beauty

6 time saving ways to supercharge your beauty routine

There’s nothing better than getting a routine down-pat. When you figure out a way to get everything that needs to be done finished, with maximum effect and efficiency, it feels like a superpower.

But there’s always room for some fine-tuning, and if a little change takes no extra time, and makes a big difference then that’s even better. When you’re optimising your day, some things make more of an impact than others. Here are a few cheat codes to getting things done that go a long way, fast.

1. Lay your clothes out the night before, not the morning of.

Figuring out what to wear takes around the same amount of time, no matter when you do it. Just because getting dressed is a trivial choice, doesn’t mean it’s not a draining one. If you decide on what to wear in the evening, you’ll have more time to get other things ready in the morning when life is busier, and more mental energy left for the rest of the day.

2. Sleep in your dry shampoo.

It might sound counter intuitive, but the best time to put your dry shampoo in is just before you need it. If you put dry shampoo in just before bed, it’ll absorb everything that comes from your scalp overnight. That way by the morning, you simply have to brush it out, and your hair is good to go. No waiting time or over-powdered disasters required.

3. Drink apple cider vinegar first thing in the morning.

You should always start the day with a tall drink of water, since your body is probably dehydrated from a night’s worth of sleep. Adding a few drops of zingy apple cider vinegar to your wake-up drink is a great way to kick your metabolism into gear. The vinegar gives your stomach acid a hand with digesting your food, so you can extract the nutrients you need more easily, and once you get used to it, it’s actually quite delicious.

ADVERTISEMENT

4. Cleanse your face with a brush.

Forget having to exfoliate with a special scrub. Using an electric cleansing brush, like Clinique’s Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush daily with your regular cleanser will swipe away dead skin cells, no extra product needed. It also cleanses your skin deeply in record time, and helps your serum and moisturiser absorb more rapidly once you’re done.

5. Do calf raises as you brush your teeth.

Dentists say it takes two solid minutes of brushing to completely clean your teeth. That’s also just enough time to give yourself a mini leg work out. Simply stand up on your tiptoes, slowly lower your heels back down to the floor, then repeat. You should have time to do around four sets of twenty repetitions as you brush. By the time you’re done, your calves should be warm, if not burning.

6. Ask your hairdresser for a wash and wear cut.

The next time you visit the salon, remind yourself and your stylist that a blow dry should be a nice-to-have, not a have-to-have.  If you have a cut that eliminates the need for heat-styling after every wash, doing your hair can become a treat, rather than a chore. Depending on the amount of time you spend on your hair, making this change could wind up saving you hours a week, and it’ll leave your hair healthier too.

 

How do you make your routine work harder for you?