Top 5 Bad Habits Keeping You from Glowing Skin

Even if you're committed to eating clean and using natural skin care, you're probably guilty
of at least one of these skin-sabotaging habits:

1.      Eating excess sugar

A 2013 study on the connection between blood sugar and aging found that participants who had higher blood sugar levels were also rated as looking older. The sugar was aging them! There’s already so many reasons to avoid sugar (especially processed sugars like high fructose corn syrup), so this is just one more for the list. Having your blood sugar constantly spiking and then falling is an unhealthy cycle, and your skin will show it.

2.      Sleeping on pillow cases washed with toxic laundry detergent

If you’re getting enough sleep, you’re spending 1/3 of your life with your face resting on a pillow. Think about the ingredients in the laundry detergent you use. Do you want your face next to those chemicals for 1/3 of your life? Your skin (and overall health) may benefit from switching to a natural laundry detergent. Try to avoid detergents with fragrance (which is proprietary information and thus the real ingredients aren’t listed on the label) and brighteners (these chemicals stay on fabric after they are washed). Also, steer clear of chemical-laden dryer sheets!

3.       Using unnatural makeup

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best, but putting on foundation, blush, concealer, and eye makeup everyday could be making your skin less healthy. Most makeup brands use ingredients that not only fail to promote a radiant complexion, but can actually compromise your health. The list of what to avoid is so long we won’t attempt to cover that today, but favoring natural mineral makeup is a good rule of thumb for avoiding these toxic ingredients.

4.       Not exfoliating

This one is pretty simple. Exfoliating removes dead skin cells, opening up your pores and helping you absorb your natural serums and oils. As we get older, our rate of cell turnover decreases, so exfoliating becomes even more important. Don’t skip this important part of your skin care routine! A few times a week, use a facial scrub after you cleanse your face, then follow with your skin’s favorite moisturizer.

5.       Eating from a box

Sometimes convenience calls to us, but we can’t expect our skin to glow when we’re feeding it with lots of sodium, preservatives, and synthetic nutrient additives that we can’t actually absorb. Really nourish yourself with your food. Incorporate green smoothies and seasonal salads into your daily diet. Enjoy generous portions of both cooked and raw veggies everyday, plus some fruit, and your skin will thank you.