Maintain Your Full Beauty Routine At Home With Tips From These Experts
Confession: I think I haven’t washed my hair in six days! Last week, I picked off the last bits off my gel mani and cried. And I have bad roots! But it’s not just me, it’s everyone.
Trying to maintain your beauty routine during quarantine isn’t easy. But it’s not totally impossible. I spoke to some of the top experts to find out how to triage ourselves for however long this nightmare lasts.
Hair Color
I spoke to celebrity hairstylist Anthony Pazos (who also does my color) to find out if and how we should DIY our roots right now. His best advice is to wait it out. “Do yourself a favor and just wait to get your hair done,” he tells me. (Author's note: I think he just said this because he knows I’ll do a terrible job.)
But seriously, there is yet another reason why we need to stay away from the drugstore: “The box dye colors that can be found on the shelves have no real regulations and can even be expired.”
However. if you really can’t wait and need to cover grey, he recommends asking your stylist for a take-home root touch up kit. “That way you’re in communication with your normal stylist making sure you’re not creating a bigger problem by doing it yourself.”
Leave all your blonde needs to a professional. You could cost yourself hundreds of dollars in color correct, so it's best to just wait it out.
If we must buy color from the drugstore, Pazos recommends only buying color for dark-haired grey coverage and blonds should beware. “Leave all your blonde needs to a professional. You could cost yourself hundreds of dollars in color correct, so best to just wait it out,” he says.
Additionally, women with dark hair should only color roots in the areas that can be seen from the outside: “Parting and sides only. Don’t worry about painting areas that won’t be seen!”
Hair Treatment
If your hair is super dry or damaged, you probably get regular conditioning treatments at your local salon. Since that’s out, the next best thing is listening to the one and only Philip b, whose namesake line is one of the best.
During this time, less is more. If you don’t have to wash your hair, don’t. Give it a rest. Skip the hot tools as well. Your hair will thank you when social distancing becomes a thing of the past.
As for what you should do, he recommends brushing your hair often. (Hey, you’ve got time.) Go from root to tip on dry hair only. “This is great to nourish and feed the oils from the scalp to the hair shafts,” he says. It helps exfoliate the scalp and improve circulation and oxygenation. It’s also a great time to give yourself a scalp massage. It supports brushing and breaks down the product build-up. Did we mention it feels good?
Brushing your hair feeds the oils from the scalp to the hair shafts, nourishing your hair.
It also couldn’t be a better time to give yourself a hot oil treatment. Philip b Rejuvenating Oil is a complete gamechanger. Just apply it to your hair and brush it in. Then use your blowdryer to heat it up. Leave on for up to 15 hours. Shampoo it out and then follow your regular hair routine. I like to leave it on and go outside for a long walk. No one will notice the oil because no one is outside.
If you’re worried about frizz, Philip b suggests spraying your hair with apple cider vinegar. It helps balance the scalp and hair’s pH. “It also closes and flattens the hair cuticle to eliminate frizz.”
Home Facials
I majorly regret not getting a facial before the stay-at-home order was mandated. If you’re in the same position, Medical Aesthetician Jenn Familo from Alchemé (my favorite med spa in San Diego) shared a few of her best tips with me.
Thoroughly cleanse skin with a foamy cleanser. If you’re wearing makeup, cleanse twice!
Use an exfoliator. This can be a scrub, or glycolic toner or treatment pad. It will remove dead skin cells to allow better absorption of products.
Apply a treatment mask. Choose one to target your particular skin concern. Let the mask absorb and remain on the skin for 20-30 minutes before removing. Take it off with a hot towel.
Apply a good serum (hyaluronic or vitamin C).
Apply eye cream around the orbit of the eyes.
Finish with a moisturizer! This will lock in any serums applied and replenish the skin with hydration and nutrients.
Nails
Olive and June founder Sarah Gibson Tuttle has a great Mani 101 tutorial on YouTube. She also shared a step-by-step with me.
Step 1: Shape, Clip, and File It's all about the 90/10 rule: 90% of your shape comes from your nail clipper and 10% from filing. First, use flat edge clippers to cut your nail into your desired shape. Then, gently smooth out the edges. If you have polish on, all the better. Shaping with polish on helps you visualize the final shape without being distracted by the natural whites of the nails.
Step 2: Prep Dip each nail in a polish remover pot to remove old polish and excess oils that can interfere with your polish adhering to your nail bed. Pro tip: once you've prepped your nails, avoid touching your face and hair which have natural oils.
Step 3: Trim (hangnails only!) and Buff Cuticles Using your buffer, gently glide the buffer cube back and forth along the edge of the cuticle to erase dry skin and smooth things out.
Step 4: Polish Pop on The Poppy and paint, dry; paint, dry; apply Top Coat: dry, dry, dry. If you're just starting out, anchoring your non-dominant hand (or even the whole arm) on a flat work surface gives you a steady canvas.
Step 5: Shine Once your top coat has fully dried, apply cuticle serum to make your mani shine. Cuticle serum is a must-have product. You could have zero polish on and give your cuticles a dose of cuticle serum and it would add instant luster.
If you have any nail polish on your cuticles or fingertips, dip a clean-up brush in your nail polish remover, then use it to remove any unwanted color or to clean up polish lines.
Eyebrows
Brow boss Dominique Bossavy tells me that “being your own brow boss is difficult.” So, the best thing you can do when you can’t have a professional appointment is home maintenance and care for skin and eyebrow hair, which is not much different than skincare. She recommends cleansing, cutting, and moisturizing your brows.
If you must DIY, she recommends plucking only the stray single hairs that are in open spaces and truly out of place.
Be sure to cleanse and exfoliate the area gently with a very light, gentle exfoliating cleanser. Then, use a hyaluronic acid product to bind to moisture to keep hairs hydrated and full, giving them a thicker appearance. Use a serum at night for nourishment.
Bossavy adds, “A great way to both maintain and protect from loss is also to use a conditioner like Egyptian castor oil to help maintain the follicle health and strength. Stimulating blood flow is also beneficial, so do some circulatory massage.”
While it's best to leave the shaping to your professional, if you must DIY, she recommends plucking only the stray single hairs that are in open spaces and truly out of place and trim the rest.
To style your brows, use a Soap Brows kit and then follow her directions:
Put a little mist on your spoolie brush, so the product catches and is "tacky.” Then, coat the hairs and let it set for a minute or so.
Then, you can style the brow hairs up for a more dramatic look and it will stay in place.
Closing Thoughts
Just because we're stuck at home doesn't mean we shouldn't look and feel beautiful! Now, there’s more time than ever to master at-home beauty.