DIY beauty saviours: How to maintain your skin, hair, nails, brows, lashes and everything yourself

The coronavirus pandemic has shown us that sometimes we need to take beauty matters in our own hands.

During these strange times we’ve been able to adapt most aspects of our routines, from work to workouts, our beauty upkeep can he hectic if you can’t get to see an expert.

Unable to get our hair, nails, lashes, brows (the list goes on) done under the COVID-19 social distancing rules, we learned how to take measures into our own hands.

And we saw all the horrific before-and-after shots of home-beauty-jobs gone wrong, we’ve got you covered (with a little expert help, of course).

BROWS (and that sneaky moustache)

TINTING

Tinting and dyeing can seem daunting, but when it comes to colouring your brows, it’s relatively easy.

1000 Hour have been making lash and brow tints for easy at home use for over 25 years, and they even offer plant-based formulas for sensitive skin types who may have trouble using peroxide.

Here are our top tips for dying your eyebrows at home:

1. If you’re unsure of what colour you should purchase, always go for the lighter option. It’s better to have a subtle result than a disastrously dark colour.

2. When applying the tint, it can leave colour residue on your skin. Try to apply the colour in the shape you want/wear your brows. Use a cotton bud to get rid of the excess tint around the hair, so it doesn’t stain the skin.

3. Do not fear! Now is the perfect time to trial at home beauty hacks and DIYs. Your pet dog is probably the only person who has to see your brows if something doesn’t go to plan – and they’ll love you regardless.

WAXING and SHAPING

Your natural instinct may have you reaching for your tweezers, but stop right there!

While tweezing may be the answer for those who have slow-growing or fine brows, those who are one the, er, bushier side, may want to opt for a more proactive approach.

Hair grows in cycles, so if you start plucking stray hairs as they come through, you’re going to have trouble scheduling regular appointments post-isolation.

You can purchase wax kits for home such as Nourished Life’s Sugar Coated Facial Hair Removal Kit.

If you’re happy to tweeze, Amy Jean from Amy Jean Brow Agency advises you follow these simple rules:

• “Always draw on your desired brow shape BEFORE you start tweezing, not the other way around.

• Invest in good quality tweezers

• Never trim your brows with scissors.”

Our tip: play it safe. Keep to the shape your brow technician has created for you with a little wiggle room, just in case. This way, you can remove the bulk of the hair in one swift go, and pluck the remaining hairs closer to your brow line to minimise any accidents.

If the idea of a DIY wax has you shaking your head, you can also try a face and brow razor. These are completely safe to use – they work similar to a regular razor, but with closer precision.

Both of the above options can be purchased from your local supermarket or pharmacy and also work a treat for the sneaky peach fuzz (read: lady moustache) that can appear around your upper lip.

If all of the above isn’t for you, virtual brow appointments are now a thing.

HAIR

Going without your regular trim is one thing, but regrowth and colour is another.

We spoke to Filio Gelasakis, head stylist at haircare brand Daily Naturals, for tips on maintaining your locks while in lockdown.

“Our number one tip is “moisture, moisture, moisture” with treatments, masks and conditioning! This is the time where you can soak in a leave-in mask and let it do all the magic,” Filio says.

“Our Daily Naturals “Rich Moisture” contains Shea Butter and Argan Oil and is the perfect pick for a little self-love.”

As for your regrowth, Filio advises you avoid self-colouring (and potentially ruining your stylists hard work).

“We know you’ll be dying to cover up those roots, but if you can hold off, we recommend using colour sprays and ‘root cover-ups’ and waiting until you can see your hairdresser professionally.

“It’s more important for your hair to be healthier during these times. Plus, going natural is a huge trend at the moment, and the regrowth look may just suit you!”

NAILS

Whether you have acrylics, gel, shellac or plain polish on, there’s an array of ways to keep your mani fresh.

Extend the life of your acrylic nails with this creative polish hack from beauty blogger Lizzy from What Would Lizzy Do – you can watch the video in the player below.

If you have a Shellac or gel mani, your best option may be removing the colour at home, which can be done with a bit of acetone nailpolish and a lot of patience.

Soak cotton pads in the remover before placing over the nail and wrapping in foil.

Leave on for 10 minutes before twisting and removing the foil, then gently flake away the polish.

Whatever you do, do not scrape.

Scraping causes damage to your natural nail.

If you’re having trouble removing some colour, continue to apply acetone with a cotton pad as you would with regular polish and flake away.

LASHES

When it comes to keeping your fluttery lashes looking full, there are few options in these dire times.

Instead of trying to maintain your extensions for, let’s face it, no one to see, take this opportunity to strengthen your natural lashes.

We asked Lady Lash Australia founder Charlotte about how to help you (and your lashes) make the most of self-isolation.

“If you have to have a forced break and that’s where the world is going, it’s a great time to focus on your natural lash health,” she said.

“A good lash growth serum would be important in this time to regenerate your natural lashes. The healthier your natural lashes are, the more flexible you can be with your extensions.”

If you do opt to go au natural, by choice or force, Charlotte advises you let the extensions fall out over time.

“The worst thing you can do is pick and pull at them as it can cause damage,” she warned.

“We don’t encourage you to try take your lashes off yourself, but oily products can shorten the life span of your extensions. I’d say put a little bit of coconut oil on and they’ll come off maybe 50 per cent faster, but it won’t be over night.”

If you’re finding life without your lashes tough, try an at-home lash tint like 1000Hours or a plumping mascara.

SKIN

Many of us like to hit up the local beautician for a facial every now and then and experience that long-time glow and tightening that comes from an hour relaxing on a bed and having an expert clean, exfoliate, hydrate and moisturise.

But in this crazy pandemic world, many of the beauty salons are booked out – your favourite may have closed or moved – as people rush back to outsource their facial routines.

But at Now to Love, we have learned one fantastic hack – DIY skin massage with visible benefits that we can see for weeks.

We’ve been enjoying the Manicare NOVA FIT™ Face Massager with Electronic Muscle Stimulation (rrp $114.99). It stimulates facial muscles through the use of gentle contractions, making it extremely relaxing to use. We saw changes to tone, firmness and skin rejuvenation in minutes – and the best bit is the improvements lasted.

FEET

Feet take a battering every single day. We squeeze them into gorgeous but uncomfortable shoes, we make them carry us at least 10,000 steps, but then we forget about them until summer hits and we have to bare these mangled, calloused hooves.

We’ve already shared your ideal DIY nails routine above. But before you even drag out that polish, let’s deal with the foot skin. There are a lot of products around, but this range we are about to share just received a 5/5 star rating on Beauty Heaven.

Summer ready feet have never looked so good! From an everyday gentle exfoliation to the ultimate dry skin remover (pediPRO Callus File pictured below, RRP $24.99), the Manicare® pediPRO range will be your holy grail for this summer and have your feet ready for any outings. Shop the entire pediPRO range at Priceline.