BEAUTY HABITS
ver the years
everyone picks up
bad beauty habits,
O from squeezing your
spots to incinerating
your hair. But as it’s January, we say
it’s time to break those rituals for
good, even if you didn’t know you
committing any beauty crimes.
SKIN�CRIMES
X Touching your face is a common
stress reaction, but it also leads to
the transfer of bacteria from your
hands to your skin and can cause
clogged pores and blemishes. Make
sure you wash your hands regularly
during the day, and try to stop
touching your face.
X Scrubbing away at your eyes as you
remove the remnants of the night
before’s smoky eye make-up is a skin
sin we’ve all committed, but it’s very
bad for the delicate skin in this area.
To counteract this use a gentle,
soothing remover that doesn’t drag
the eye. Opt for an oil-based formula
like Lancôme’s Bi-Facils (£18.50,
lancome.co.uk) or the natural Dr
Weil Mega Mushroom Eye Make-up
Remover Pads (£20, origins.co.uk).
Use gentle strokes, moving in one
direction, as too much pressure on
the skin can exacerbate crow’s feet.
X To avoid mascara running
down your face and leaving you
with panda eyes opt for a sturdy
waterproof mascara like Clinique’s
Gentle Waterproof Mascara (£12.50,
clinique.co.uk).
X Over exfoliating is another
bad habit. While it’s
recommended occasionally,
some of us are overzealous,
leaving skin unable to
rebuild and regenerate
its protective barriers.
Think of it as a lawn
that you mow
repeatedly, never
allowing its true glory
to emerge. Too little
exfoliating can also leave dry
patches on your skin, so when
you apply fake tan the result
can be uneven. To avoid both
pitfalls use a hydrating scrub
like Cowshed’s Spearmint
Exfoliating Sea Salt Scrub
(£39, cowshedonline.com)
����WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK
BYE BYE PANDA EYES
And frazzled hair and dry skin. While your new year resolutions are still going
strong, Stylist reveals the best ways to kick your beauty bad habits
once a week which will slough
away the dry skin while intensely
moisturising with macadamia oil.
X Steaming is good in moderation
and will open up the pores, but too
much can lead to dryness and prompt
overproduction of oil to compensate,
this can then cause breakouts. To
curb overenthusiastic skincare habits,
invest in a facial once every six
weeks. Try new kid on the British
skincare block, Ark (arkskincare.
com), where you can have an
age-specific treatment tailored
to your individual needs.
HAIR�SINS�
X When it comes to hair, most of
us are guilty of not enough rinsing.
Shampoos, serums, masques and
hairspray can build up and cause
limp, lifeless hair as well as scalp
irritations. Rinse your hair for
at least five minutes when
you wash it and use
a clarifying shampoo
once a fortnight
to thoroughly cleanse the hair and
stimulate the follicles. Try Frédéric
Fekkai’s Au Naturel Gentle Shampoo
(£28, spacenk.com) with peppermint
which will give hair back its lustre and
its natural movement.
X Overheated tools are the number
one culprits for damaging hair so
it’s important to work in a weekly
conditioning treatment. Haircare line
Ojon has launched a new Restorative
Hair Treatment (£38, johnlewis.com)
that penetrates the hair follicles
and injects moisture that’s been
lost through over-styling. Or invest
in a L’Oréal Professionnel Hair
Manicure (£35, 0800-022 6699). It
seals the hair with a topcoat-like gloss
that will leave you with perfectly blow
dried hair for up to five days.
X Trichologist Philip Kingsley warns
against brushing hair when it’s wet.
The heat and moisture from the
shower opens the pores on the
hairshaft and
dragging
a brush
MORNING-AFTER
PANDA-EYES LOOK
CUTE, BUT ONLY ON HIM
down it causes damage. Use
a wide-toothed comb instead.
X Over-plucking the brows is
a bad habit that gets picked up during
adolescence, little do we know that
as we get older we’ll be longing for
the plentiful brows of our youth as
that area starts to grow sparse.
Eyebrow queen Shavata says: “If your
eyebrows are over-plucked, overcome
your fear and grow them! Have them
shaped regularly by a professional
beautician to avoid straggly hairs and
use make-up to fill any gaps until you
have a shape you like. Try the Shavata
Double-Ended Brow Pencil (£9.50)
and Shavata Arch Enhancer (£9.95,
shavata.co.uk) to disguise re-growth.”
GENERAL�REPAIRS�
X Unfortunately, your make-up
bag plays host to a cornucopia of
bacteria. It’s easy to clutch onto your
favourite, trusty mascara despite it
being well past its three-month life
span. Try buying two at a time so you
can enjoy the pleasure of opening
a new tube and reap the satisfaction
of your favourite product.
X Make-up brushes are criminally
neglected, and used daily all over the
face they can get very dirty. Beauty
expert Laura Mercier says: “Caring
for your brushes means washing them
regularly, not using them for a year
then tossing them away. If you have
acne prone or oily skin, wash your
brushes as often as possible and your
concealer brush should be washed
after every use. Clean your brushes
with antibacterial washing detergent
at least once a week to disintegrate
any build up of grease or oil.”
X Finally, as serial nail-biters will
know, this is a notoriously
difficult habit to kick. A nasty
tasting nail varnish is often
not enough, so the most
effective option is often
investment. Parting with
your hard-earned cash on
a series of manicures means
you’ll be more likely to think
twice before butchering your
nails again. Try Nails Inc’s three
week, semi-permanent
manicure (£50, nailsinc.com)
– you won’t be able to get
through the super
strength varnish.
WORDS��EMMA�SMITH���PHOTOGRAPHY��GETTY�IMAGES
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