We all have a few bad beauty habits (biting your nails, anyone?) that we are painfully aware of. However, in our busy day-to-day lives, we are often guilty of bad habits we didn’t even know about. Can’t figure out why you can’t stop breaking out or why you just can’t quite get the glowy skin of your dreams? Read on for eleven bad beauty habits that you need to stop… like today.

Sleeping on a Dirty Pillowcase

Did you know that one major cause of your unexplainable breakout could be your pillowcase? That’s because when you sleep, your body temperature rises and you sweat in the middle of the night. Much of that sweat ends up sinking into your pillowcase, along with excess dirt, oil, and leftover makeup. Then you’re rolling around on it all night long. Yeah... ew.

Dermatologists say that you should switch your pillowcases every few days. We know that feels a bit excessive, so try putting two pillowcases on when you wash your sheets, and mid-week, shed the top case. That way you’re getting a clean pillowcase without the hassle. And if that’s still too much work, change your pillowcase once a week, at a minimum.

Working out in Makeup

As you know, your body naturally cools itself by sweating and sweat escapes through your pores. But, if you have a layer of makeup covering your pores, it causes blockage. So basically, now you’ve got sweat, makeup, and bacteria all mixed together on your face and it has nowhere to go.

And from a beauty standpoint, unless you’re wearing a full face of waterproof mascara, you’ll have mascara dripping in your eyes while you’re trying to sprint on the treadmill. Not a great look. So save your skin and yourself and take all your makeup off before hitting the gym.

Going Anywhere Without an SPF

We all know we should be wearing SPF daily… but how many of us actually do it? Even minimal exposure to the sun (think walking to pick up lunch or your morning walk from your car to your building) can quicken the development of wrinkles. Also, long term sun exposure sans sunscreen can lead to skin cancer so just put on the SPF before you apply your makeup daily - promise?

Sleeping with Makeup On

This rule is as old as time. We all know we need to, but why exactly? Like I mentioned, your internal temperature rises when you sleep; therefore you sweat. And what did we say happens when you sweat with makeup on? Blocked pores, bacteria, and breakouts- oh my!

Taking off your eye makeup is just as important. When you’re tossing around in your sleep, the last thing you want is to wake up with eye makeup in your eyes. Also, leaving mascara on for too long (like while you snooze for 8 hours!) can lead to brittle lashes, fall-out, and slowed lash growth. So unless you want to wake up with clogged pores and itchy, flakey lashes… make sure to take your makeup off before you hit the hay.

Using a Bath Pouf

Those colorful little bath poufs may seem like a good idea. But let’s face it: how long do you leave one of those pink puffs hanging in your shower? A month? Six months? Let me tell you… it’s long enough to gather an alarming amount of bacteria. Since they aren’t created to be cleaned like a washcloth, you have to replace it every two to three weeks. And if you’re not doing that (I know I’m not), then what you purchased to help cleanse you is really doing more harm than good. Instead, opt for a washcloth (that you wash weekly!) or silicone scrubbing pad that’s hypoallergenic and doesn’t house bacteria.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Every dietitian, nutritionist, and doctor out there will tell you that many of the problems we face healthwise come from dehydration. Honestly, most of us know we aren’t drinking enough water, but what does that have to do with beauty? Well, many of your breakouts, dry skin, or redness may very well be your skin crying for more water. When the body is made of 60% water, it makes sense! A general rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day.

Waiting Too Long Between Haircuts

There’s an old myth many of us have heard: if you trim your hair more often, your hair will grow faster. But seeing as your hair grows from the roots and not the ends, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. There is something very important about trimming your hair though. It’s recommended that you get a trim every six to twelve weeks… so what happens if you wait six months or even a year? Your hair begins to break and split, leaving the ends frayed. Not only that, but the longer you continue to style your hair with those frayed ends, the higher up on the piece of hair it’s going to break. Meaning the shorter and more straggly it’s going to get.

So by not cutting your hair, you’re actually helping it get shorter. So though it won’t help your hair “grow,” getting regular hair trims will keep your hair looking shiny and strong.

Talking on a Dirty Phone

For better or worse, most of us are constantly attached to our phones. From keeping our hands (that have touched billions of other bacteria that day) scrolling through Instagram, to keeping it stuck to our face when we talk on the phone, our phones typically stay really dirty. In fact, a study at the University of Arizona found that a cell phone can carry up to 10 times the amount of bacteria as a typical toilet seat. You’d never lay your face against toilet seat all day (I hope), yet that is exactly what we are doing when we don’t sanitize our phones. So to prevent breakouts and even sickness, make sure you’re cleaning your phone at least once a month.

To clean your phone, mix 1 to 1 parts of water and rubbing alcohol. Dab a tiny bit onto a microfiber cloth or a lens-cleaning cloth and rub across the screen. Dry immediately!

Using Dirty Brushes

You probably thought about this when you tried to blend your light pink shadow with your favorite fluffy eyeshadow brush and suddenly you were smearing Saturday night’s smokey eye all over your (would have been) natural look. Now that you’re remembering that tragic moment, I have to ask… when was the last time you cleaned your makeup brushes? Can’t remember? Well, that means it’s been too long.

Not only do dirty brushes threaten your flawless glam look, but they also trap tons of bacteria. Aka dirty brush lead to bad breakouts. Every time you use your dirty bronzer brush, you’re smearing bacteria on your face and clogging your pores. So wash those things!

You should be cleaning your makeup brushes at minimum once a month - and you don’t need a fancy cleaner! Baby shampoo or dish soap works just as well.

Shaking Your Nail Polish Bottle

Sounds odd, but have you ever noticed the little bubbles that pop up when you’re painting your nails? It’s actually because you probably just shook the bottle, right? When you shake your nail polish, the air gets trapped inside of the liquid. But no worries! This is an easy fix. If your nail polish looks like it’s separating, just roll the bottle between your hands until the formula is mixed back together. Ta-da!

Styling Your Hair With Heat All The Time

Ah yes, your best friend and your hair’s worst enemy. I am all for a nice sleek do, blow dried and straightened to perfection. But, you have to give your hair a chance to breathe.

If you just need to use heat to style your hair, then plan on wearing your hair in a bun, a braid, a pony, or something similar once or twice a week. And when you do use heat, don’t touch your hair until you use a heat protecting product and it’s dried fully! Trust us, your nonexistent split ends will thank you.