The dreaded day has come. The day that I woke up, looked in the mirror, and noticed a little wrinkle action starting near my eyes. This day comes for all of us at some point and it’s SCARY. We take precautions every day to prevent aging ourselves. But did you know that you could be aging yourself without your knowledge? Yep, that’s the hard truth.

But never fear! Today I’m going to go over five ways in which you might be aging yourself without even knowing it!

Here we go:

1. You aren’t handling your stress

Stress = wrinkles, bags under your eyes, and an overall negative effect on your body and its daily functions. You’ve gotta get rid of your stress! Whether that means you take up yoga, meditation, or a boxing class- do it! Stress will have a negative effect in almost every aspect of your life. Show it who’s boss!

2. You’re too sedentary

So many of us work a job where we sit 7-8 hours a day without much movement. This, my friends, is bad. Movement is necessary to maintain and improve your metabolism. This doesn’t mean you need to carve out 2 hours a day to run 10 miles. But it does mean that you need to use the stairs more often and make sure you get up to walk around at least every 2 hours. It’s been said that sitting is the new smoking.

3. You’re exfoliating too much

Have you ever bothered to read the directions with your favorite facial scrub? Most of them suggest that you only use a scrub on your skin 2-3 times a week. If you’re using your favorite scrub every day, you might actually be harming your skin. When new skin cells are exposed to life’s elements before they’re ready your skin can become fragile thus looking aged. Step away from the scrubs!

4. You’re wearing heavy eyeliner

If you’re like me and you’ve started to notice some crow’s feet around your eyes- avoid using a heavy eyeliner in your daily makeup routine. Not only is this harsh on your eyelids- it draws extra attention to your eyes which means extra attention to possible wrinkles. Wrinkles are a part of life and growing older is a beautiful pleasure denied to many. But if you aren’t so comfortable with your new wrinkle friends- avoid the heavy eyeliner!

5. You’re wearing your old bra

How long have you owned your current bra? Longer than a year? It might be time to invest in a new one if you wear it almost every day. Like anything, bras can lose elasticity over time and they won’t perform as well as they did before. A saggy bra sans elasticity will make your skin seem dropped and sagged…even if it isn’t truly like that!

6. You aren’t drinking enough water

Water is the key to youthful looking skin! The water is fantastic. I could take an entire post just giving you all the benefits that water has to offer. You should definitely be drinking lots of water. If it helps, try adding lemon or buying a cute water bottle to keep with you. Sip throughout the day. You’ll be surprised at how much better you feel AND look!

7. You’re depriving your hair

Do you use a deep conditioner? You should. As we get older, our hair needs more nutrients and moisture. Use a moisturizing masque on your hair once a week.

There you have it- 7 ways that you’ve been aging yourself!