The Little Things

I think we all have little things that we learnt as teen girls - either from our mothers, sisters, friends or magazines - that we continue to do as part of our adult beauty routines every day.

So I thought it might be fun to share with you some of my "little things", that I've done since I was a pre-teen - and where/who I learned them from.

1. Always pat dry your face - never rub.
I read this somewhere in a Girlfriend or Dolly magazine and I've always done it. The theory is that by patting the skin dry, we are allowing some of the moisture to soak into the skin before locking it in with moisturizer. And of course this is far more gentle on the skin as well.

2. Always tone & moisturize your neck as well as your face.
Many women forget about the neck and chest area when it comes to skincare, which is why you will often see ladies with beautiful, young looking faces - but wrinkled and sun damaged necks. Often the neck can be a tell tale sign of age if neglected.

3. The best way to treat aging skin is to prevent it.
I've always had very fair skin, so I tend to burn easily. I learnt early on to always choose a moisturizer with a sunscreen in it. We all know the sun is the number one cause of skin damage & aging - so it's important to protect ourselves from an early age, in order to keep skin healthy and young. I think this was something I heard Nicole Kidman say - another very fair skinned lady!

4. Use toothpaste to dry out pimples.
I learnt this years ago from a Jennifer Love Hewitt interview I read. By cleaning the face thoroughly and then putting toothpaste on any pimples before bed, you can speed up the blemish healing process by drying out the spots over night.

5. Only file your nails one way.
My mum taught me this and it's so true. By filing your nails in a back & forth motion, you will actually weaken the nails and they are more likely to tear or break. Always file them in one direction only, to keep them nice and strong at the tips.

6. Don't wash your hair every day.
This is another one I learnt from my mum. By washing your hair every day, you encourage the hair to become more oily - and in turn, you then have to keep washing it daily. But by washing your hair only every second or third day, the hair learns to maintain a more natural oil balance and becomes a lot healthier.

I'd love to hear some of your little tips also, so please do comment if you'd like to share!

S ☓