Three Weird Beauty Rules I Follow
I was thinking about this the other day while moisturizing behind my ears: I follow some weird-ass beauty rules. And I got these gems from even weirder places. So I thought it might be a fun thread — what weird beauty rules do YOU follow — and if there's a story there, where did you get your weird beauty rules?
(Hmmn: I suppose everything in our older post on the best beauty advice you've ever heard could count as weird beauty rules, like putting deodorant and dry shampoo on at night! Also, there was a great threadjack about skincare recently — thanks to readers I now want to check out everything from the new-to-me brand The Ordinary.)
Weird Beauty Rule #1: I moisturize behind my ears.
Where I got this beauty tip: A random infomercial for some kind of skin cream.
I was flipping channels one night and saw a minute or two of a skincare infomercial — I was intrigued that the seller advised the host to always put the moisturizer on your neck and up to the area behind your ears because, well, I'd never heard that advice anywhere before. (Admittedly I got rid of my Allure subscription a few years ago!) This kind of makes sense to me based on the theory that if you want your face to stay supple and flexible in order to prevent wrinkles, you also want the area behind your ears to be supple and flexible. Plus, it's not like some huge area that requires a ton more moisturizer.
Weird Beauty Rule #2: I pat eyecream on using my ring finger.
Where I got this beauty tip: A super old Tina Fey interview where she divulged about what she, Amy Poehler, and Monica Lewinsky talked about when Lewinsky hosted SNL.
Tina Fey mentioned in this interview that your eye area is the most sensitive area, so you should always use your ring finger to put on any eye cream because it's likely to be gentler than just swooshing stuff on with your pointer finger. And hey, we know Tina's never wrong.
Weird Beauty Rule #3: I try to only use “upward motions” when putting creams and serums on my face.
Where I got this beauty tip: I think a comedian was joking about how she never ever used downward motions on her face because hey, why help the wrinkles?
I'm trying to do this more as I get older, although I'm not super worried about wrinkles (one of the benefits of being above my ideal weight is that my face has lots of natural fillers, yay!) — but it's an interesting idea. I find it hard to be efficient with the serum or lotion and still use only upward motions, though. Hmmn.
Readers, do you have any weird beauty rules you follow? In general, do you have any great beauty tips?
Picture credit: Deposit photos / claudio.gangi.fastwebnet.it. 
I use Nivea face cream every night. My family knows I think it’s important for me to look young and I’m often carded when I go out.
You’re supposed to be carded if you look under 30. You said on the morning thread you’re 27.
Oh snap
What’s the point of calling her out on this?
Probably b/c her posts sound Tr011 like.
That was the only reason. If this poster is actually a confused young woman in NYC and not (as I suspect) a dude pretending to be that, then I sincerely apologize.
+1 Sounds fake. (Also apologize if you’re actually a confused young woman.)
That’s not weird….
Following this because I have no skincare routine other tan using sunscreen (and I don’t have great skin at all).
Make sure you use sunscreen every day on your face, neck, decolletage, and backs of your hands. And always wear sunglasses. Even on cloudy days.
I don’t really think these things qualify as weird (isn’t the bar is pretty high for weird beauty when people get vampire facials?) but I do an apple cider vinegar rinse once a week to refresh my hair, I sleep on silk pillowcases to allegedly avoid wrinkles and frizz, and I rotate between retinol lotion, lactic acid serum, and a brightener at night. Oh and I use a Japanese washcloth thing (body only–it’s too rough for face) in the shower that exfoliates like crazy, followed by an in shower lotion.
Tell me more about this washcloth!
It’s the Salux cloth. It’s inexpensive on Amazon and I absolutely love it. You have to be careful and order it through a legitimate supplier so you don’t get something else–I got mine from Emma’s cosmetic and skincare back in 2011 according to my Amazon history. It’s holding up well. I throw it in the laundry with my towels and wash it in hot water and air dry.
This thread just earned it’s keep. I’ll be trying these as soon as Amazon can deliver them to me! Thanks for the reco.
It’s basically plastic and you can get it on amazon.
Not the OP, but they’re called Salux cloths. You can get them on Amazon in a 3 pack. They’re basically like loofah material, only in a long sheet instead of smushed into a ball. At first they feel uncomfortably rough, but you get used to it, and I really think they help massage your lymphatic system as well!
I started using a silk pillowcase, and I can definitely see why it would prevent wrinkles. When I go back to my other one because the silk one is in the wash, I feel like it pulls my skin more.
Is it a silk pillow case or “silk”? And any good recommendations as to place to buy / brand?
Thanks!
I used to have satin/polyester pillow cases from bed bath and beyond. Last fall I switched to Fishers Finery 19mm silk pillowcase, which is actually silk. It shed a little at the seams when I washed it for the first time but has held up fine. Ordered it on Amazon for $20 each.
+1 to ACV rinses and silk pillowcases! Have made a huge difference for my curly hair in a humid climate.
I bought my pillowcases on Amazon from Alaska Bear.
How do you do the rinse? And does it matter if your hair is coloured? I have curly hair and am always looking for things to improve it.
Can’t help you on whether it’s ok for colored hair as I don’t color mine.
I dilute the vinegar about 50/50 with water and just literally pour it over my head and scrub my scalp as though I’m shampooing. Then I comb it out and style as usual.
It darkened my blonde hair, so I switched to a diluted white vinegar. Same effect, as far as I could tell.
Ordered both the washcloth and a silk pillowcase – thanks!
I’ve been so, so impressed with everything I ordered from The Ordinary.
Someone in a long ago thread said Asian Sunscreen was a game changer. Best advice ever. I now religiously apply sunscreen every day and the sunscreen doubles as primer (Missha Sun Milk). I always hated every other facial sunscreen I tried.
My grandmother told me whatever I do to my face I should do to my neck and chest. Excellent advice.
My uncle, who was a baseball catcher, toughened his hands by urinating on them.
Interesting. I thought that urea was used in lotions. Different derivation?
What have you ordered from The Ordinary? It’s so overwhelming! I’m early 30s so mostly hoping for wrinkle prevention at this point.
I have really oily skin. I clean it with stri-dex pads. I am 46 (but my skin is still a teen).
I use stridex pads when I don’t use retin-a, because the skincare addiction subreddit said to. I’m 31.
Stridex pads are an excellent, cheap BHA – that’s not weird – that just works. What is (maybe?) weird is that I also use them to combat KP on my body – works better than the amlactin lotion IMHO.
Wow I have never thought about moisturizing behind my ears (and I am obsessed with moisturizer/skin care). I do follow Rules 2 and 3 though.
I’ve always heard to put sunscreen behind your ears. Apparently that’s a common place to get skin cancer because a lot of people forget about it. I’m not sure that moisturizer makes a huge difference there in the grand scheme of things. I’m more worried about my forehead and eyes than anything.
I moisturize behind my kids ears because they sometimes get eczema there, but I would never do it myself because my hair would get gross. And the skin behind your ears doesn’t ever really move around that much, so I don’t think wrinkles would really be a concern.
This is not a rule, but after thinking about it for a while, I pulled the trigger and ordered the Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum (supposedly a dupe for the super expensive Skinceuticals). My skin is actually pretty good with regular facials, good genetics, sunscreen and a retinol every few nights when I remember but I keep hearing about the miracle of Vitamin C….
I only wash with facial cleanser in the night. I find if I do it 2 times a day my skin gets super dry (and really how dirty will my face get while I am asleep) IN the morning I wash with cold water on my face. I use moisturizer like it is going out of style.
On the weekends, I give my hair a break by not blow drying it.