Stick to a Skincare Routine

Are you guilty of sleeping in your makeup or just using face wipes (which only remove the top later of makeup?) Do you use any old face wash, shower gel or body moisturiser without looking if the formula is suitable for your needs? If your skin care routine is a bit of a car crash then it's time to put that right. Work out whether you have dry, oily or combination skin- there are plenty of articles online which explain how to do this. It's always worth knowing as then you can look for products that are designed with your skin type in mind. Your basic skincare stash could include a face wash, exfoliator, day and night creams and an eye cream. A good makeup remover is a worthy addition too, micellar water is particularly good and makes light work of stubborn makeup. 

Protect From The Sun

UV rays aren't just a problem in the summer, while you're more likely to get burned in the summer they're damaging to the skin all year round. The dangers of UV damage include premature aging, loss of elasticity and of course the scariest issue- skin cancer. Most people don't do anything about protecting from the sun, especially when it's not warm. But there are so many products that make it easy, you don't have to reach for sunscreen every day. Go with a moisturiser or BB cream with SPF included, since you'll probably be wearing these kinds of products anyway you can kill two birds with one stone.

 Don't Smoke

Smoking is truly one of the most damaging things you can do to your skin. If you smoke, quitting or at least cutting down is beneficial for your skin and every other part of your body for that matter. Smoking causes premature aging (especially under the eyes and around the lips) and a sallow complexion with a loss of natural glow. It also causes a depletion in vitamin c which makes the skin more susceptible to UV damage, this happens due to a constriction of blood flow meaning smoking literally starves the skin of oxygen. 

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

It's no secret that you put into your body has a huge impact on your skin. When you eat a healthy and varied diet and balanced diet, you provide your body with everything it needs to thrive. This will help keep skin supple and looking radiant. The wrong things on the other hand will do the complete opposite- you've probably noticed that after a night of alcohol or a few days of eating the wrong foods that your skin will be looking far from its best. While these kinds of celebration occasion where we indulge are always going to crop up, living a healthy lifestyle for the majority of the time will keep skin at its best. As well as eating the right things, exercise and getting enough sleep also play a crucial role. 

Keep Checks on your Psychological Wellbeing

Did you know that stress and anxiety can have a negative effect on your skin? This happens for a number of readsons. First of all,  stress can aggravate issues such as cold sores, rosacea, psoriasis and acne causing them to flare up. Secondly stress has been shown to impair skin barrier function, what this results in dehydrated skin which is of course more prone to irritants and pollutants. These can cause infection and leave skin looking and feeling sore. Finally when you're under stress, chances are your skincare routine is the last thing on your mind. This means that any problems not being looked after will get worse. Dry skin can become sore and flaky, oily skin can cause spots and blackheads etc. Being stressed can cause havoc on your entire body but the skin is one of the places that you will first notice physical changes. Keep your stress levels under control for happier, healthier skin.

No one ever wants to go through a breakup, but sometimes it's the best thing for both individuals. We can often end up trapped in loveless relationships that aren’t doing our lives any good, and it really is much more beneficial for each party to get out. If you do bring a toxic or pointless relationship to an end, you will certainly feel all the benefits eventually. However, even if ending a relationship was the best thing to do, hardly anyone feels that great about it straight afterwards. In actual fact, most people will find that they lose some of their self-confidence after a breakup. Bouncing back to our usual selves can be quite tricky. Here are som tips that can help you bounce back better than ever!

Go Out With Friends

You don’t have a guy to date right now. But that isn’t so bad - after all, it gives you more time to hang out with all your girlfriends! Everyone has been through a breakup before and your friends will know exactly what you're going through. So they will certainly want to be there for you and help you through this difficult time. Lots of people find that surrounding themselves with their friends’ positivity can help them build up their self-confidence before they get back into the dating world.

Watch Your Health

We’ve all seen the movie Bridget Jones’ Diary and are totally familiar with the idea that people turn to comfort foods once they split up with a partner. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that Hollywood has made up - lots of people do turn to comfort eating to deal with their feelings! To make sure you don’t put your health at risk and knocking your self confidence, you should watch your diet and ensure you get plenty of exercise in the aftermath of a breakup. Getting plenty of exercise will also make your body release endorphins which can greatly improve your mood!

