Keeping America beautiful
Turn to tutorials for home self-maintenance
Iknow, I get it. Beauty is far from our biggest worry right now. But wherever we can, we still need to keep things as normal as possible, and to get that little lift that comes from taking care of ourselves. The other day a neighbor of mine texted, “I’m afraid when all this is over and I haven’t been to the salon or spa for a long time, absolutely no one is going to recognize me.” We all know she isn’t alone.
Thankfully there are all kinds of at-home beauty Plan Bs out there — all of which you can get at the grocery store, pharmacy or online. And while they’re definitely not as ideal as seeing your favorite colorist or facials or pedicure whiz, in a pinch (which is definitely what we’re in), they’re 100% better than just letting things go.
Since watching someone else is often the best instruction, I recommend turning in a jam to online tutorials — we all know YouTube has a zillion how-tos out there.
Let’s address the essentials first.
If all you’re looking to do is keep up with the key selfmaintenance, turn to links like these (and do note that it’s just the videos and their processes I’m recommending, not necessarily all of the brands they use):
A salon-style mani/pedi: We all feel like we know these basics pretty well, but Be Beautiful walks you through the easy steps one by one to make sure you don’t neglect any. (youtube.com/watch?v=9xpUtH7S9tI) Likewise, all kinds of thoughtful little tips on buffing and shaping, not to mention painting, can be found on Cupcakes and Cashmere (cupcakesandcashmere.com/beauty/how-togive-yourself-a-flawless-athome-manicure).
If it’s something a little fancier you’re after — say, a French manicure — then look to tutorials from AlexandrasGirlyTalk (yout ube.com/watch?v=9StsjiH9WgM).
Hair color: This may be the toughest one to replicate at home. We all know there’s no messing around when it comes to permanent hair color, so if you’re feeling nervous about jumping in to do this yourself, I recommend opting for a temporary color kit, or a semi-permanent one. Both will wash out over multiple washes. But if you’re looking to nip the problem in the bud for at least a month or so, there’s no getting around it: You’ll have to dive into at-home permanent color. That said, the options — while far from offering the results of your favorite hair guru — have come a long way these days. One brand I do like a lot is Madison Reed. The online company sells multi-tonal color kits, with products that have plenty of keratin and argan oil built in, minus the unhealthy stuff, like ammonia, PPD, parabens and phthalates. They also have one-color kits as well as others for highlights, and a video sharing some pretty helpful hair-coloring hacks (madison-reed.com/blog/5-salon-secret-hair-color-hacks-plus-all-the-instruction-youll-ever-need).
Lash extensions: It’s virtually impossible (even for most pros) to do their own extensions. But you can do the next best thing: your own individual false lashes. Used sparingly on mostly just the outer edges of your eyes, they look very natural, but don’t fail to create that extra bit of magic that extensions do. Here’s a very good tutorial (youtube.com/watch?v=pcstwwON0Ok).
And finally: If you’re looking for fun/weird/cool tricks and more general beauty hacks you never knew you needed (and may actually not need, but hey, if you’re sitting at home anyway, why not?) then check out Allure (allure.com/story/best-diybeauty-hacks-ever) for everything from the many uses of coconut oil to creating the cat eye. Then there’s this one (buzzfeed.com/ chrissymahlmeister/instagram-beauty-hacks). Some are a little silly (use a wood pencil to curl your hair?) but others are downright genius (cover grays with mascara; if you run out of nail polish remover, use a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and vinegar).
So yes, even in a public health crisis that has us hunkering down at home, we can still keep America beautiful.