Before dropping some more cash at the salon, find out which simple treatments you can actually do at home yourself, hassle-free and for a fraction of the cost.
1. Upper Lip Wax
The thought of manipulating hot wax may scare the daylights out of you, but we promise, waxing a small area like your upper lip is child’s play. You can buy a microwave wax at the pharmacy along with wooden spatulas and waxing strips. You won’t spend more than $20 on all of your supplies and you’ll get hundreds of lip waxes out of it. Look for a lukewarm wax that can be warmed up in the microwave and get yourself some ale vera gel while you’re at it. Test the wax on your wrist to make sure it isn’t too warm before applying it to your lip. Once you get the right temperature, gently spread a touch of wax along your upper lip, take a deep breath, and pull. Throw away the paper and the spatula and apply aloe vera gel to the area right away to prevent redness and irritation. You’ll get your upper lip smooth in no time, without waiting for an appointment or spending too much money.
2. Gel Manicures
You don’t need to spend upwards of $40 on a fresh manicure every three weeks. You can find some pretty great UV lamps at places like Wal-Mart for that same price, and some relatively inexpensive polishes from brands like Gelish. After your initial investment, each manicure will cost you no more than a few strokes of polish. Plus, you can change up your colour anytime, when it’s convenient for you, and without overspending. We recommend you invest in a bonder polish to help gel polishes adhere better to your natural nails, a gel polish liquid remover to facilitate colour changes and a good, rough nail file. Always make sure the surface of your natural nail is gently filed and rough, otherwise the polish will pop right off after a day or two. Apply like nail polish, and file the edges all around your nail to get a clean, professional finish.
3. Eyebrow Maintenance
There’s really no need to spend money on eyebrow waxing and tweezing. All you need is a really good, professional pair of tweezers from a brand like Tweezerman. You can use stencils to shape your brow line, or head to the salon for this one and only treatment. Once your brow shape has been defined, all you have to do is pluck away the strays every couple of days. Incorporate it into your beauty routine and you’ll soon see it will only take a couple of minutes to keep your brows looking amazing. This is something even the inexperienced gal can manage to do on her own.
4. Exfoliation
Whether you’re looking for a full body or facial exfoliation, trust us when we say you can do it at home, all by yourself. This can be a pricey salon treatment but with a good lufa or exfoliate cream, you can achieve the same results, on your own time. We recommend doing this at home simply because it’s quick and easy, and because exfoliation should be done regularly. Don’t wait for your next pay check to come in to spend it all at the salon getting a smooth feel you can get at home any day of the week. For a great body exfoliation, we recommend soaking in a warm bath, and gently scrubbing with a lufa or exfoliate cream. Finish off by applying some body lotion for that extra silky-smooth salon feeling.
5. Pedicures
Corns, calluses – these are conditions that definitely need constant care. Invest in a bottle of Epsom salts, a foot file or callus stone, and foot lotion. Let your feet soak in a warm tub of water and Epsom salt for at least 15 minutes. Once the skin softens slightly, use the foot file or callus stone to remove dead, dry skin from your feet. Return your feet to your soak for another 15 minutes. Then dry them off, apply a luxurious foot cream and put on a pair of white socks to allow the cream to allow the cream to penetrate your feet. Your tootsies will thank you.
