Remove These Bad Skin Habits From Your Routine

(My contribution to the skincare blog: Kiseu.)

Alright, skin enthusiasts! It's 2020, and a new decade has begun. The best way to start the new year off is by scrapping your bad skin habits and replacing them with kinder, gentler methods to take care of your complexion. (And if you’re reading this is the future, it’s never too late to start treating your skin better!)

It can be super easy to fall into these habits, either because they’re tempting to do, or because you had no idea they were harmful in the first place. We’ve rounded up the most common skin mistakes you might be making, along with better habits to replace them. With just a few simple changes, you can enter the 20’s glowing!

9 Bad Skin Habits to Avoid:

1. Not washing your face before bed. Please. I beg of you. Wash your makeup off before bed. I know the long day can be exhausting, and all you want to do is crash into bed, but washing your face can be a soothing part of your nightly routine that also saves the condition of your skin. Going straight to bed (even if you don’t wear makeup) can lead to inflammation, clogged pores and breakouts. The pollutants and sweat from the day are still on your skin, so they can cause damage and premature aging. In a pinch? Keep some makeup wipes on-hand for the nights you just can’t bother to do the whole double-cleanse thing. 

2. Over-washing and over-exfoliating your skin. This one is tricky, because how often you should wash and exfoliate all depends on your skin type. Over cleansing and exfoliating can leave your skin stripped of it’s oils, raw, and inflamed. (Not the glow you had in mind.) In general, it’s best to wash your skin twice a day. The natural oils in your skin help keep your face hydrated and protect against pollutants, so you don’t want to remove them completely.

Exfoliating should only happen once or twice a week, at most. The point of exfoliation is to sweep away dead skin cells, but doing it every day scrapes off the healthy, living ones, too. Confused? Just listen to your skin. If your face feels sensitive after exfoliation, reduce how often you exfoliate. Physical exfoliators can also be harsher than chemical ones, so consider switching to a product with AHA’s and BHA’s for a gentler scrub. 

3. Skipping sunscreen on the regular. Forgetting from day to day is only human, but wearing sunscreen regularly is the best anti-aging trick out there. Eye creams and sheet masks are great, but sunscreen is the secret hero of ageless skin in the long run. Sunscreen prevents skin discoloration, wrinkles and skin cancer (!!!), so it should be your skincare BFF. And don’t forget it on cloudy days! If the sun is out, you’re vulnerable to UV rays, so sunscreen is a must.

4. You smoke. This habit is definitely harder to kick, but smoking can cause serious damage to your skin. (And your overall health.) Nicotine reduces the blood flow to your skin, so your skin doesn’t get the nutrients and oxygen it needs. Collagen and elastin damage, dullness, wrinkles and thinning skin can all be symptoms of smoking. If you don’t want to speed up skin aging, quitting smoking is a good move. 

5. Picking at your skin. I get it. I had breakouts for years, and the temptation is to pop every pimple in sight. The issue with this is that you risk making acne scars and pigmentation worse, slowing down healing time, and even infecting your skin with bacteria from your hands. (Which just leads to more breakouts.) Instead, be gentle with your skin. Always cleanse and apply products with clean hands, and avoid touching your skin throughout the day. If you think of skin issues like healing wounds, it’ll be easier to treat them kindly and let them heal. (You’d never scratch at stitches to try and make them better, would you?)

6. Forgetting to treat your neck and chest. Sometimes, we invest so much time applying products to our face, that we forget all about the neck and chest! This skin ages and needs care, just like your face. Applying any anti-aging and moisturizing products on this delicate skin will help you glow from the shoulders up. 

7. Rubbing your eyes. This one is so easy to do, especially because it can feel so good to rub your eyes at the end of a long day. The skin around your eyes is incredibly thin, though. Rubbing your eyes repeatedly can result in fine lines and wrinkles forming sooner. Even removing your eye makeup harshly can cause lines. Your eyes are often the first to show aging, so apply eye cream with your ring finger, and take a gentle hand to your eyes when you treat them. 

8. Not cleaning your makeup brushes. It’s so easy to forget to clean your brushes and sponges regularly. Somehow, I can go for weeks at a time without cleaning my brushes, and wonder why my makeup looks cakey. Bacteria can grow easily on makeup tools, and this goes straight on your skin, causing breakouts and inflammation. Once a week, use a mild cleanser for your brushes, or replace them when they get too old and worn-down. 

9. Not sanitizing your phone. Our phones go everywhere with us. Countertops, coffee shops, car cup holders, you name it. All day long, they’re picking up the germs from public surfaces and our hands. If you touch your phone and then your skin, it’s almost like rubbing your face against those public surfaces, too. (Um, gross.) Sanitizing your phone regularly minimizes the germs that come in contact with your skin when you scroll through Instagram or take a phone call. (And you might see acne on your cheeks and jawline clear up, too!) 

It can feel a little overwhelming trying to do right by your skin, but take things slow. Good habits take time to introduce and keep. Eliminating bad habits, one at a time, will show you real skin improvements and slow aging, and that will make it all worth it in the end!

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