Best Way to Avoid Beauty Crimes

Don’t go to bed with your make-up on

A little bit of lipstick isn’t exactly a deadly poison that will cause a slow death of beauty in the night. But go to bed still wearing foundation or eye make-up, and you could end up in a real mess: the stale make-up will clog the pores and settle in lines, resulting in spots and wrinkles.

Never squeeze spots

Unless you have a pimple with such a ripe head on it that it is about to burst, don’t attempt to squeeze. Picking aggravates the spot and, even if you are careful and use tissues, the bacteria could spread under the skin, producing more spots.

Forget sharing make-up

You may be itching to try out your best friend‘s up-to-the-minute, plum-coloured lip pencil, but if she suffers from cold sores you could end up catching this herpes virus, which tends to stick around for good. Sharing eye make-up is also a definite no-no: contagious eye infections like conjunctivitis can easily be spread through borrowing eyeliners, mascaras and eyeshadows.

No frowning, please

Many of us fall into this habit unknowingly, especially when we are working or studying hard. Unless you welcome frown lines, smooth out your forehead by opening your eyes wider whenever you feel a frown coming on.

Don’t bite your nails

Chewed nails look unsightly and give the impression that you don’t give a damn about your appearance. From the health aspect, not only can nibbling cause infection, but if you were to peer through a microscope at the zillions of bacteria happily nestling under your fingernails, it’s unlikely that you’d ever nibble them again.

Fling out the soap

By using soap you are stripping your skin’s acid mantle, leaving it dehydrated. Soap leaves behind a residue and also contains surfactants, which are irritants. If you like to wash your face rather than wipe it, use a cleansing bar: these look and feel like soap but are actually soap-free.

Refrain from touching your face

You’ve walked the dog, put the rubbish out and travelled to work; sitting at your desk you start playing with your face – rubbing your forehead and searching for any rough areas on your cheeks. As you transfer the morning’s grime and germs from your fingers onto your face, you are simultaneously spreading infection, oil and bacteria, resulting in spots, dry patches and sensitive skin, so leave your face alone.

Avoid licking your lips

Whether you are licking your lips to achieve that sultry, wet-look pout, or are wetting them because it’s a habit – stop! Carry on, and you’ll end up with crusty, dehydrated lips. Just try applying lipstick to lips in this state.

Stop assaulting your hair

Pulling and fiddling with your hair can become a bad habit which damages the hair’s cuticles, and could affect the hair follicle causing permanent hair loss. Scraping hair back into too tight a pony tail is another hair sin.

Don’t slouch

You might be a dead ringer for Naomi Campbell, but if you stand with hunched shoulders, you may as well be Quasimodo. Poor posture destroys good looks and can lead to health problems, such as backache and indigestion.