How To Transform Your Skin (With These 10 Lifestyle Changes)

Taking care of your skin isn’t difficult and it shouldn’t be confusing or frustrating.

If this is how you feel about it, it probably means that you are either doing something wrong that clearly doesn’t work or you are not doing anything at all and your skin keeps getting worse by the day.

But it doesn’t have to be scary. All it takes is a little responsibility and good habits that you need to get into. 

Remove Your Makeup Before Going To Bed

It’s crazy to see how many people still do this one thing that contributes to many evils to the skin. 

Sleeping in makeup is bad news to the skin and so many people know this, yet they choose to ignore it and give themselves a bunch of excuses as to why they’re not removing makeup before bed. 

“It’s been a long day and I’m tired” is one that is the most common of the bunch but you being tired isn’t going to get your makeup to “understand” and give you a break from destroying your skin on that night. 

Imagine if it was that easy. 

Anyhow, leaving makeup on is a bad idea and besides dehydrating your skin it can also clog your pores which will then lead to acne, but the scariest thing is that leaving makeup on can actually contribute to damaging your cells.

Makeup traps environmental pollutants and free radicals that can damage the skin cells, including the collagen-producing fibroblasts. 

This leads to premature skin aging among other dangers. And all it takes for you to prevent this kind of damage is to dedicate five minutes to remove your makeup every night. 

While We’re At It – Ditch The Wet Wipes 

Wet wipes are arguably one of the worst things that you can put on your skin and into the environment, too.

It takes years for makeup wipes to break down in the landfill, which is where they are most likely to end up.

Wet wipes are made from a combination of things such as polyester, polypropylene, cotton, wood pulp, and rayon fibers, many of which are not biodegradable components. 

Besides that, they are loaded with perfume and heavily drying alcohols so wet wipes don’t have the ability to remove your makeup even though they are marketed as makeup wipes.

Yup, hate to break it to you but you’ve been LIED to your whole life. 

What wet wipes will do is they will just smear the makeup around on your skin and still leave a big portion of it on the skin’s surface.

Besides that don’t even get me started on how dehydrating and damaging the alcohols and perfume can be to your skin and also the harsh pulling and tugging motions you have to do to remove as much as makeup possible.

All this damages the skin at an insane intensity. 

Granted, you probably won’t see any damage in your 20s but wait until 10-15 years down the line. Your skin will reflect the way it’s been treated. 

Opt for a mild oil cleanser or makeup-removing balm that will break down your makeup instead so that you can easily wash it off.

Also, don’t forget to follow it up with a gel or foam cleanser to really get rid of any trace of makeup left lingering on the surface.

Your skin will surely thank you 20 years down the line. 

Invest In Good Skincare Products

This one is crucial. But don’t get me wrong, by “good” I don’t mean expensive.

Not all good skincare products are expensive and not all expensive skincare products are good.

Take brands like La Mer, for example. They shamelessly charge their customers $130+ for a luxurious facial oil that contains the most basic ingredients. 

Or brands like La Prairie that charge $300+ for an “eye cream complex” and they don’t even disclose the ingredients of this product on their website.

Why? Because someone like me is going to go through the ingredient list, figure out that they are basic as shit, and call them out on it. 

Soon enough, everyone will be calling them out on it because no matter how good the eye cream is, at the end of the day it’s still an overpriced moisturizer and absolutely nothing in this world justifies the $300+ price tag. 

My point is that you should invest in a good skincare routine. Think of something that works for you and is within a reasonable price range because most excellent products are. 

Keep Your Skincare Routine Simple

Another way to save money and have an effective skincare routine is to keep it simple. You absolutely don’t need more than 4 products in your evening skincare routine.

That’s all.

The same goes for your morning routine, however, the only thing you need to do is take out the treatment because this is usually something that’s recommended for evening use and add sunscreen after the moisturizer. 

That’s a great and insanely efficient skincare routine. You will never have a problem with your skin if you stick to the basics. 

Not Everything You See Online Will Work For You

While I always like to encourage my readers to experiment with different products until they find what works for them, I also like to point out that this shouldn’t be an excuse for you to go crazy and fill up your basket with every single thing that’s promoted by your favorite influencer. 

