8 Daily Habits Behind That “Have You Done Something Different?” Look

Receiving that “have you done something different?” compliment can uplift you for the entire day. Why? Because you know you’ve been taking better care of yourself and putting yourself first. You aren’t focused on one specific goal, but on giving your body what it needs and deserves so you look and feel your best.

Those daily habits that you’ve worked hard to stay consistent with pay off, but when someone finally validates what you’ve been working towards, it feels like a whole different level of success.

1. Starting Your Day With Water

It’s easy to turn on the coffee pot and get a hit of caffeine to jolt you into your day, but when you start the day with water instead of coffee, it provides your body with much-needed hydration. Your body loses a ton of water while you sleep, so replenishing it as soon as possible after waking is the best thing for it.

Caffeinated beverages are also mild diuretics if you consume them in large amounts, which can lead to dehydration if you drink too much coffee throughout the day without drinking enough water. For a subtle glow-up, drinking water first thing in the morning sets you up for adequate fluid intake, hydrating your skin over time to improve its texture and appearance.

2. Getting Morning Daylight

Waking up and getting a hit of sunlight before you do anything else is a great way to improve your overall wellness for several reasons. First, it regulates sleep by improving your internal clock and encouraging better sleep quality at night, which helps you wake up feeling and looking more refreshed.

Morning light can also balance cortisol levels and improve mood. When you’re less stressed and start your day in a better mood, you’ll appear happier. Happier people are often perceived as more attractive, so a better mood can benefit your outward appearance.

3. Sleep Quality vs. Quantity

You’re often told that you should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but if that sleep is disrupted or you’re not cycling through the sleep phases appropriately, it doesn’t matter how long you sleep for. You will still wake up feeling tired and groggy, and it will show on your face. That’s why it’s more important to assess sleep quality.

Research shows that poor sleep quality is linked to premature skin aging and facial signs of fatigue, such as dark circles, pale skin, and red eyes. So, if you start to focus more heavily on the type of sleep you get rather than how long, you can combat these effects on your face. You can do this by having a strict sleep-wake schedule, where you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, develop a wind-down routine that doesn’t involve screens, and avoid substances like caffeine or alcohol that can disrupt sleep.

4. Kicking Off Your Day with a High-Protein Breakfast

While you may have heard that eating a high-protein breakfast can help with weight loss goals, it does far more than just affect your waistline. Research shows that starting your day with all the essential amino acids found in protein sources benefits your hair, nails, and skin as well.

For example, keratin, which makes up a significant portion of your hair and nails, needs enough amino acids to thrive. With enough protein daily and starting your morning off to set you up to hit a protein goal throughout the day, it will prevent weak nails and hair that are prone to falling and breaking.

Protein also supports skin health because it helps build collagen. When there’s enough collagen in the body to use, your skin looks better and is better able to keep environmental stressors from causing damage.

5. Engage in Consistent Skincare

If you’re the type of person who has a 10-step skincare routine, but also a busy life, it can be hard to stay consistent. But you don’t need all those products to see an improvement in how you look. As little as three products can do the trick.

As long as you’re using a good moisturizer, cleanser, and sunscreen while out during the day, you will see benefits in the overall appearance of your skin. While some research shows that a more advanced routine can yield better results for specific skin concerns, such as large pores or deep wrinkles, if you just want your skin to look healthy, the best skincare routine is the one you’ll stick with.

6. Daily Movement

Moving your body matters for overall health, but it can be especially beneficial for your skin. Whole-body workouts, such as resistance training and cardio, can boost skin cell health while encouraging more collagen production.

Resistance training, in particular, can reduce skin aging by lowering inflammation in the body while aiding in the structural integrity of proteins that maintain skin elasticity and firmness. The good news, too, is that you don’t have to set a grueling schedule. As little as two training sessions a week will do the trick.

7. Tackling Inflammation Through Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Activities

Inflammation can show up on the face and body, leading to a less-than-ideal appearance and faster signs of aging. So, if you want to change things up, focusing on what’s going on inside your body rather than outside can help.

Start with what you eat. Adding anti-inflammatory foods, such as berries, dark leafy greens, and vegetables, is a great way to add something to your life without overhauling your whole diet. Healthy fats also matter, so use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter for cooking and add nuts to salads for an added boost.

When it comes to ways to combat inflammation outside of your diet, research shows that managing stress is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Since everyone deals with stress differently, learning what works for you is best, but some options include mind-body therapies, mindfulness and meditation, or talk therapy.

8. Improving Posture

Your posture can change not only how you look, but how you are perceived by others as well as how you’re perceived by you. Research has even shown that good posture can make people feel more confident. Sitting or standing upright has also been associated with better self-esteem and mood, and decreased rates of depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as stress.

While good posture will make you look better because it’s the natural way people are supposed to stand, it will more so affect how you feel about yourself, your mood and your stress levels, all of which play a role in how well you sleep and how you look to others.

Why Small Habits Show on the Face First

Together, these habits benefit your skin health, appearance, sleep, inflammation, cortisol levels, and self-confidence. So, when you add these small daily habits to your lifestyle, the combination of physiological and psychological changes, such as skin tone, signs of aging, hydration, and a happier mood, all work together to give you a subtle glow-up.

The Ones That Show Up the Fastest

When it comes to timelines, all of these habits will work as long as you’re consistent. However, some will show benefits faster than others. For example, sleep quality and hydration will be the first to change your look by reducing facial fatigue and signs of tiredness in as little as one week. The rest are as follows:

• Getting morning daylight
• Eating a high-protein breakfast
• Improving posture
• Engaging in consistent skincare
• Incorporating daily movement
• Tackling inflammation

What Doesn’t Work

There are so many wellness shortcuts around that you may be tempted to try anything and everything to improve your appearance as fast as possible. However, these shortcuts won’t get you there faster, and they may end up being more harmful than helpful. For example, if you over-wash or over-exfoliate your face, you could damage your skin barrier, which, over time, can lead to redness, dryness, and excess oil production that leads to breakouts.

You’ll also want to ensure that you’re not putting too much into topical treatments for any concerns you have because if you don’t tackle the internal issues, such as lack of adequate sleep or dehydration, no amount of serums will do the trick.

Meal replacements or prioritizing quick supplements over whole foods is another way to watch your efforts fail, because while they offer some benefits, they cannot outperform a diet that doesn’t provide your body with the essential nutrients it needs to look and feel its best.

At the end of the day, the above eight habits won’t just improve your appearance outwardly. They will also help you feel good about who you are, and that is just as attractive as perfect skin, hair, or nails.