Bad beauty habits are often the root cause of some of your most frustrating skin bugbears. But don’t beat yourself up too much. Instead, take action. Thankfully, kicking the most common skincare habits is really quite simple. And if you stick with it, your skin will reap the rewards in no time.
Below, five big, bad habits you need to break right now.
1. Ditching Sun Cream When It’s Not Sunny Outside
Are you guilty of looking out of the window and thinking ‘grey skies, no need for sun protection today’? So. Very. Wrong. Around 80 percent of the sun’s rays still penetrate through clouds, so unless you’re staying inside, completely shaded from the outside world, you need sunscreen every day of the year.
How To Break The Habit: Adding another step to your skincare regime might sound like a pain, but we have the answer: Organic Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 25.
This multi-tasking gem is a radiance-boosting moisturiser and sunscreen all rolled into one product which means apply it after cleansing and toning and you’re completely covered.
It’s also lightweight and non-comedogenic, making it perfect for all skin types. No excuses!
2. Overloading Your Skin
Do you love smothering your skin with oceans of moisturiser? Reckon that by applying more eye gel than advised, it’ll work on your lines and wrinkles faster... and better? Well, you could not be more wrong.
In actual fact, the general rule with skincare – sun protection aside – is less is more. Anything above and beyond could not only compromise the health of your skin, but is as good as pouring money down the drain too. Big portions and you'll stop your products from penetrating as they should, meaning they won't be as effective. A little really does go a long way and every product has its sweet spot for optimal results.
Skincare junkie? Less is more applies here too - mixing in multiple serums, acids and cleansers will most certainly mess up your pH and can even cause lasting damage. Your skin has its sweet spot too! You just need to find it and not follow the next OTT skincare fanatic.
How To Break The Habit: If you’re not sure exactly how much of your trusted skincare products you should be applying, here’s a quick guide to some of your HIGHBORN favourites … study it, stick to it - simple! You'll soon thank us.
And instead of listening to the hype, listen to your skin. Know your skin type, think about your concerns and tailor-make your skincare routine around this. There is a reason we have created the Seven Phase Ultimate Collection ... plus a few super-boosters to work with it and not against it.
3. Exfoliating Without Due Care
We know it can be satisfying to really go for it when using your favourite face scrub, but vigorous exfoliation is completely unnecessary. Worse than that, applying too much pressure when you exfoliate can damage the surface of your skin, causing redness, irritation, itching and dryness. And if you add scorching hot water into the mix you’re asking for serious trouble.
How To Break The Habit: Face scrubs are designed to exfoliate with very little effort on your behalf, so relax and let it do its thing. Use your hands to gently massage Natural Luminosity Scrub into moist skin for a few minutes, then rinse with lukewarm, never hot water.
Hot water compromises the skin’s protective barrier which robs your skin of its natural oils, making it feel itchy and dry. Lukewarm water only, people.
4. Staying Up Too Late
The most important time of the day for your skin is while you’re sleeping. During the day it has to work extremely hard to protect itself and fight against everything the world throws at it – think environmental pollution, cigarette smoke, stress and UV radiation.
When you hit the sack, however, your skin goes into recharge mode. Blood flow increases, antioxidants and hormones kick in to repair the damage of the day, cell turnover almost doubles and collagen production amps up big time.
Miss out on your kip and your skin loses this valuable time to restore itself.
How To Break The Habit: Easy. Go to bed earlier. OK, not so easy, but still, Netflix will be there tomorrow, so give it a try – even if you hit the sack just half an hour earlier than usual.
If you can’t manage the recommended eight hours, make the sleep you do get as restful as possible. Ensure your bedroom is quiet, dark and at a comfortable temperature, and stop checking your smartphone at least an hour before bed. Also, make sure you cleanse your skin thoroughly with Crystal Cleanser and apply our deeply moisturising Night Elixir for ultimate overnight rejuvenation.
5. Touching Your Face All The Time
Even though hand cleanliness is more important than ever, your hands are in constant contact with germs. From smartphones to door knobs, your mitts come into contact with millions of bacteria, viruses and allergens on a daily basis. If you then have a habit of touching your face all day long, all these nasties will transfer straight to your skin.
If you are acne-prone, this is one habit you should definitely nip in the bud. Being handsy won’t necessarily cause breakouts, but it can most certainly trigger them.
How To Break The Habit: This is tricky because it’s such a subconscious act, but try to be aware every time you do it and think about all the gross stuff you’ve been touching. This should make you stop, immediately! And, of course, keep your hands squeaky clean by washing them regularly and keeping sanitiser on your desk and in your handbag.