10 Beauty Rules to Break

Brushing Hair 100 Times

Perching on the edge of your bed and patiently counting brush strokes may be a relaxing ritual, but it’s not going to make your hair healthier. “Too much brushing will only lead to breakage,” says Miami-based celebrity hairstylist Raphael Reboh, who advises his clients to brush only as often as needed for styling and detangling.

Drink Lots of Water for Glowing Skin

It’s true that being dehydrated does nothing pretty for your complexion, but drinking excessive quantities of water (beyond the eight or so glasses generally recommended) will only lead to superfluous bathroom visits, not plump, perky skin.

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Keep Lathering for Clean Hair

That squeaky feeling just means you’ve washed away all the natural oils that give hair its shine and bounce. “I wouldn’t go with the squeaky-clean theory unless you’re washing dishes or the floor,” Reboh says. “The hair shaft is extremely delicate, and this can strip essential oils, which is damaging.”

Only File Nails in One Direction

Your nails grow and get their health from the base, not from the edge that extends beyond your fingertip and gets filed. If you sit there and really saw away at your tips with a rough file, you could create enough friction to impact your nails’ health—but generally speaking, as long as you don’t saw away too crazily, filing back and forth won’t weaken your nails.

Don't Let Your Roots Show

It figures that now that there are jillions of excellent products designed to help you cover up those telltale roots, having visible roots is actually one of the biggest hair trends. The concept is called “ombre” hair, the roots are dark but the hair gets lighter and lighter toward the ends.

Red Hair = No Red Lips

This is another long-running beauty rule that all of Hollywood seems to be breaking lately — and the results can be gorgeous. Flame-haired actresses like Amy Adams and Emma Stone love to work the red carpet in fiery red lipstick. Red hair itself is also a huge beauty trend this season — perhaps because it no longer has those old makeup rules associated with it?

Only Pluck From Below Your Eyebrows

Go to any tweezing, waxing or threading place, and it’s pretty much a guarantee that your aesthetician will remove hairs from above your brows. “Removing hair above the brow line helps to create a more defined shape,” says Shobha Tummala, a New York City–based hair-removal expert.

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Eating Chocolate Gives You Pimples

Your waistline is much more likely to benefit from a no-chocolate rule than your skin — the idea that the sweet stuff is an acne culprit is a common myth. Clinical studies have failed to show that any food can actually cause acne (though in some rare instances, foods might exacerbate existing acne).

You Must Be Either Warm or Cool

Can you honestly say you’ve figured out which tone you are—and what that means in terms of which eyeshadow, blush and lipstick hues you should choose? “Warm and cool is really most important when you're picking foundation and concealer,” explains New York–based makeup artist Fiona Stiles. "But you can break the rules with colorful makeup."