7 Deadly Beauty Sins
Stop abusing your hair and skin and treat both kindly with the right beauty regimen and great feel-good, look-gorgeous tips from Time4Tips.com
Dab hair days are a common refrain and it's normal to have zits and skin eruptions once in a while, but constant complaints about bad skin and hair point to a serious cause. Skin and hair are not inherently bad. What we see are the results of wrong skin-bodyand-hair care regimes. The use of wrong products, incorrect beauty practices and wrecked hair care can damage your skin, make it sensitive and affect the quality of the hair.
Here is a ready reckoner for you to check the skin sins that you commit everyday and get on the track of beauty virtues.
PRODUCT OVERLOAD: Many women feel that by using as many skin care products as possible, they can get gorgeous skin. Nothing could be further to the truth. In fact, such usage is the prime culprit.
Cure: Mixing too many products sends confusing signals to your skin. There are many ingredients in the products that don't mix and layering them on top of the other can actually lead to allergies and redness. Also, by overusing products, you will be unable to realise the true effect of each one on your skin, which can be a problem in case of allergies. Create a three-step skin care regime with products from the same beauty care range or try out products separately and then work them together. It is a good idea to invest in a good cleanser, toner, face lotion.
OVER-SCRUBBING: We do like our skin to be squeaky clean and want to wipe off every speck of dirt and pollution and free radicals from our faces. In that zeal, we end up using too many cleansing products and, sometimes, practically scrub our skin off. Many of us feel clean only when our skin feels taut and dry after washing.
Cure: Harsh scrubbing can actually harm the upper layer of our skin. Besides, excessive dryness also doubles our skin's effort to secrete oil that can lead to an imbalance in our skin. The aim of cleansing or scrubbing should be that our skin feels soft and supple after the wash and not tight. So re-think your skin scrubbing routine. Go for gentle products. Avoid using soap on your face, instead use a creamy cleanser and a soap-free face wash to wipe away extra grime. In fact, during summers, most of us (even the ones with dry skin) develop a T-zone and greasy skin. During this time, skincare therapists recommend using two types of products - one to deal with the T-zone and the other to cleanse relatively dry cheeks. Avoid scrubbing your face more than thrice a week. Go for products that have fine grain to avoid scratching your skin.
ZIT PICKING: We have been told time and again to stop touching the pimple. But most of us have "one last time" and inevitably burst the irritating little outbreak on our face. Besides being painful, this actually pushes the bacteria further into the skin aggravating the matter. Sometimes, this can trigger an outbreak of pimples and leave un-erasable scars.
Cure: Whatever may be your instinct, when you first see the little red dot, avoid touching it. Instead, take a pimple cream with salicylic acid and dot on a tiny amount on that area for the next few days. To deal with the redness, apply some ice over the area to soothe the pain. In case you feel it looks too ugly for you to handle, use a bit of your water-based foundation over it to hide the zit. Just dab on the spot and blend gently.
HOT WATER BATH: While lukewarm water is great for getting clean supple skin, too hot water can have an adverse effect. Using steaming water can dry your skin excessively. Hot water opens up your pores and leaves your face and body feeling parched and dehydrated. Your skin will end up feeling rough to the touch.
Cure: Wash up with lukewarm to cool water. However, if you like hot showers, then don't stay under the hot water stream for more than two minutes. Finish off your bath by splashing yourself with cool to cold water as the last rinse. This closes open pores and tones up the skin. Follow this with a soothing moisturiser to retain the water balance of your skin.
FOCUS FACE: Most women just tend to take care of their face and spend a fortune on buying facial care products. They forget to take care of their neck, back and bust. They even forget to moisturise their body and legs leaving them dry and peeling.
Cure: Stop giving the rest of your body step-motherly treatment. When you pamper your skin, go the whole way and restore the glow and beauty of your neck, back and bust. For these, you don't have to invest in separate products. Just extend your face care to these areas. Use your facial scrub to exfoliate your neck, back and bust. Cleanse the areas regularly with a creamy cleanser every day when you take your make-up off at night. Since age shows the fastest in these areas, you can invest in a good anti-ageing cream and use it on these areas even if you don't apply the cream on your face. This will ensure a supple neck and bust.
CUT CUTICLES: You believe that for neat nails and toes you must eliminate your cuticles and cut them clean off. Simply stop the practice since this can lead to fungal infection in those areas and you may end up with a hangnail or, worse, weak brittle nails prone to breaking.
Cure: Tell your manicurist and pedicurist to avoid trimming your cuticles. Instead, soften the cuticles with a cuticle cream and then push them towards the base. Rather than cutting the dry ends, simply file away the cuticle. This will neaten your cuticle and keep the base of your nail strong. After this, apply nail-strengthening cream and massage individual nails taking care to smoothen your cuticle upwards.
OVER-CONDITIONING: Your limp hair and frizzy ends say that you love your conditioner too much. You have bought the most expensive hair care product and yet your hair is limp and falling. This is a sure sign of conditioner overdose. When applying conditioners, we tend to put some in our hair roots, which actually weakens the strands.
Cure: When you are applying a conditioner, put it a bit away from your roots and apply the most near the ends. Then activate it by massaging the strands and washing off with cool to cold water. This will seal the cuticles and allow the conditioners to create a protective layer over your hair. You can apply a hair mask to the roots or a deep conditioning product, but for regular or leave-in conditioners, avoid piling it on the roots.
Stop sinning and start looking gorgeous. All it needs is a healthy beauty routine.
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