Break Bad Beauty Habits

Simple changes can give your look a boost. Following these steps will help improve your appearance exponentially!

Steps

Breaking Bad Face Habits

  1. Refrain from touching your face. You use your hands every day, touching all sorts of things. Whatever you touch is spread to your face, so be sure that you wash your hands whenever necessary.
    • If you have developed a habit of touching your face, avoid any temptation. If you have an itch, for example, use the inside of your clothes instead—just be sure they are clean!
  2. Don't lick your lips. The drying saliva ultimately causes chapped lips. Lip balm and regular water consumption will remedy chapped lips.
    • To stop your lips from peeling and cracking for good, spread a thick layer of petroleum jelly on your lips every night before you go to bed (Vaseline is a good choice). This is really helpful (especially for those who sleep with the air-conditioning on at night) as petroleum jelly locks in the moisture that's in your lips and keeps your lips from drying out.
    • You can also exfoliate your lips. Rub fine sugar on your lips in gentle, circular motions once a week. Leave it on for about two minutes, and then wash it off. It's best to do this at night right before you apply the petroleum jelly.
  3. Don't rub your eyes. Skin around your eyes is very delicate and thin, so rubbing your eyes can cause inflammation, and in severe cases pink eye. Use a tissue or the tip of your finger to relieve any irritation gently—ensure cleanliness.
  4. Leave pimples alone! Pimples are clogged pores filled with bacteria, so touching them will irritate your skin and may scar your face.
    • Over-the-counter products could work, but the best way to clear pimples without the synthetics is to dab a small amount of tea tree oil over the pimple once every day. This can greatly reduce inflammation; thus, making the pimple less noticeable.
    • If you habitually sleep in cold temperatures, turn down the temperature a few notches every day, or until you get used to the accruing temperatures. If you still need the cold, remember to slap on body lotion every night and wear socks on your feet every other day before sleeping.

Breaking Bad Hair Habits

  1. Use fabric-covered hair bands to tie your hair. Plain rubber bands tear and split your hair.
  2. Avoid heated cosmetics. Using heat severely dries your hair, which can cause split ends or frizz.
    • Air-dry your hair whenever possible.
    • Before using any heated cosmetics, you should apply heat-protection serum to your hair. Heat-protection serum will not only protect your hair cuticles, but it can also give your hair a healthy shine.
  3. Don't wash your hair every day. This is one of the easiest ways to end up with dry frizzy hair, as constantly washing your hair can strip your hair of its natural oils.
    • Although it's okay for those with short hairstyles to wash their hair every day, people with longer hair should consider washing your hair less frequently. People with shoulder-length hair, should wash their hair every other day; those with hair longer than that should wash their hair every third day.

Breaking Nail-Biting Habits

  1. Use a nibble inhibitor. Apply some yucky tasting nibble inhibitor on your nails at least once a day.
    • Now when you bite your nails, it will taste nasty and you'll think twice about doing it again. Over time, using a nibble inhibitor can help you to break your nail biting habit for good.
    • If you don't want to splurge on a specific nibble inhibitor product, try applying some hand sanitizer or cream that doesn't taste so good instead. However, you will need to apply this quite frequently.
  2. Cover your nails. Covering up your nails can provide a physical barrier between your teeth and your fingertips, preventing you from biting.
    • Wear gloves. If the weather is cold, wearing gloves is a great way to hide your nails while also staying warm and stylish.
    • Wrap your fingers in adhesive bandages. If your nails are covered this way, you won't be able to get to them! This is a good technique for when you're sitting at home in the evenings, or in bed at night.
  3. Distract yourself. Try to find new activities to replace your nail biting habit when you're feeling nervous or bored. For example:
    • Try chewing sugarless gum every time you want to bite your nails. This will give your mouth something else to do -- and will taste much better!
    • Find something to play with like a coin or ball of putty -- this will keep your hands busy and away from your mouth! This is a good technique for in the car or while watching TV.
    • Eat or drink something. Try carrying around a bottle of water or a bag of carrots sticks - then whenever you feel the urge to bite, you can simply take a drink or nibble on a carrot instead.
  4. Make your nails look pretty. Another way to prevent yourself from biting is to give yourself a beautiful manicure -- your nails will look so pretty, you'll hate to ruin them by biting!
    • Choose bold colors like dark pink and red, where it will look very obvious if the nails have been bitten or chipped.
    • Apply fake nails, or get gel nails done professionally at a salon. These will cover up your natural nails, giving them a chance to grow out while you can't bite them.
  5. Keep your nails healthy. Keeping your nails in good condition will make them stronger and prettier-looking, making them less prone to breakage and more difficult to break. Follow these tips for healthier nails:
    • Eat a healthy diet. A diet rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium and fatty acids is beneficial for nails. Try eating lots of eggs, oily fish, fruit, leafy green vegetables and nuts. You could also try taking a supplement for healthy hair, skin and nails.
    • Keep your nails short. Keeping your nails cut short will prevent them from breaking and from becoming too long or weak. It will also minimize your temptation to bite them. How often you need to cut your nails varies from person to person, but for most people it will be somewhere around every one or two weeks.
    • Apply nail and cuticle creams. Dry, dehydrated nails are more prone to brittleness and breakage, so keep your talons in tip-top shape by massaging a little nail cream into each individual fingertip every night. Rubbing some cuticle oil on your cuticles can also work wonders.



Warnings

  • Use gentle face cleansers instead of harsh ones, full of chemicals.
  • Have a parent help you with the heat appliances if you are too young.

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