Five Beauty Habits You Need To Quit NOW!

By BR Kellie

Habits are funny little things. They start off small, innocent, you do them without even thinking about it, and then all of a sudden they turn on you. Becoming big, evil, scary and bad, causing all sorts of grief. It’s not just the obvious bad habits I’m talking about, like smoking, drinking too much, eating too much unhealthy food, but the little habits… like pursing your lips to the point you cause wrinkles, squinting to see instead of reaching for some specs, brushing your teeth like you’re attacking them…

So what five seemingly innocuous beauty habits do you need to break now?

Opening bobby pins with teeth. Every time you do this you’re increasing the chances of damaging your enamel, which can then cause sensitivity to anything hot or cold, discolouration, as well as chipped teeth. Not pretty. …And also potentially expensive if you need to visit a dentist. So next time you go to use your teeth as a bobby pin-opening tool, use your fingers instead.

You know how we’re all about cleaning your makeup brushes? Well your pillow needs to be regularly changed as well. Dead skin cells, dirt, oil, makeup that hasn’t quite come off with your cleanse, can all gather on your pillowcase and work to contribute to that random pimple that pops up in the morning, or even acne. The solution is simple. Change your pillowcase every few days.  

Who hasn’t popped a hairband around their wrist at some point in their lives? I used to do it regularly. It was convenient, it meant my hair – or my girl’s hair – could be tied up easily without a big hairband hunting mission occurring first, and then I saw this article about a woman who experienced a severe bacterial infection caused by her hairband and off mine came quick smart. It may have been one of those random occurrences that happen in life, she may be one of a handful who only ever experience it, but I don’t know about you, but I don't want to test that theory… What to do? Keep a stash in a pretty jar or box. Keep a stash in your handbag. And in your car. Basically, fill your life with hairband stashes so you never have to risk ruining your wrist.

Dry shampoo is a fantastic time saver, and it can make your hair look drab to fab in a jiffy. But as with many habits, too much can be a bad thing. An itchy flaky scalp is just the beginning of the less than desirable things that can happen when you use too much dry ‘poo over a period of time. Celebrity hairdresser, Lee Stafford told the Daily Mail that leaving dry shampoo on the hair too long can clog pores and lead to sore patches and spots. Some women have even reported baldness. So what’s a girl to do? Use it, sure, just don’t rely on it as the method to give you a clean head of hair.

Do you sip from a straw so as not to ruin your lipstick? Remember what we said about pursing lips and wrinkles? Yep. Straw-sipping can be a contributor to lip wrinkles due to the repetitive motion of screwing up your lips to suck. Sure, it can help keep sugary drinks away from your teeth, but then so can brushing after eating treats. And yes, reapplying lipstick after drinking from a cup can be annoying, but it’s better than sporting lips that look like a cat’s bum in your later years.

So there you have it, five bad beauty habits you need to break. Are you shining your halo right now in the knowledge you don’t do any of them? Or is there a gnawing guilt in the pit of your stomach?  The beauty confessional is open!