Beauty rules worth breaking

I've always cleansed, toned and moisturised by the book. Like most girls with a serious gloss habit, quiz me and I could rattle off a list of dos, don'ts and assorted cosmetic commandments as long as my exfoliated arm. I've always followed the rules.

But so much for that. While getting together some recent how-tos and feature stories for beautyheaven, I got to sneak inside the secret world of some of the best skin, hair and make-up experts in the biz, and what I saw inspired me to rebel. You see, the pros have their own code of conduct - and the old beauty school rules don't apply!

So let the rule breaking begin...

Old rule: You must moisturise daily, whatever your skin type.
New school: We've all heard that mantra a million times, but skincare guru Fiona Tuck says, "There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to moisturiser. Each person has a very different skincare need. Someone with dry skin will of course benefit from the correct moisturiser, but a very oily, congested skin may not need one. The one important product to use daily is sunscreen."

Old rule: You must have your hair cut every 6-8 weeks.
New school: A clever stylist can save you serious salon time and spend. Celebrity hairdresser Brad Ngata reveals, "A good cut should still be apparent after 12 weeks, though you might start to feel your hair get heavier and more difficult to manage." To stay smooth and glossy between snips, he suggests you simply step up the conditioning care. A tip: When tying long hair into a bun, add a shot of leave-in treatment; the heat from your head will help it soak in.

Old rule: Don't exfoliate everyday; it just strips the skin.
New school: New-gen exfoliants are actually made for secret scrub junkies, confirms Emma Hobson from the International Dermal Institute. "Try a microfoliant," she says. "These slough off surface debris, leaving the skin soft and smooth without the risk of overdoing it." Super sensitive? "Go for a chemical [AHA or BHA-based] exfoliant. In general, these aren't as active [as scrubs] and can be used more frequently," she advises.

Old rule: Never apply oil-based products to spot-prone skin.
New school: Oil is the new way to cleanse. "Think of it as like attracting like," explains Hobson. "Applied to dry skin, a cleansing oil will gently encapsulate excess sebum and allow it to be swept away properly with water. It leaves oil-prone skin very clean and, because it doesn't need harsh chemicals to break down the excess oil, doesn't dry you out and stimulate the skin to overcompensate with extra sebum."

Old rule: Never, ever tweeze above your brows.
New school: Oh please. "You can tweeze hairs above your brow," sighs Linda Ayoub, brow specialist at Shimmer Face & Body salon in Sydney. "To say you shouldn't is such a myth! You need to be careful of the arch, but removing strays up the top really brings out the shape."

Rules, shmules, huh? My favourite beauty sin to commit is the cardinal one: I wake up wearing make-up. Lazy girls, meet skin-loving minerals. Blending healing zinc oxide and other so-good-you-can-sleep-in-them goodies, pure mineral make-up gets a girl up on the beautiful side of the bed with none of the usual skin suffocation. Breaking the rules is a beautiful thing! It can be hell on your pillowslips, though...

Source : Yahoo Lifestyle!