Beautify

Are You Guilty of These Dirty Little Beauty Habits?

Plus Skincare Beauty Tips

I’ll start off by saying that we’ve all been guilty of some pretty awful beauty habits in the past, whether we want to admit it or not. I’m looking at you zit pickers and pimple poppers, or those of you who don’t remove their matte lipstick, eyebrow gel, and mascara before bed. However, while there are some sacrifices we wouldn’t dare admit for the sake of beauty, there are others that are just down right dangerous and if done too often can lead to ruining your skin, nails, and hair, and cause a nasty infection.

Here are a few bad beauty habits that we need to stop for good:

1. Not removing makeup before bed
Makeup creates a fine layer over the skin, which in turn traps oil, dirt, sweat, bacteria, and basically everything gross thing you face throughout your day. So by the time you turn in for the night, your face is covered in microscopic particles of dirt, oil, germs, and food. Not to mention the layer of makeup that’s just sitting there clog your pores and preventing detoxification. You’ll inevitably end up with a breakout, and if you’re less lucky all that unwashed oil, dirt, bacteria, and pollution clogging up your pores will cause a nasty skin or eye infection. For instance, demodex folliculorum is a microscopic mite that live in the pores and hair follicles of your face, nose, and eyelashes and feeds on fatty secretions and dead skin, laying up to 25 eggs per hair follicle. These mites also excrete waste, which can lead to all sorts of skin reactions, eye infections, and rosacea.

2. Never washing makeup brushes
According to New York dermatologist, Dr. Jessica Weiser, makeup brushes are basically a breeding ground for dirt, oil, bacteria, and yeast on your precious visage. So if you don’t cleanse your brushes at least twice per week, you may soon end up with clogged pores, acne, cold sores, and ekkkkkk, pink eye!

3. Sharing razors
We’ve all been there, caught in a moment of full lather and desperation with no razor in sight, except for your sisters, room mates, or husbands. But before you mow down that week of growth, this warning may encourage you to rock the hairy armpit look instead. Dr. Whitney Bowe, a New York Board Certified Dermatologist cautions that each shave leaves the shaver with tiny nicks across the skin, which are basically an open door for bacteria, fungal infection, and warts. So if it’s not your razor, using it may lead to transmitting blood borne bacteria, fungal infections, and nasty viruses.

4. Picking at nail polish
If you tend to pick off your weekly mani-pedi a few days before your next appointment, listen up. This nail no-no causes keratin granulations, which are uneven patches, roughness, and divets in the superficial layer of the nail cells. That means a cotton pad and nail polish remover are always your safest and most efficient bet to banish old polish quick.

5. Makeup that long expired
I know most of us pay $50+ for a fancy foundation and never think twice about the little expiry date on the bottom of the bottle. If you use a different shade of liquid foundation every season, using long expired makeup may be a breeding ground for bacteria, especially if the preservatives within are long overdue so your skin is no longer protected from all sorts of bacterial and fungal nasties.

6. Popping pimples
I know it’s tough to ignore an about-to-burst whitehead on the tip of your nose or chin. I mean it’s just begging for a popping, right? Not so fast, says dermatologist and MD, Dr. Mara Weinstein from University of Rochester Medical Center. Popping pimples sets free a combination of bacteria and dead skin cells, not to mention leaving the infected oil gland swollen and prone to infection and permanent scarring.