Skinspiration... 8 Non-negotiable beauty rules to follow regardless of your skin type or age

*Disclaimer; All work produced in this skinspiration blog is owned by Nicole Webb, with copyrights to La Beauté Ltd.  

1. Don't sleep with your make-up on
Are you guilty of skipping your nightly cleanse of your face because you can’t be bothered and want to get to bed quicker…“oh it won’t do much harm, I’ll do it in the morning” you think to yourself. 
But in reality, the skipping of your cleansing and sleeping with your make up on is highly detrimental for your skin - some research even states regularly sleeping with make up on ages the skin 7 years faster!!! 
This is because; during the day your skin is in defence mode, doing it's best to cope with external stress thrown at it and day-old make up is a magnet for sweat, oil, pollution and dirt, which has naturally accumulated throughout the day.
It is at night time when your skin repairs and regenerates itself. 
If you sleep with make-up and day-old ‘other stuff’ on the skin then it is unable to do this and ultimately you are speeding up the creation of fine lines and ageing!
 
2. Wash your make up brushes regularly 
Hmm when was the last time you did this?
Make-up brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria if not regularly cleaned. You then go and wipe these bacteria filled tools over your face daily which in turn can lead to pimples and skin infections. 
Make sure that you regularly (every 2 weeks) clean your brushes using soap and water before leaving them to air dry lying down (not upwards as water will run into the area that holds the brush fibres together, loosening the glue and making the fibres moult) 
 
3. Only ever use lukewarm water on your face
Your skin is a very sensitive organ and washing it with either too hot or too cold water can not only dry out the skin but also create unwanted red marks or red capillaries as the skin surface tries to cope with either extremities. 
Also ensure that you turn down the shower temperature prior to exposing your face to the water! 
 
4. Always wear SPF on your face
With SPF being the cheapest form of anti-ageing and the sun’s UV rays being responsible for more than just ageing it is essential that every single day - 365 days a year you apply SPF, because even on an overcast day, 80% of the suns UV rays will penetrate the clouds, exposing your skin to it's damaging rays! 
 
5. Hydrate inside and out
It is important that you support your H20 levels both externally and internally in order to keep all cells, including skin cells, functioning at optimal levels. 
Our skin has a water proof barrier half way down it (which is why you don’t fill up with water when you have a bath). This barrier not only stops water entering any further but also stops water you drink hydrating the outer layer of skin beyond it; because of this it is important to soak the skin externally before locking it in with your toner/serum/moisturiser. 

6. Know when to see a pro
Whether it’s a stubborn spot, redness, pigmentation, acne, scarring…
Sometimes beauty ‘woes’ are beyond your knowledge or skill set and therefore when this arises it is important to get advice from someone who knows exactly what they are dealing with and the correct steps to take next. 
 
7. Don’t over pluck your brows, even better don’t do your own
Eyebrows can be very temperamental, make them too thin once and they will thank you by not growing back! Also believe me when I say it is very VERYhard to do your own eyebrows (I can’t even do my own!). Often people over pluck as they try to make them even whilst attempting their own DIY job. Brows are best left to the pros who in-turn will ensure they are never over plucked or tell you if you need to join ‘eyebrow bootcamp’ to reverse previous over plucking. 
 
8. Leave spots and pimples alone
We all know it but we are all guilty of doing it at some stage…picking, squeezing, extracting and poking pimples/spots/blackheads on our face in the hope that you can make it magically better but often instead all you have done is made it worse! 
As tempting as it may be there is nothing to be gained from ‘attacking’ a spot as all you are doing is exposing the skin to further damage, increasing the chance of bacteria or infection and possibly creating a scar. 
If you absolutely have to squeeze make sure that you wrap both fingers in tissues to stop bacteria from nails or fingers being pushed into the skin and then give the spot a light press, if you get no ‘movement’, stop, leave it, and try again later.