We all make mistakes—and occasionally, we make the same mistakes over and over again without registering that they’re mistakes in the first place. We’re the first to admit when we’ve made a beauty blunder, which is why we’ve rounded up the 101 most common beauty mistakes to spare you from having the same slip-up time and time again. We’ve learned from experience.
Hair
1. You’re holding the brush wrong when you blow-dry. If you hold the hairdryer with your dominant hand and work the brush with the weaker, you’re not alone—but you are wrong. While it feels more natural to hold the larger, heavier item with your stronger hand, you need the better dexterity of your dominant hand to better control the brush and get the job done in less time and with less exertion. Retrain yourself to do it the right way, and you’ll see better, smoother results with less dry time overall.
2. You’re only conditioning the ends of your hair. It’s a widely-held belief that we should only be conditioning the lower half of our hair from the midlengths down, especially if it’s fine and tends to fall limp, to avoid hair becoming weighed down by conditioner. In reality, however, fine hair is very fragile and needs the extra support of a daily conditioner. “Hair is weakest when it’s wet, and can stretch up to 30% more, which makes it prone to breakage,” explains Pantene Principal Scientist Emily Overton. The solution is to use a light conditioner from roots to tips that moisturizes and strengthens hair without weighing it down.
3. You’re rubbing hair with a towel to dry. Using a bath towel is considered the standard way to dry off the hair after washing, but if done incorrectly, it’s basically the fastest route to breakage and frizz. Instead of hopping out of the shower and twisting hair to release excess moisture, then rubbing dry with a towel—both things you should not do—use your hands to gently squeeze out extra water in large sections, then do the same with a towel, blotting and squeezing the hair rather than rubbing or wringing.
4. You’re blow-drying hair with the wrong temperature. A blow-dryer that’s not nearly hot enough has its own set of issues, sure, but we’re especially concerned with a dryer that’s too hot. In an effort to dry your hair faster, you could be totally frying your strands without even knowing it, plus triggering frizz and split ends. You should begin blow-drying your hair on the lowest heat setting possible—nine times out of ten, you won’t end up needing anything hotter than that, so don’t get ahead of yourself by jumping straight to the max.
5. You’re using too much dry shampoo. Go too long without a wash, and “the product will mix with the oils on your scalp, and will create a paste-like substance which doesn’t look or feel good,” says Davines Master Session Ambassador Joseph DiMaggio. The biggest danger of overdosing on dry shampoo? Clogged pores. That’s right: it’s not just something you need to worry about on your face. The pasty dry shampoo/oil mix will prevent the hair follicle from breathing, and once clogged, the pores on your scalp will go into overdrive to flush out the product with more oil. Remember: dry shampoo can only absorb so much oil, so please, don’t count on it to do the work of a proper shampoo—eventually you’re just layering more and more product on top of your grease. Pass.
6. You brush your hair when it’s wet. Your hair is at its most fragile when wet, which is why brushing or combing just after the shower is a major no-no—it can compromise even healthy hair to the point that it snaps from tension. To avoid breakage but still get the knots out before styling, use your fingers (and a leave-in spray, if necessary) to detangle and part your hair after towel-drying.
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