17 Everyday Habits That Are Ruining Women’s Beauty and Health

2019-10-10

7 out of every 10 Americans have a habit that negatively affects their beauty, their health, and even shortens their life! Every day we do the same “innocent” things and don’t even realize how harmful they can be to our health. Using a towel to dry your face, leaving a razor in the shower, and brushing wet hair can ruin your good looks and well-being.

We at Bright Side want to help every woman stay young and flawless and found 17 everyday bad habits that may be obstacles to your beauty and health.

1. Wearing nail polish all the time

If you can’t go a day without wearing nail polish, chances are you’re familiar with this issue. Dark polishes, especially those that are from cheaper brands, have powerful dyes in them that can stain your nails.

As a result, your nails will appear a sickly yellow color. To combat this, try wearing less polish in general or investing in better brands with high-quality ingredients.

2. Using a towel to dry your face

It’s normal for us to use a towel after cleaning our face, but that can work against our beauty. The towel is a good breeding ground for bacteria and microbes. Each time you use your towel more than once, you risk getting acne.

Instead of this, you can use special facial cotton tissue or just to skip drying your face as Korean women advise. Just apply skincare products on damp skin and that will moisturize your face even better.

3. Sleeping with an underwire bra on

Most of us wear a bra on a daily basis and they seem harmless enough. While the bra itself isn’t a problem, wearing an underwire one while you sleep can cause skin irritation and compress your breast tissue at night.

It’s also important to wear one that is perfectly your size and isn’t too tight or too big. Alternatively, a soft bralette is great if you like wearing one to bed.

4. Using dirty makeup brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes might not be one of your top of priorities in these busy times, but you’ll be doing your skin a huge service by turning it into a habit. By using dirty brushes, we’re reapplying bacteria and germs onto our faces over and over again and even potentially spreading it into our beauty products. In the worst case scenario it can lead to break outs or even infections.

5. Eating more than one teaspoon of salt every day

We’ve gotten used to eating salty food and don’t even try to control the intake of it. Salt can also be in cheese, sausages, and ready-to-cook food.

Reducing your intake of salt can help you to lower your blood pressure! And researchers say that women with lower blood pressure have less saggy facial skin.

You only need 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, which is no more than one teaspoon.

6. Over-plucking your eyebrows

Less isn’t always more, especially when it comes to your eyebrows. Nicely shaped brows can frame a face beautifully, but be careful about how often you pluck since the hair will eventually grow back thinner and thinner.

Eventually, some of the hair might not grow back at all if you’ve been plucking your brows intensively for years and you might end up with sparse brows.

7. Leaving our razors in the shower

It seems natural to leave our razors where we mostly use them, but this is actually a big no-no if you want to get the most out of your razor. By leaving it in a humid area the blade will dull faster and the next time you use it, you’ll be more prone to getting ingrown hairs and irritation from shaving with a bad razor. Instead, dry and wipe your razor after using it and store it out of your shower.

8. Sitting with our legs crossed

Since most of our time is spent sitting, it’s important to have good posture and the proper sitting position. Although crossing your legs might seem comfortable, it’s damaging to the healthy blood circulation in your legs.

Paired with tight clothes like skinny jeans or leggings, you’ll be putting yourself at risk for bad posture and slightly increased blood pressure.

9. Wearing deodorant after shaving

It’s no secret that most deodorants have strong, harmful chemicals in them. After a shave, the pores in our skin are opened up and more prone to absorbing whatever products we put on.

Therefore, it’s best to avoid applying anything else other than a hydrating lotion or a natural deodorant on freshly shaven armpits to avoid irritation and rashes.

10. Having your hair up while you sleep

Ladies with long hair will definitely understand the comfort of having your hair out of the way while sleeping. It’s also great for avoiding those painful knots in the morning.

Unfortunately, wearing your hair up in bed puts a strain on your scalp and weakens your hair, which in turn can lead to hair loss. If knots and messy hair are a problem in the morning, try to invest in a special detangling brush instead.

11. Taking hot showers

We all love a nice hot shower, especially after a long day at work. While having a hot shower every once in a while to relax is perfectly fine, it’s better to make sure you don’t make a habit of it.

Hot water dries your skin and your hair quicker than lukewarm or cold water. If a hot shower is indispensable, try to end your showering session with lukewarm or cold water to close your pores.

12. Drinking diet soda and coffee

The idea of a tasty and sugar-free drink is nice, but the truth is, they tend to be just as bad as the original versions. Due to the acidity of diet sodas, they can still ruin your teeth despite their lack of sugar. And they’ve also been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.

If you’re looking to stay healthy, it’s probably best to just go for flavored water or tea and it is also better to avoid coffee because it also makes our teeth yellow.

13. Pumping the mascara wand inside the tube

When your favorite mascara runs low, it’s only natural for us to want to use every last bit of it before running to the store. However, the act of pumping your mascara wand inside the tube pushes air into the product, which contaminates it with bacteria.

You’re therefore putting yourself at risk for an eye infection. Rather than pumping, try and slowly twist your wand to minimize airflow into the tube.

14. Using whitening strips for teeth

There are many ways on the market to get white teeth quickly, from baking soda recipes to whitening strips. Unfortunately, many of these at-home solutions, when used too often, can cause damage to our teeth.

Whitening strips tend to weaken the protective enamel layer of our teeth which makes them fragile. It might cost more, but seeing a professional dentist for whitening will always be better and safer.

15. Brushing your hair when it’s wet

It’s natural to want to untangle your hair after washing it, but next time put your comb down and wait for it to dry. The pores of your scalp are usually open and enlarged after a shower, which means any tugging on your hair will damage them easier.

Either finish off your shower with some cold water on your head or dry your hair thoroughly before brushing it.

16. Forgetting to change your pillowcase

If you’re suffering from unexplainable skin issues, the answer might be closer than you think. Changing your pillowcase every 2 or 3 days will ensure that any of the sweat, oil, drool, and other bacteria won’t get transferred on to your skin every single night and cause break outs.

For people with particularly acne-prone skin, it’s even recommended to change your pillowcase every day.

17. Treating your hair with too much heat

Most of us use a curling iron, straightening iron, or hair dryer to achieve the look we want on a daily basis. Long-term use of heat on a daily basis on our hair is a recipe for disaster and results in split ends and dry hair.

Heat treatment is fine, but it’s crucial to use proper heat protection products. On some days, it’s also good to simply let your hair be and give it a break from all the treatments.

Bonus: Looking down at your phone

We need to accept the fact that we spend plenty of time looking at our phone. The most important thing is how you do it! You might be one of those people who holds your phone down, near your chest. This can add pressure on your neck and lead to health problems.

Be careful with the position of your head, because the pain will not only affect your mood, but will bring on sleepless nights and a tired face.

Have you ever had a bad habit that was ruining your beauty and you even didn’t know that it was that harmful? Please share your experience with us and leave your comment below!

Illustrated by Ekaterina Gapanovich for BrightSide.me