How many different beauty products do you use daily? Chances are you probably use more than you used to. With a seemingly neverending supply of new lotions and potions on the market that are designed to make you look younger, bronzer, and healthier, it’s hard to know where to start. There is really something for everyone. And we love it – after all, who wouldn’t want beautiful clear skin, sleek hair and perfect makeup? But do all these products really help 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 was not necessarily improving the condition of my skin, in fact it could have been making it worse. I had got so used to applying it a couple of times a day that when I forgot to use it, my hands quickly became drier than ever. Some skin products work almost too well – your skin becomes dependent on the product as if it was ‘addicted’, and unable to cope without it. It’s the same with hair styling – the more products you use, the more you’ll find you need. Styling tools and hairdryers can dry your hair out, leaving it brittle and frizzy. The answer to this, of course, is product – there is a massive variety of different styling products to keep frizzy and unruly hair in check. They leave your hair looking shiny and sleek even if you use heat-styling tools, problem solved. But nine times out of ten these products only succeed in disguising the problem without actually doing anything to repair the damage. You keep using it because you think your hair looks great, but the longer you leave it the worse hair could get. So how can you tell which of these products are really worth your money? Well, to start with, less is definitely more. Choose products that will really last and work for your skin, like Body Shop body butter or Clarins HydraQuench cream. A lot of these may cost more than regular moisturisers, but it’s really worth it in the long run as they do help fix dry skin, and they usually last much longer too. As for hair, the best way to recovery is to wear your hair naturally for a while, using 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. GHD also offer a great range of shampoo and styling products specifically developed to protect heat-styled hair.