In my previous post, I wrote about 5 beauty habits that actually damage your body. Here are other bad habits you should avoid if you want to look good and be healthy.
6 Declaring War to your Cuticles
I know you hate them, but cuticles aren’t a divine punishment for your bad deeds. They appear for a reason, and you should just let them be. Cuticles are a natural barrier against infections. The moment you rush to kill them, they actually leave your skin more vulnerable to bacteria. So, think again my warrior princess/prince and say no to that brutal instinct that tells you to extirpate cuticles. If you want to live together in peace, you can actually take care of them with gel and cream so they don’t stick out the next time you admire your manicure.
7 Over-caring for your skin
The average American woman uses 12 cosmetic products in one single day. What would your grandma who used to wash with home-made soap and put on make-up only on special occasions say about that? The problem with overusing cosmetics is that not all of them, or, more precisely, very few of them are 100% safe for the skin. Cosmetics are packed with chemicals that can do more harm than good. Moreover, applying them and over-applying more than one product on the same portion of skin can lead to bad irritation, inflammation or allergy. So, as the motto states it, less is more.
8 Choosing the Most Expensive Products to avoid the Worst
You don’t always get what you give, and this also applies to cosmetics. Instead of looking at the price of your beauty products, you’d rather be looking at their ingredients. Expensive products can be as harmful as cheap ones. What draws the line between care and potential damage is what the cosmetics are made of. If you don’t want to intoxicate your skin, hence, your entire body (as the chemicals from cosmetics are easily absorbed through your skin and finally get to your body’s lab – the liver, which is probably busy enough fighting fast food, alcohol and tobacco), avoid products whose labels contain names you can barely read, such as Butylated Hydroxytoluene, Diethanolamine, Formaldehyde, Benzophenone and the like. Make a healthier choice with no-name cosmetics that are richer in natural ingredients (yes, those that have plants and flower names).
9 Getting too Much Gel Manicure
Don’t even get me started on his one. Gel manicure is not only bad for your nails, it’s even unaesthetic, especially if done by someone who has no sense of color let alone good taste. When you chose to get those gel nails, that every single one of your friends already has, you might say goodbye to your natural beautiful nails. Just like in the case of pregnancy, some things change afterward, and they never get back to the way they used to be. Gel manicure might be a good solution if you don’t want to spend too much time doing your nails at home, but it doesn’t last forever. Once your natural nails start growing and claim their right to breathe, you no longer have nails, but some sort of claws that take you back to the saloon anyway (where you pay to get them redone or removed). But if this doesn’t bother you, keep in mind that the gel leaves your nails dry and brittle and the lamp that’s used to dry them damages the skin around them and contributes to premature aging.
10 Denying Your Hair’s Natural Right to Curl
This is bad, girls (and boys if you like your silky hair straight). Really bad. Unless you are Beyoncé to afford getting your hair straightened by the best stylist with the best straightener, you’re most probably harming your hair. Even if the result is satisfying in the short term. After continuous use and abuse, your hair will become dry as a broom. Using some hair conditioning and natural oils before and after you torment your hair with the steamy enemy, will do some good. Yet, moderation is the key to a happy life and happy hair. So, if your hair doesn’t have the personality you long for, just accept your differences and apply a straightening coercive treatment only once in a while.
11 Refusing to Cut Your Split Ends
Because you have embarked on a bold journey at the end of which your hair will reach a dazzling length. Except that it won’t. Unless you cut it regularly. No matter how long you want your hair to grow, letting it freely go on its own way simply won’t do it. Experts say you should cut your hair every two months if you want to help it grow faster. If you wait for too long before getting a new haircut, your ends will split and your hair will stop growing, plus it will actually have a nasty dry aspect that’s got nothing to do with beauty. So, if you want to beat Rapunzel, do it wisely and team up with the hairdresser.
Ladies and gents, that was all for now, but the list can go on and on. So, next time you’re wondering whether your beauty habits are actually doing you any good, use that miraculous tool called Google and learn the difference between effective and harmful.
Pictures from: pixaby