How to Take Care of Your Skin Based on Your Worst Habits

Despite the best of intentions — and a medicine cabinet full of perfect-for-your-skin products — we have vices. Here’s how to keep our skin looking good anyway…

We’re all human. And as humans, we’re likely to…not be perfect all the time. (Or most of the time.) Which means that despite the best of intentions — and a medicine cabinet full of perfect-for-your-skin products — we have vices. We do stuff that’s not always in our best interest, no matter how fun it is. In short, we indulge. Whether that indulgence takes the shape of four pounds of cheese for dinner or opting for some extra shut-eye by getting into bed without washing your face, I’m not here to judge. What I am here to do, however, is help you figure out how to counteract the fun-but-not-great-for-your-skin stuff so that no one will be any the wiser.

 

If you slept in your makeup…

Listen, I get it. You’re exhausted and the last thing you want to do is take the time to double cleanse then apply mists, serums, oils, and moisturizers. But please, don’t make this a habit. It won’t take more than a few nights of sleeping in your makeup and the day’s grime for your skin to react. If you really, truly, absolutely cannot bring yourself to complete your whole nighttime routine, at least use a cleansing wipe and then rinse your face before hitting the pillow. When you wake up incredibly refreshed from that extra 10 minutes of sleep, double cleanse in the morning before applying your daytime products. And it can’t hurt to throw on a detoxifying mask if you have time to really pull yesterday’s gunk out of your pores.

 

If you can’t bring yourself to drink enough water during the day…

Buy yourself a cute water bottle that you can’t bear to part with. Seriously, drinking water — and lots of it — is so so so important for the health of not only your skin but your entire body. Download an app that reminds you to drink up every hour. Leave yourself encouraging notes. Seriously, become a hydration convert. But if there’s a day here and there where you haven’t kept up, you can fake hydrated skin a few ways. The first is to stimulate blood flow with ingredients like peppermint, rosemary and ginseng, all of which will boost circulation and carry extra oxygen to parched skin. A light exfoliation will also help remove dead, dry skin cells. And of course, hydration powerhouse hyaluronic acid should be applied ASAP, followed by a killer moisturizer and a big chug of water.

 

If you partied a little too hard last night…

Happens to the best of us. But since booze is really good at depleting water and antioxidants from the skin, and dilating blood vessels, you’ll want to go hard on hydration and counteracting puffiness. If you can handle it, start by dunking your face into a sink or bowl full of ice water. Yup, I’m serious. It’ll wake you up, shrink capillaries and stimulate drainage to combat some of the puff you’re likely experiencing. Next, use a hydrating mask to brighten and plump, followed by a hyaluronic acid serum to quench your thirsty skin cells. (And maybe throw in a detoxifying supplement if you’re feeling really adventurous. Or, you know, just go out for a giant stack of waffles.)

 

If you stayed awake until 4am watching Netflix and only got three hours of sleep…

You’re probably going to feel like crap but at least you’ll look good! Faking a decent night’s sleep is actually fairly easy — just don’t make a habit of it! Lack of sleep can do a lot of damage beyond sallow skin and dark under eye circles. Since sleep is when your skin repairs and hydrates itself, not sleeping does the opposite, which means your face is in dire need of moisturizer. First, shock yourself (and your skin) awake with a cool shower and a dry brush session to get the blood flowing, then load up on moisturizing products like hydrating serums, balms and creams. If you’ve been keeping an eye cream/serum in the fridge, now is the perfect time to use it. The cool temperature will decrease puffiness. Bonus points if it contains caffeine.

 

If you ate something that made your skin freak out…

This one is a little less straightforward, since whatever is happening on your face is likely the result of an allergy, an intolerance, a hormone issue, or a combination of the aforementioned. Short of seeking medical advice or trying an elimination diet to figure out what food or food group is causing the flareup, there are a few things you can do. If your issue is puffiness as a result of high-sodium foods, counteract the bloat with hydrating, whole foods (cucumber, watermelon, greens) and water to flush out your system. Otherwise, focus on eating foods loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and essential fatty acids for a while until things calm down.

 

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I am always staying up waaay too late – like 4am – and on a daily basis too! Definitely need to change that bad habit. Thanks for the tips! ❤️✨

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

Alex
4 years ago

I need some serious advice on what to do if your skin is doing a flashback to that time when you had severe acne 5 years ago, with 1000km/h and absolutely nothing is working. Help

4 years ago

I actually have bad habits when it comes to taking care of the skin. Thank for sharing this article now I will take a note on these tips. I hope these skincare routines will help me.

4 years ago

Hey Allie!! Amazing post. Habits enlisted by you are true. Most of the time I also do the same mistakes. I tried everything to make a proper sleeping schedule but I am still failing in it. My mother always tells me to get a proper amount of sleep and try some natural home remedies for my skin. I tried some of her home remedies on my skin and I was shocked with the results. After using her homemade products, my skin got a natural glow. Now, I’ll will also try to manage my sleeping time too. Thanks for sharing.

3 years ago

Hey Allie White!! Excellent post. I always want to have nice smooth skin. but I don’t follow take any measures. These tips are really helpful for me. So no late night tv shows, drink more water, remove makeup before sleep

3 years ago

I am one of the worst person having a lots of BadHabits , I really do not care about my skin at all. Although not yet faced any big issue

3 years ago

Timely sleeping also plays an important part in beauty and skin care

3 years ago

great post, thank you! on my own I will add that facial massage works to de-puff by draining lymph and has immediate effects in boosting blood flow (which is good news for your sad, dull skin). To restore even tone and all-over glow, grab a facial oil and go to town just using your hands