10+ Daily Routines We Ought to Quit Today

Some of our habits can be harmful over time, such as wearing skinny jeans or using chapstick. We may not realize it, but there are some unhealthy side effects for many of the things we do every day. This is especially true when we repeat them day after day, giving them the time to negatively impact our health.

This is why Bright Side is bringing some of the most unhealthy daily mistakes we make to your attention.

1. Wearing lots of makeup

This is especially true in hot weather or while at the gym when your face tends to sweat. Makeup doesn’t let the skin cool down correctly and stops our pores from sweating properly. It can actually be super unhealthy for our skin as it can cause conditions such as rosacea.

2. Using shampoo before conditioner

Using shampoo first can actually make the hair more oily. If you’re someone whose hair becomes oily, flat, or weighed down after washing, then you may be washing it incorrectly. It can be better to apply conditioner before shampoo for fine, dry, and damaged hair types.

This is because the conditioner works as a primer when added first, protecting your hair from being stripped of its natural oils. It also allows the shampoo to be spread evenly across your hair.

3. Lying awake in bed

This is because we can begin to associate our beds with the stress and anxiety of not being able to sleep. Instead, it’s better to leave your bed after 20 minutes to another room, if possible, and do something relaxing, such as reading.

4. Sleeping in on the weekends

Although we may all feel the need to catch up on sleep lost during our busy week, it can actually make us feel worse in the end. This is because we throw off our internal body clock, making it much harder to wake up early on Monday morning. In fact, this has been associated with health problems such as type 2 diabetes.

Instead, it’s advised to wake up no later than 1 hour later on the weekends and to take short naps in the afternoons.

5. Using skincare products in jars

This is because the product is exposed to more air each time we open it. This oxidation reduces its effects by making it age faster.

There are also concerns about bacteria growth and contamination within the jars from us using our fingers to apply the creams. Even using a spatula can contaminate them because they have to be cleaned really well before using them.

6. Using the same type of skin product for 10+ years

Because the needs of our skin are constantly changing with time, it’s important to stay up to date with appropriate products and routines. For example, as we age, our skin becomes thinner, meaning that we should use more sensitive and moisturizing products.

7. Plucking our nose hair

Doing this removes the protective barrier our nose hairs provide, meaning that we can be more prone to side effects such as allergies and asthma. Moreover, plucking our hairs can lead to risks of an infection of the skin, which can often be painful.

8. Using too much lip balm

Constantly reapplying lip balm can be harmful to our lips because it prevents the old skin cells from dropping. Therefore, it’s important to exfoliate our lips to stop the buildup of dead cells.

Moreover, there are concerns about the level of toxins in our lip products, which can directly enter our body through the mouth.

9. Regularly going to the dry cleaner

While there’s nothing like getting our clothes dry cleaned, unfortunately, one of the commonly used chemicals, trichloroethylene (TCE), is connected to severe health complications. It has been linked to damage to the liver, kidneys, and the central nervous system.

10. Taking our daily multivitamins

Our daily vitamin boosters may not be as promising as we first thought since research shows that rather than protecting us from chronic diseases, they can cause us harm. This is particularly true for vitamin B7, which can interfere with certain lab tests and lead to complications.

11. Wearing flip-flops

Despite their comfortability, these shoes can be damaging for your knees, back, and hips. This is because they’re essentially a sheet of rubber that doesn’t properly cushion the impact of walking, leaving us unprotected. Because we also grip with our toes, they can put unnecessary stress on them, leading to cramps.

12. Eating apple seeds

This is because they contain a chemical called amygdalin that releases the deadly chemical cyanide once it gets to the stomach. Because the amount of the chemical within the seeds is small, you would need to eat a huge amount (roughly about 40 apple cores) for it to be deadly.

13. Wearing skinny jeans

This iconic wardrobe item can actually be damaging to our muscles and blood flow, leading to health complications such as temporary paralysis. In particular, if you’re regularly squatting and bending over, swelling can occur around your muscles, nerves, and blood vessels.

What daily routines are you quitting? Can you think of other harmful habits we’ve left off the list?