Not everything you see online will work for you. First, because not every skin is the same. Second, how do you really know that this person is using the item they are promoting? 

I mean, skincare scams are everywhere and it’s not a wild claim to say that people would agree to promote things they don’t truly believe in for financial gain. 

Anyhow, what I’m trying to say is take everything with a pinch of salt and do proper research, read reviews, and talk with other people about their experiences whenever you are interested in trying a new product. 

Don’t Apply Makeup When You Don’t Have To

I used to suffer from this as a teenager and boy am I glad that’s behind me now. I used to wake up in the morning, splash some water on my face, do heavy makeup, and sit at home all day long. 

Now I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with wanting to look cute while doing your chores at home but do you really need to have a ton of makeup on your face every single day?

The answer is simple – you don’t.

And I am also not suggesting that you should let your skin breathe because the skin doesn’t breathe, but it is definitely a good practice to not apply makeup when you don’t have to.

Makeup products contain ingredients that can be clogging and dehydrating for the skin.

Therefore, constantly bombarding your skin with all this may potentially result in a disaster including dehydration, irritation, excess oiliness, and acne. 

Start Applying Sunscreen 365 Days A Year

Sunscreen is a staple in my skincare routine and as an oily/acne-prone person, I noticed that my breakouts tend to heal much faster and the marks left behind are also less prominent since I started being diligent with my sunscreen application. 

Sunscreen is a must, every day, 365 days a year. Sunscreen protects your skin from burning as well as aging because the UVA rays are notorious for being able to penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and break down healthy, collagen-producing cells.

This results in premature skin aging, prominent and premature wrinkles, and decreased skin elasticity. 

Besides this, if you also have acne, sunscreen is a great idea because it will protect your skin from developing pigmentation on the areas where you tend to breakout. 

Try not to think something like “It’s cloudy outside, therefore, I don’t need to apply sunscreen”.

Try to make it a habit and a part of your daily skincare routine just like a cleanser.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

You know that feeling when you didn’t have a good night’s sleep and you wake up looking like a hot mess, that’s because sleep deprivation does affect your skin.

Dry skin, enlarged pores, undereye bags, and all that jazz. Yeah, we all know and dread that feeling.

Anyhow, it’s not about how much sleep you get but how good of a sleep you get. What also may help you is going to bed and waking up at the same time.

If you want to go to bed at midnight and wake up at 6 or 7, make sure to make it a habit. Soon enough your metabolism will adjust to it and you will notice a huge improvement in your skin.

Stop Poisoning Your Body With Alcohol

Although alcoholic beverages like red wine are known to have some health benefits, consuming alcohol in excess is never a healthy choice.

Alcohol is a toxin with little nutrient value and can contribute to worsening liver function, reducing immunity, hormone disruption, cell damage, and insulin issues.

All this is impacting the quality, appearance, and aging of your skin. 

Filling your body with empty calories and sugars can actually lead to malnutrition which can have an obvious negative impact on your complexion. 

Additionally, alcohol is a diuretic which means that it can make you lose plenty of skin cell-loving water from the body quite rapidly, leaving your skin dehydrated, dull, and sallow-looking. 

Consuming alcohol in excess can also lead to permanent skin conditions like rosacea which, yeah, can be controlled, but it is a notoriously difficult condition to deal with and it requires special care and attention at every given moment. 

Read this article by Business Insider that perfectly explains what happens to your skin once you stop drinking alcohol. 

Stop Paying Negative Attention Towards Your Skin

This is something we are all guilty of doing because we all want to have amazing skin.

If you are someone who invests time, money, and effort into maintaining your skin, it is understandable that you may get discouraged and frustrated when your skin doesn’t want to cooperate.

However, paying too much negative attention to your skin will only make the problem worse in your eyes.

Why? Because you are making it the center of your attention. 

And when you make something the center of your attention, it’s obviously going to be visible to you at any given moment. 

So what do you do when you feel that you are slipping and starting to make your skin issues the center of your attention?

The simplest thing is to recognize this pattern of toxic behavior, understand that it doesn’t serve you in any way, and move on from it. 

All you have to do to have healthy skin is not overwhelm it with a ton of different products, use the right treatments, protect it from the sun, and go on about your day. 

What will happen when you start practicing this? Both your perspective and your skin will start changing!

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