If you’re anything like us, you love indulging in beauty treatments, getting an hour or so to yourself, and walking out of the salon more confidently than when you came in. The only catch? Most if not all of us don’t have the hundred bucks it takes every three or four weeks to get amazing facials or hair treatments. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get nearly similar results without going into debt. With a few simple materials and a little patience, you’ll be enjoying the most radiant skin, voluminous hair, and groomed skin of your life! Here are 10 awesome beauty treatments to master in your spare time.
DIY manicures are a great alternative to heading to the local nail spa for several reasons. Firstly, the cost of a bamboo cuticle pusher, some clippers, a file, and a bottle of your favorite nail polish is likely less than your average manicure. You may even have extra cash to invest in a base and top coat! Secondly, you’re in complete control- trimming your nails means they can go as short or long as you like, without anyone insisting that what you want won’t look good on your hands (this isn’t always the case, but we’ve experienced it a couple times). Lastly, trimming and painting your nails is an extremely rewarding experience. Slowing down and putting a lot of effort into getting nice, even strokes of lacquer on each nail is much more therapeutic than slapping on some color before rushing off to work. So, next time you have an evening at home, soak your nails and give them a manicure!
Who wouldn’t want to walk around with a head full of bouncy waves? The trouble is, that kind of style is only achievable if you go to high-end salons for them… or so you may have thought. Turns out, you can achieve gorgeous, sky-high curls with just a hairdryer, some jumbo velcro rollers (or smaller ones if you have short hair), hairspray, and hair treatment. Start with damp hair, rub on a little treatment, and blow dry in sections using a round brush, curling with the brush as you dry. After you’ve dried your hair, use the velcro curlers to roll it in alternating directions (this will add more volume) and pin in place. After you’ve added a bit of hairspray to your ‘do (you’ll look a bit like Ursula from The Little Mermaid), wait for about half an hour, then unroll for tresses fit for royalty!
Working your mascara wand through your lashes, creating an amazing, fluttery eye? Fun? Taking off the mascara at night and loosing ten lashes per eye? Not so fun. The solution? Eyelash extensions that you put on yourself! Unlike fake lashes, eyelash extensions are individual (as opposed to being an entire strip), variable (they come in different lengths to suit your eye shape and natural lash length), and long-lasting. Fair warning: the process of applying individual false lashes to your lash line with cosmetic-safe glue does take a while, but it’ll be so worth not having to worry about mascara and taking it off) for up to four weeks.
If you’ve ever experienced an extraction- namely, had a professional esthetician remove the oil plugs from your pores after a good amount of steaming- then you know just how gross and satisfying that process is. After all the gunk and dirt is cleaned from your pores, your skin can breathe again! And luckily for your wallet, you can give your face exactly what it needs without heading to a a specialist. Just thoroughly cleanse your face, steam (either in the shower or with a facial steamer), safely extract blackheads (using an extractor), exfoliate, mask, and moisturize. Disclaimer: steam for at least ten minutes before attempting to extract, and use a rubbing alcohol to sanitize your tool before and after each extraction. And only get the ones that are ready to come out!
There’s nothing quite like smooth, hairless skin. And one of the best methods for removing unsightly hairs (besides layer hair removal) is waxing! Sure, the procedure hurts for a second- but for the result, it couldn’t be more worth it. Though it seems like a salon-exclusive service, you can master the art of waxing by purchasing a waxing kit from Amazon. Pro tip: practice on your legs first, and then once you’ve become a virtuoso, go ahead and remove that peach fuzz before your big presentation.
While bleaching and dyeing all your hair royal purple may prove a bit challenging to accomplish on your own, refreshing that all-over salon brunette is easy as pie. Just head to your drugstore, pick up a semi-permanent color that’s close to your hair color, and follow the instructions on the box. While you’re at it, smooth any extra dye evenly over your hair to refresh the color. Wash until the water runs clear, dry, and enjoy your new vibrant shade!
Let’s get one thing straight: your natural skin tone is beautiful and likely already suits your perfectly. But during the warmer months, sometimes we’d like a little more pigment without spending hours in the hot sun. To achieve a healthy bronzed look, go for a shade that’s only a bit darker than your natural skin tone, exfoliate the area you’d like to use the color, and apply evenly. Pay special attention if the instructions say to rinse off the product after a certain time; orange skin is much worse than fair!
Although a good hand or foot massage may sound heavenly, we often wouldn’t associate it with physical beauty. But perfecting your massage techniques for your hands and feet will prove not only beneficial to your physical health, but in turn to your appearance as well! By holding and releasing pressure points on hands and feet and rubbing away tension, you stimulate the lymphatic system, which then in turn improves circulation, health, and rosiness. So don’t be afraid to treat yourself to a five-minute foot rub after that exam!
An inexpensive and slightly less risky way to exfoliate the skin and remove unwanted fuzz is called derma planing. The treatment hardly takes any time to learn- all you need is a few high-quality dermaplaning razors (you can find them at Sephora) and a clean face. Lightly brush the razor in the opposite direction of hair growth, and sanitize before and after each use. So smooth!
The final treatment on our list is a great alternative to shoveling out hard-earned cash for a dentist to apply bitter-tasting stuff to your teeth to get them radiantly bright. You can do the same thing at home at a fraction of the cost and time! Just get some whitening strips, get comfy, and let them work their magic.
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