KICKING THOSE SKIN HABITS TO THE CURB

SUGAR, SALTS AND ALCOHOL

Overdoing on anything like drinking too much caffeine, alcohol, eating too much sugar and salt, is definitely going to take a toll on our skin and show the ugly side effects. It's a no brainer that all of these can dehydrate our skin, making it dry and blotchy and sugar and salts break down elastin and collagen causing dullness and wrinkles.

FIGHTING WITH YOUR ACNE!

Over touching your acne is a no no. Instead of battling with that annoying zit, cleanse your face with a salicylic acid cleanser with moisturizing ingredients. Using a cleanser with little moisturizing will dry out your skin which will cause even more acne breakouts and the current breakouts you have will stick around even longer.  

OVER WASHING YOUR FACE

If your face is already dry, cleanse less or use a cleanser that is for dry skin {a milk cleanser}. Over washing strips your natural oils. Do your full face wash routine at night, including toner and moisturizer and when you wake up, instead of washing your face again, just rinse with cool water to keep your natural oils {warm/hot water will strip your natural oils}. Of course if you have oily skin, keep washing your face twice a day.

STRAY AWAY FROM GRITTY EXFOLIATORS

Exfoliating is definitely important but it's not suppose to hurt while doing it. Using an exfoliator that is too gritty is not good and if you are using an exfoliator that leaves your skin red/blotchy and even makes your skin burn and tingle afterwards is also not a good thing. Using exfoliators that are too gritty or harsh peels can cause irritation, inflammation, pre mature aging {wrinkles}, brown spots and can even clog pores resulting in acne breakouts.

Use a gentle exfoliator with micro beads or sugar once or twice a week depending on your skin type or use a mild peel with lactic acid once a week.

GETTING YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP

Getting less than 7 hours of sleep can make your skin dull, puffy {especially around your eyes} and can cause pre mature aging {fine lines} down the road. If you wake up with puffy eyes, slice a cucumber and put a slice over each eye and leave it for 5-10 minutes or grab an ice pack {wrap it in a towel of course} and place it on each eye for a few minutes. This will eliminate swelling and puffiness.

SLEEPING THE RIGHT WAY

 Not only sleeping the right way {which technically is on your back side to eliminate wrinkles and crease marks on your face} but choosing the right pillow case is the major factor in your sleep routine.

As gross as it may sound, pillowcases are a collector for natural oils from your hair and face, dead skin cells, bacteria, dust, etc. Change your pillowcase once or twice a week {I do twice a week}. Now choosing the right pillowcase is also important. Most of us have cotton pillowcases which is a no no in beauty land. Swap out your old cotton pillowcase and choose a satin, silk or Egyptian cotton one instead as rough cotton pillowcases can will cause wrinkles.

DONT SKIP OUT ON SUNSCREEN

This is obvious. Wearing an SPF 30 or higher {I use an SPF 60 on my face and body} is a must in the summer and winter months. Don't be fooled in the winter months. The sun reflecting off the snow and the wet roads are just as bad as being on a beach in the summer.

Wear your SPF people!

DON'T MISS A DERMATOLOGIST APPOINTMENT

Skipping on your yearly mole check is your choice but who wants to receive the "bad news" when you do finally go see the doc. Do yourself a favor and go see your dermatologist yearly. Even if you are the type of person that doesn't have very many moles or maybe you don't ever burn in the sun, you can still be at risk to sun damage and even the scary "C" word.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

SMOKING

Smoking breaks down elastin fibers which is why you sometimes see smokers with yellow tinged skin. It also breaks down collagen which definitely leads to wrinkles and pre-mature aging.

Sometimes it's nice to have a little beauty reminder here and there, wouldn't you agree?

Thank you so much for stopping by, xo!!