Skincare generally involves making an effort to get one`s skin to look healthy and beautiful and then trying to maintain that healthy skin.

Even though we try hard to achieve soft and smooth skin we neglect several factors in our daily lives that end up damaging our skin. Here are a few things that we need to avoid if we want beautiful skin.

Sleeping with make up on
This is not a myth, sleeping without washing off your make up will damage your skin. Make up clogs pores and prevents the sebum glands from breathing. This causes pimples and acne. Sleeping with make up also leaves smudges on your pillow that will lead to accumulation of bacteria on it. When you sleep on that pillow again, it will lead to bacterial infection on your skin.

Excess coffee intake
Coffee can give you an energy boost, but it can cause your skin to age faster and wrinkle. Having two cups of coffee in a day is fine but when you increase your intake, you accelerate the ageing process.

Chlorine
Swimming may be an ideal fitness exercise but it is not good for your skin. Chorine is a cleaning ingredient and can dry your skin by robbing it of its moisture. Chlorine tends to stay on your skin even after a shower. So remember to use a good body wash and loofah to scrub the chlorine away.

Too much Spa time
Frequent spa treatments can make the skin sag as its elasticity and collagen is weakened. If you love a good sauna every other day, you should reconsider your choices.

Popping pimples
You may be tempted to break a pimple and get rid of it but this will only damage your skin. When you break a pimple it pushes the bacteria and dirt deep into the pores of your skin which could leave a mark. What`s worse is that, this could also cause an outbreak of pimples. So remember not to pick on your pimples and use home remedies instead.

Mobile phones
We all spend long hours on our mobile phones without knowing that this could be a cause for acne. If you notice that you have more breakouts on that side of your face, it is probably due to excessive use of your mobile phone. This happens because bacteria builds up on the mobile screen and causes pimples when we place the mobile across our face. To avoid this, make sure you clean your mobile phone often or use a hands free device.

BDST: 1539 HRS, Dec-07, 2013