Return To Dating Slowly

Dating can be a good way to boost your confidence. However, you might not have been on a date or tried to approach other people for quite some time if you were with your ex for a few years. Do what you feel comfortable with, it could be asking friends to set you up with someone you know or trying out some dating apps. Only start to date again however when you truly feel ready, not as a way to mask the pain as it will only end in more tears. Date again for the right reasons. 

Celebrate Yourself

It is important to remember that you are a unique individual with brilliant qualities. And you need to celebrate all of these! It’s worth taking some time out to remember who you are and what others will see in you. Pamper yourself, buy yourself lovely things, do things you genuinely enjoy. This can give your self-confidence a great kickstart if it ever feels like it is disappearing. 

The first question is what are parabens, and what are they used for? Parabens are used as preservatives, as they have anti bacterial and anti fungicidal properties in a range of different formulas. That seems fair enough, right? We all know the importance of keeping cosmetics clean, and how they can harbour germs and bacteria when not used or stored properly. We need preservatives in our cosmetics and certain consumables to give them some sort of a shelf life, I wouldn't want to have to throw my makeup away every few weeks because it had expired. I think when most of us buy makeup we see it as a bit of an investment- £25 on a high end blush or a lipstick might seem a like a lot, but we generally justify it when we know it'll last us for a long time. I have to question how well makeup companies would do if the shelf life of their products was cut short, I know I'd be a lot less inclined to buy makeup (especially higher end) for a start.

One of the arguments against using these types of chemicals in our cosmetics is that they're unnecessary; claims have been made that products made from high quality organic ingredients can have a shelf life of approximately two to three years. Personally though, I have to question this. When it comes to the expiration dates of cosmetics, although there doesn't seem to be anything written in stone the general consensus is that makeup does expire after a few years and that's even with these chemicals added. So surely without them the shelf life would be even shorter? There's also been no valid research done to prove or refute this claim, and I can take a guess that these claims are being made by the organic companies themselves. In this case I think we have to question to what extent they might be trying to push their own products. Even if it's true and that highly organic ingredients make products that last on the shelves for two to three years, what sort of price would we be looking to pay? And how would it affect the range of products that were available to us?

One of the worrying rumours about parabens is that they're able to slightly mimic the female hormone estrogen which has been shown in some studies to play a role in the development of breast cancer. I think that you'd all agree that this is a pretty terrifying claim, however at present there is no solid evidence that directly establishes this link. That's not to say that there isn't truth in the claim or it shouldn't be taken seriously, but there has been no direct evidence to show this. However parabens have been shown to cause skin irritation and dermatitis in people with allergies to parabens, although this is only a small percentage of the population. The majority of individuals (even those with sensitive skin) seem to go completely unaffected. Considering the low levels used in cosmetics, “FDA believes that at the present time there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about the use of cosmetics containing parabens. However, the agency will continue to evaluate new data in this area.”

I'm not denying that these chemicals may have adverse health benefits somewhere along the line, even if it's a minor reaction in the small minority of people. But seems that there isn't enough solid evidence out there to either confirm or deny any major health implications they might have, and as with anything a negative reaction might occur in some individuals. At the moment I'm not going to worry too much about parabens in cosmetics. We're exposed to chemicals every day; we breathe in things like car fumes and cleaning products and there are even chemicals in the water we drink. It doesn't make it okay but I suppose it's just a way of life. Without these chemicals we wouldn't have the fuel to power our cars, the aeroplanes to take us on holiday. We wouldn't have cleaning products that keep harmful bacteria and viruses from thriving in our homes, hospitals, shops and restaurants.

I think when it comes to food and cosmetics there are enough restrictions in place with the FDA and other organisations, which means that the chance of any harm occurring is minimised. I completely understand why some people would want to go all natural in their cosmetics, because the threat of cancer is always scary. For me though there isn't enough research to prove that it's worth switching to paraben free products just yet. I remember back when I was in secondary school and mobile phones were starting to become widely used, that there were rumours they could fry your brain in the same way as a microwave. Fifteen years later and there's still little evidence to support that theory, and so it goes to show that sometimes you can't believe everything you hear in the media.