5 Skincare Habits that You Should Leave Behind in 2014

Have you started to make that new year's resolution list for this brand new year? So many goals and accomplishments that you'd like to see in your future are probably flashing through your mind right now as you read this. Well, I've got a few suggestions of my own that may not land you that next promotion or make you more money, but it will help in your overall appearance, health, and how you feel physically.

Have I gotten your attention yet? Great! Keep reading.

1. First things first. Stop smoking! Smoking not only makes you smell yucky, it also breaks down the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin. What are collagen and elastin responsible for, you ask? Allow me to dig a little deeper. Collagen and elastin are protein fibers that help to keep your skin smooth and tight. When they are compromised, they begin to break down causing your skin to wrinkle and sag. Is this something that you really want? I didn't think so!

On a positive note, once you stop smoking, the resilience of your body should rein supreme and repair itself within a month or two. While you may not go right back to the perfect shape you were in before smoking, you will still notice a positive change once your skin completes its natural cell turnover, which takes about six weeks.

2. Stop falling asleep before you remove all of your makeup. While we sleep, our skin naturally repairs itself and tries to push out all of the toxins that are currently trapped within our pores. Image how much harder it is to push something out of your way when something is blocking it's path? Not only are you making things much harder for your precious skin, you are also making it much easier for toxins to get trapped in your pores while you sleep. As you lay there tossing and turning on your pillow, you are pushing more dirt, oil, and dead skin cells further down into your pores. So, just follow my advice and remove all the gunk before you go to bed. Your skin will thank you later!

**Extra tip: If you are feeling lazy and would rather not get out of bed, keep some cleansing cloths next to your side of the bed. My personal favorites are Ole Henriksen Truth to Go Cleansing Wipes but I will also used baby wipes for sensitive skin in a pinch!

3. Stop over exfoliating. Some ladies seem to think that the more you exfoliate those dead skin cells away, the better off you will be but that is not the case. While everyone should exfoliate, you can actually take it to far and cause yourself more harm than good. Over exfoliating can cause redness and irritation because you are exposing new skin cells before they are ready. This can cause you to be a red, splotchy, and painful hot mess!

My recommendation on exfoliation is as follows: For dry to normal skin tones, try exfoliating once a week. For oilier skin types, try exfoliating twice a week but never on back to back days. For example, if you exfoliate on a Sunday, wait until the following Wednesday to exfoliate again.

4. Not cleaning your makeup brushes. This is a big no no simply because, depending on what type of brushes you have, dirt, oil, bacteria, and dead skin can get trapped inside the bristles of the brush. This means that every time you go to swipe your brushes across your face you are re-depositing things that you've worked really hard to remove. The same goes for your makeup sponges. If you use a makeup sponge with smaller pores such as a beauty blender, the life of your sponge will be a little longer but the others need to be tossed more frequently. Beauty blenders are one of the few sponges that can be cleaned a time a two before buying a new one. Some of them even come with their own cleansers!

5. Not getting enough sleep. Does this really shock you? Just like with everything else in your body, your skin benefits from a good nights rest. Getting anything less than seven hours of blissful sleep can attribute to the break down of collagen and elastin in your skin causing fine lines and wrinkles to appear. This can also lend to a dull complexion.

Another thing in the sleeping department to be concerned about is your pillow. Who knew? Using a cotton pillow allows for more of our dead skin cells, dirt, oil, and excess moisturizers to get trapped within the fibers. What does this mean for you? As I said earlier in this article, as you toss and turn at night, you are depositing these things back onto your skin and actually pressing them in further. To battle this, try using a different type of pillowcase such as Egyptian cotton or silk.

As always, feel free to comment with any question or concerns and I will do my best to help!

Thank you for reading and I hope you guys have a happy and blessed New year!