Are You Guilty Of Making These 10 Bad Beauty Mistakes?

1. Getting A Tan

While it’s no secret that most of us would love to have a healthy looking tan, purposely exposing your skin to the melanoma-causing UV rays is just inexcusable.

Self-tanning creams and spray tans are much more natural looking now than they used to be; tanning in the sun or on tanning beds just isn’t worth the danger any more.

2. Makeup Sharing

While there are many things that are good to share with your girlfriends – secrets, French fries, favorite blouses – there are two things you should NEVER share – boyfriends and makeup!

Sharing making up is a quick way to spread some of the worst germs. Mascara in particular is a known cause of eye infections when shared among friends. Would you double dip your potato chip? Then don’t share your makeup!

3. Not Cleaning Makeup Applicators

Over time, germs and bacteria grow out of control on makeup applicators like brushes and sponges. That’s why it’s important to clean them once a month.

Cleaning is easy – just use a bowl of warm water with a squirt of baby shampoo. Soak the brushes in the solution, then whisk them around gently; make sure you separate the bristles so any powders or pigments come loose. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water.

To dry brushes, lay the handle on the counter with the bristles sticking out over the edge.

4. Sleeping In Your Makeup

I would bet that every woman is guilty of this one at least once in her life – sometimes it’s hard to do anything other than fall right into bed! But leaving makeup on as you sleep causes clogged pores and breakouts.

Always clean makeup from your face before hitting the sack; keep a pack of those makeup removing towelettes for the times when you’re just too tired to do a full face cleaning.

5. Using Hot Hairstyling Tools Everyday

Hot curlers, blow dryers and curling irons all cause damage to your hair, especially if they’re over used. If you can’t bring yourself to skip a day or two a week, you need to use a deep conditioner once a week to restore moisture and nutrients.

And every time you use a heated tool on your hair, treat it first with a thermal protecting spray. It will help prevent heat damage to the inner core of your hair.

6. Squeezing Pimples

It can be oh-so-tempting to squeeze that whitehead on the tip of your nose, but doing so can cause worse problems like infection or scarring. And dirty hands can cause more breakouts!

Instead, treat your pimples with a little spot of tea-tree oil, and it should dry up and go away quickly.

7. Not Wearing SPF Everyday

The skin cancer melanoma kills one person every hour, according to the American Cancer Society. And all you need to do to greatly reduce your risk is apply a moisturizer or foundation with SPF every single morning.

8. Using Whatever Shampoo Is Cheapest

Not that there’s anything wrong with inexpensive shampoos! But it’s important that you take the time to find the right shampoo for you – the shampoo you use may not be right for your hair and scalp.

Talk to your hair stylist or other beauty professional; they can help you choose the right shampoo for your hair type.

9. Fingernail Biting

We all know that it’s unhealthy, and it’s not very attractive either. There are a variety of things you can do to help yourself keep your fingers away from your mouth – bitter-tasting polishes, gloves and acrylic nails have all been found to work.

And if you manage to go a whole week without biting, reward yourself with a special polish or a manicure!

10. Trimming Or Cutting Cuticles

While some salons still believe in cutting and trimming the cuticle, it’s really not a very good idea. It used to be considered a healthier and more “polished” appearance, but we now know that the cuticle helps keep germs and microorganisms from invading the nail bed.

Instead of cutting, use an orangewood stick to push back your cuticles.

11. Stressing Out!

That’s right – we’re calling stress a bad beauty habit.

Being chronically stressed out can cause all sorts of beauty problems like puffy eyes, hair loss, wrinkles and acne. Get to the source of your stress and try to minimize it; yoga or other calming activities are great for reducing stress in your life.