We all have bad habits, I have them too I’m not gonna lie. But there are some bad habits that will make a huuuuuge impact on how you look, or at least how part of you looks. I know it’s not always easy, sometimes I even find myself still doing these things and I have to take a step back and say “Get a hold of yourself, woman!!” and that usually does the trick 😛

Of course, some bad habits are worse than others, so let’s talk about my top five bad beauty habits and start there.

1. Daily Heat Styling - We all want to look supa fly on a daily basis, I understand this. But if you are heat styling your hair every day you’re doing it a great disservice. Sure your hair looks really good at the time, but gradually you are going to accumulate damage. This counts for short hair too, just because you don’t have long locks doesn’t mean you don’t need to worry about damaged ends, especially if you plan on growing it out. The best solution is to find heatless styles that you like, or learn to do some cool braids, or rock your favorite bun. Another handy helper is a good dry shampoo so you can stretch that heat styled hair into the next few days!
2. Picking Nails/Cuticles - If you have peeling nails, or torn up cuticles I understand your struggle because I have been there. I suggest reading my post on how to heal cracked cuticles if you really have a problem with this. But the first and smallest step is to STOP PICKING THEM. Picking at the skin or the peeling ends of the nails is only going to further the damage and continue the cycle of painful, broken and unhealthy nails and cuticles. You will be amazed at how much of an impact this will have. Hire a friend to smack your hands away every time you pick them if you have to.
   
3. Using Nails As Tools - Speaking of nails, you know what else you should stop doing? Using them as tools. This one is pretty self explanatory. If you want your nails to be even and unbroken and long then don’t use them to pick a sticker off of something you just bought, or to lift the tab up on a can of soda, or to turn a screw. Yep, I actually saw someone do that once.
4. Wash & Go Before Bed - It’s tempting to just wash your face and remove your makeup and dive right into bed at night. You’re tired, and the bed is just calling you to jump in those covers. If that happens every now and then after a long day then no biggie, but if that’s your usual nightly routine then it’s a habit you need to break. Find a moisturizer that works for you and a good lip balm and get in the habit of putting those on every night. Even you youngins who aren’t worried about aging yet should be using a nice moisturizer and balm, because the best way to have nice skin when you’re old is to care for it while you’re still young. My little way of tricking myself into doing it consistently is to keep my products on the night stand rather than in the bathroom. I just find that I’m less likely to get lazy and skip it if i can do it while I’m under the cozy covers.
5. Not Moisturizing After Shower - Full disclosure, I’m totally guilty of this one. I try to make myself moisturize after the shower, and I have long stretches of time where I do it every day. But then I fall off the wagon. I don’t know why but I just hate doing it. Maybe it’s because it makes it so difficult to put my jeans on. I try to find ways to force myself to keep up with it though, because your body skin needs care too. When I’m 65 if my face looks great but my body is like a prune, what good is that going to do? I try to keep a spray on moisturizer handy for the days that I’m really feeling the lazy, and a really creamy moisturizer for the days where I suck it up and do the full lotion treatment. I’ll promise to try to break my habit of being lazy post shower if you try too!

So those are (in my opinion) the bad beauty habits that need to go. Do you have any bad habits, or ideas to help break them?