The Fail: For as long as we stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy, we've been told to brush our teeth after every meal. But dentists in the UK report that brushing immediately after meals can actually be bad for your teeth. Turns out the acidity in the food and drinks we consume softens tooth enamel, and scrubbing them with a toothbrush immediately after actually strips the enamel from our teeth, leaving them susceptible to cavities.

The Fix: If you can't bear the thought of not brushing after every meal, focus your oral efforts into flossing. Studies show that flossing is more important than brushing because it removes the bacteria between your teeth without stripping layers of enamel off. And don't neglect your tongue! Again, forget brushing your tongue clean (it merely spreads the germs around) and invest in a good tongue scraper, like the neat, portable Supersmile Flexible Tongue Cleaner.

The Fail: Props on taking the time to wash your face! But if your hands aren't clean, you're probably making your face even dirtier in the process. According to Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, MD, assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, you're basically transferring all of the bacteria on your hands to your face.

The Fix:Click back to slide #3 and start singing the "Happy Birthday" song before you reach for your facial cleanser. And be sure to thoroughly moisten your face before you smear that cleanser all over. Most cleansers are too harsh and need to be diluted with water before being applied to your face.

The Fail: "Regular trims" are rarely regular. That appointment is inevitably pushed back or avoided altogether, which is how trimming your own hair at home happens. We've all done the quick bang trim, or snipped the split ends from the end of a braid or ponytail -- it just so much easier than blowing off another appointment or risking a bad cut. Once again, your attempt to save time and money is actually making the matter worse, i.e. more breakage. And you're not even really trimming your hair.

The Fix: At-home trims don't remove damage, they maintain shape -- assuming you're actually able to keep the shape. That's nearly impossible when you're cutting at a weird angle with the same scissors you cut paper with. Your stylist gets paid top dollar for a reason, including his or her ability to see all angles of your hair, so your best bet is to do some damage control before your next hair appointment. Instead of taking shears into your own hands, invest in an overnight hair mask , like Tigi Hair Reborn Reparative Nocturnal Therapy, to seal your ends and stop splitting until your stylist can get rid of 'em for good.

The Fail: Usually the sunscreen application routine goes something like this: Remember at the last minute, squeeze an arbitrary amount in the palm of your hand, slather it on your exposed areas and the back of your neck if you're lucky. If this sounds familiar, you're getting burned. The type, amount, age of your sunscreen, not to mention where it gets applied, all play an important role in protecting your skin from getting baked and cancer-ized.

The Fix: Be sure to check your bottle of sunscreen for two things: 1) The expiration date. If you can't find one, toss it out if you've had it for more than three years. 2) The SPF. If it's not a 30 SPF and broad spectrum, you're not getting the kind of coverage every dermatologist on earth recommends. Now let's talk quantity: chances are you're not using enough. A good application is one ounce (the amount in a shot glass), but everyone comes in different sizes. A good rule of thumb: whatever you think is a bit too much is probably right on the money. Even if you're fully, completely and thoroughly slathered, you're not 100 percent safe from those UV rays in the shade or even under your clothes (your clothing is only about SPF 4 to 9!), so apply sunscreen before you get dressed, and reapply at least every two hours throughout the day (more often if you're swimming).

The Fail: Unless your shampoo and conditioner bottles are Herbal Essences and speaking to you in the first person, you're probably not reading the tiny print on each of the bottles. And why would you? You know the rules by heart: lather, rinse, and repeat. And when you condition, you probably apply from roots to tips and think the longer you leave it in, the better the conditioning power. But as damaged as your hair is, the hair closest to your roots is new growth, and thus healthier than the length of your hair. Which means your roots don't need that heavy shot of conditioner.

The Fix: Instead of coating your whole head in conditioner, start at ear-level and apply your conditioner all the way to the ends of your hair. You'll be wasting a lot less product and end up with lighter, less-greasy roots after your shower.