7 Bad Beauty Habits to Break This Year ...

Stress isn’t good for you. It’s rarely productive, and doesn’t just cause wrinkles – chronic stress can be responsible for puffy eyes, acne and hair loss, among others. Take five minutes out to meditate, bake or find a funny Facebook picture, and you’ll look and feel much better. This is one beauty habit that's easy to establish!

Whether you straighten your hair everyday, or love to add a curl like me, heat can be damaging to the hair. Give your hair a day off every week, or two if you can manage it - it’ll look much better for it! Protect your hair with a heat spray when you do heat style, and use a deep conditioner regularly to repair the damage. It makes my hair shine!

Everyone is encouraged to clean their hairbrush and toothbrush – but it can’t just be me who forgets to clean their makeup brushes? Ideally, they should be thoroughly cleaned weekly using a mild shampoo. I’ve found they work much better clean, too.

So the advice on this one is always conflicting, and whenever I see a spot I’m baffled by whether to burst it or smear it in toothpaste and stand upside down. Dermatologists recommend leaving spots alone to prevent the spread of acne, or causing scarring. If you really can’t leave them be, cover them in a spot-fighting treatment instead. This is a beauty habit to keep to avoid scars and scabs... spot on!

We should all be wearing suncream every day to protect from its rays – especially if you have a pale complexion like mine! I’ve found using a moisturizer with an added SPF stops me from forgetting, and makes wearing suncream effortless. Its estimated that one person an hour dies from melanoma, so this is one bad beauty habit you need to beat!

Do you do the same make-up every day? Whether it’s a smokey eye or a bright lip, mix things up to keep your look fresh. Swap black eyeliner for navy, or try a darker lipstick. I’ve found makeup shopping always cheers me up, and purple really makes my green eyes pop.

I was a nail-biter for years, usually when I was nervous or shy. Now I’ve broken the habit, I get plenty of compliments on my hands and nails, and I love to paint them bright colors! Try using a bitter-tasting varnish or promising yourself something new if you make a week without biting. It’s so worth it.

I’m guilty of most of these, so I’ll definitely be making an effort to break my bad beauty habits! Which beauty rules are you guilty of breaking? I’d love to know!

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