Which beauty products do you use every day? Chances are it’s probably more than you used to use in the past. With what seems like a neverending supply of new lotions and potions on the market designed to make you look younger, bronzer, and healthier, it’s difficult to know where to start. There really is something for everyone. And we all love it – after all, who wouldn’t want beautiful clear skin, sleek hair and perfect makeup? But are these products really helping us to achieve that or is it just that we want it so much we’re convincing ourselves that we can’t live without them? I recently discovered that the moisturiser I had been using wasn’t improving the condition of my skin, in fact it could have been making it worse. I had become so used to applying it a couple of times a day that when I didn’t use it for one day, my hands quickly became drier than ever. Some skinproducts almost work too well – to the extent that your skin becomes ‘addicted’ and unable to cope without them. It’s the same with hair styling – the more products you use, the more you’ll find you need. Using styling tools and hairdryers can dry your hair out, and leave it brittle and frizzy. The answer to this, as usual, is product – there is a massive variety of different styling gels to keep damaged hair in check. They leave your hair looking shiny and sleek even after using heat-styling tools, problem solved. But nine times out of ten you’ll find these products only succeed in disguising the problem without actually helping repair the damage. You keep using it because your hair looks good, but the longer you leave it the worse your hair condition will become. So how can you tell which of these products are really worth your money? Well, for a start, less is more. Choose products that will really last and work for your skin, like Body Shop body butter or Clarins HydraQuench cream. Many of these may cost more than regular moisturisers, but it’s worth it in the long run as they do help fix dry skin, and one tub will usually last much longer too. For hair, the best way to recovery is to wear it naturally for a while, and use products designed to help dry hair to recover. If you love the straight look too much to let it go, invest in some GHD straighteners – again they cost a bit more but they’re designed well and are much kinder to hair than many other brands. As well as styling tools, GHD also offer a great range of shampoo and styling products specifically developed to protect heat-styled hair.

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