5 beauty blessings you’ll experience right now
Lockdown does present a fair few beauty challenges. No salons, for one, complete lack of stock of your beauty regulars, another, and ‘sorry but how do I remove gel nails at home again?’, but before we lament too much, let’s take a cheery tour through all the blessings that physically seeing no one, and endless time, can afford. If Rapunzel managed it, so can we.
Number one) No one can see you
This is obvious yes, but it affords the beauty home-practitioner the chance to indulge in some hidden-from-view hacks. Let your skin breathe by going make up free. You could try ‘skincare fasting’, giving up some skincare products to let you re-evaluate your routine. “Layering multiple products on the skin can lead to either inactivation of products which are not meant to be used together,” Dr Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist at The Cadogan Clinic, says, “or, at the other extreme, sensitivity, irritation and even eczema” if the products don’t work well together. A break from some products – cleanser and SPF excluded – gives you the chance to reassess if you’re overloading your skin and help you see what’s essential.
Number two) Hair is hard to see on Zoom calls
The pause on normal life means we can step away from the heater stylers and give hair a chance to recuperate. Use the opportunity to nourish with deep conditioning masks like Pureology Hydrate Superfood Treatment or Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Deep-Conditioning Treatment.
While experts say we can’t train our hair to need less washing, switching up our haircare routine can help facilitate less washing – and now’s the perfect moment to try it. Brushing hair before you wash it means oil will wash away more thoroughly from the roots in the shower, hairstylist Nikki Providence suggests, and it’ll help prevent a buildup of oil.
Making sure you’re not over-cleansing your hair is also important, as it could lead the scalp to over-produce oil to compensate for the shampoo’s stripping effect. Hairstylist Derek Yuen – who’s styled the likes of Margot Robbie – recommends a once every other week (or once a week on very oily hair) reset of the scalp using Kenra’s Professional Clarifying Shampoo and the rest of the time shampooing with a very gentle formula.
Step away from the heat stylers
Nourish with a deep conditioner
Number three) You can grow those strong brows
“Take advantage of being in isolation and see what your natural brows are capable of doing,” Vanita Parti, founder of Blink Brow Bar, recommends, “let them grow as much as they can.” This takes a bit of guts. She says once they’ve grown out to the point it feels a bit unbearable, stick with it. Use a brow brush to brush them up to see their natural shape.
“Try not to touch the core shape,” Vanita explains, “but you can pluck around this area to get rid of excess hair that doesn’t lend itself to the shape.” Once you have that fuller brow, you can use products, like pencil and tinted gel, to tame them – but they’ll be so much easier to work with than a thinner brow.
Number four) With more time on your hands, you can get creative
This is the ideal opportunity to order a load of new products and try them without having to reveal the effects to every passerby. Inspired by the floating liner trend (liner worn at some point between your brow bone and lash line) à la the Versace Spring/Summer 2020 runway? Try it. Shimmery, nectar eyes? Do it. Neon shades? Embrace the time to experiment.
Number five) The environment is for you
Pollution can wreak havoc with our skin, as can harsh office central-heating. Being around our houses will do something to help this as well as doing the obvious minimising of UV exposure. Though vitamin D supplements might be a good idea, Dr Mark Hudson-Peacock, a consultant dermatologist at Stratum Clinics, suggests. But generally, the break from harsh city conditions should be a good thing.
There you have it. While we can’t use Treatwell, we do have time and the all-clear to press reset. Enjoy it and if you do end up completely frustrated and wing it with a haircut on yourself, just remember, this could be the starting point for that lucrative salon career. Rapunzel, what Rapunzel? We’ve got this.