine, you
might be puzzled as to why they don't work as well as they should,
despite you meticulously putting them on every evening. One very common
reason why this may be the case is that you got their order wrong, as
the ingredients with the products that are oil-soluble and those that
are water-soluble don't mix well.Even experienced skincare enthusiasts make this mistake sometimes, so don't worry and simply follow this general rule: apply your skincare products from thinnest to thickest.
For example, if you have a facial spray, a serum, an
eye cream and a moisturizer in your routine, you start with the facial
spray, then apply your serum, followed by your eye cream, and finally,
the moisturizer. This application order ensures all the water-based
products meant to penetrate deeply into your skin do so instead of idly
sitting on top of your moisturizer.
Despite popular belief, a diet that contains too much salt doesn't necessarily dry out your skin if you make sure you drink enough. However, what it can do is make the skin under your eyes and your face puffy, even if you drink enough, as high sodium intake makes your body worse at draining all the excess liquids from your body, i.e. causes water retention.
So,
if you find that your eyes get puffy in the morning, your high salt
diet may be the cause.
Some people apply eye cream right under their eyes all the way up to their lashes, as well as the upper eyelid. That's not the best way to apply eye cream, as it may actually make your eye area puffier and irritate the gentle skin around your eyes, causing premature lines.
Instead,
apply the eye cream on your orbital bone, roughly in the area we
highlighted in the image above. The product will be absorbed into the
skin and then travel up to your under eyes without causing excess
puffiness.
When you're having a bad hair day, it's just too tempting to just put the hair up in a ponytail or bun and forget the problem ever existed. But if you're doing that while your hair is still wet, you might be doing double damage. This is because your hair is a lot more fragile and elastic while it's wet, and by wearing it up you're actually encouraging hair breakage and split ends in the area of the hair tie, as well as increasing the likelihood of getting traction alopecia.
Traction
alopecia is a type of sometimes permanent hair loss associated with
constant hair pulling. Want to learn more about hair habits that
contribute to hair loss and traction alopecia? Follow the link 9
Everyday Habits that Cause Hair Thinning and Hair Loss.
It turns out that a healthy diet shows, with both your hair and skin health suffering greatly from crash dieting, overeating and not drinking enough water. But even foods that are otherwise fine can cause your skin to act out, be it in the form of breakouts, increased skin dryness or oiliness and pore size. For one, dairy and foods that contain a lot of white flour, such as white bread and pastries, have been found to affect the skin.
Luckily, the opposite is also true, and you can
boost your skin's health by consuming a lot of antioxidant-rich foods,
such as fruit and vegetables. One great example of skin-boosting foods
are tomatoes, which have been proven to help prevent skin aging and
inflammation, among other things.
You read that right, your pillowcase may be the culprit behind some of your skin and hair issues, too. In fact, dermatologists suggest you replace your pillowcase with a clean one as often as possible, up to two times a week, if you're suffering from acne or any other skin conditions.
Estheticians and consumers, on the other hand, point out that the material of the pillowcase also matters, giving preference to satin and silk pillowcases that reportedly cause less hair breakage and don't leave crease marks on your face that can speed up the formation of wrinkles.
Finally,
consider the detergent you're using, as that, too, may contain
irritating ingredients that you might just be allergic to. If you feel
like this is the case for you, opt for non-scented or hypoallergenic
detergents, such as those meant for babies, which are generally less
irritating.
If you're using a moisturizer that's too thick and emollient (softening the skin) for your particular skin, you can develop milia, small white bumps on your skin. These typically appear around the eyes, like in the photo above, but they can also occur on any part of your face where you've been using a moisturizer that's too rich for you.
These
spots are not acne and picking them will only make them worse, so don't
do that. What you should do is switch to a more lightweight, possibly
gel-based moisturizer and gently exfoliate the milia with a chemical
exfoliator. We explore other causes and treatments of milia in an
article titled 11 Natural Remedies to Help Clear Up 'Milk Spots'.
Heat-styling is our final bad habit, as it promotes hair breakage and hair loss if done regularly, but it's especially harmful when you're applying heat to hair that's dripping wet because you'll have to use a lot more heat to dry it completely. It's fine to do in an emergency or during a trip to the hair salon, but doing so several times a week will really damage your hair.
Instead, towel-dry your hair or let it air-dry until it's at least 30% dry, and then proceed with the hairdryer. This way, you will be able to blow-dry your hair much quicker and inflict significantly less damage to your hair.
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