Having a consistent routine to care for your skin is a good thing, but you may be doing things that are sabotaging your efforts to look your best. To have and keep vibrant, glowing, melanin-rich skin, here are four things you should stop doing now, and what you should do instead.

1. Taking hot showers.

Hot, steamy showers tend to strip oils from skin, and those oils are an important moisture barrier. To turn up your glow, turn down the heat of your water when you shower. Right after you take a shower is the perfect time to Buttah up! Apply Buttah Skin’s Whipped Body Butter to give your skin a helping hand in maintaining moisture. It’s formulated with 100% pure Organic Virgin Shea Butter imported from Africa and perfected using our proprietary whipping technique. Rich on vitamins, read more here. 

2. Washing your face with soap.

It’s 2020…do we really have to tell people not to use soap to wash their face? Apparently, we do. Surfactants are the ingredient in soaps that cleanse, but they also remove beneficial oils along with the dirt. While that may work fine for hands, facial skin tends to be more sensitive. Using regular soap on the face will leave it feeling tight and dry because the moisture is removed. Buttah Skin’s Cleanser helps maintain natural pH, oil and moisture balance that melanin-rich skin needs most, making it an ideal alternative to soap. 

3. Aggressive exfoliation.

Using too much force or too-abrasive tools will leave skin raw, irritated, and unprotected. According to Healthline, gentle exfoliation no more than twice a week removes dead skin cells and encourages skin turnover, resulting in brighter skin. Any time you exfoliate, follow with a moisturizer, like Buttah Skin’s Facial Shea Butter. This highly effective ingredient is a very popular one within the cosmetic industry due to the emollient properties. It helps improve skin elasticity, and deeply hydrates and soothes even the driest skin. 

4. Avoid caffeinated drinks and alcoholic beverages.

Caffeinated drinks don’t hydrate, and hydration is essential to healthy skin. Instead of coffee, tea, an energy drink, or even your favorite adult libation, reach for water more often for inside-out benefits. Gabrielle Union — who definitely has a glow — loves water. She told Marie Claire, “I try to drink a gallon of water a day, and I try to get in 32 ounces with breakfast.” And another glowing goddess, Beyoncé, echoes that approach: “I try to take care of myself, drinking at least a gallon of water with lemon a day.”

With more awareness of what promotes healthy skin, and some high quality Buttah Skin products at your side, you’ll get closer to the glowing, melanin-rich skin you’re seeking.