Three weeks ago, I was getting beauty prepped to go to Miami. My nails needed to be refilled, my eyebrows needed to be threaded, the full glow up was going to happen just a couple days before my flight for that fresh feel. I remember driving past my nail and eyebrow salon thinking “nah, I’m not in the mood today, I’ll wait to get it done closer to Miami.” Enter coronavirus. Goodbye Miami and hello self-quarantining. Man I wish I didn’t procrastinate and got that one last thread, and one last fill, but unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.
We are all hopefully finding the bright side to the simplified life we’ve been thrust into… I mean the hilarious memes alone have almost been worth it. But there are certain normalcies I crave, like buying toilet paper and getting my eyebrows did. So, what can we do to follow the shelter-in-place rules and still get through this pandemic without looking like a hot mess? Here are some beauty tips to keep yourself together until you can go back to your favorite salon, spa or self-care facility.
1. Moisturize Your Hands After Washing
We’ve been told to wash our hands every hour during corona time, but what does this do to our hands? It strips our skin of its natural lipid barrier by drying the skin out. After every wash, moisturize. You want to use a product with olive oil or coco butter for that extra moistness. I’ve recently been obsessed with Egyptian Magic – It’s an all purpose skin cream that’s made from natural ingredients. I literally lather my whole body with this before sleeping. There’s a lot of counterfeit versions of this cream and it’s almost always sold out – this seller’s was real.
2. Wear Sunscreen Once a Day
I live by the Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40. It’s lightweight and scentless, proven to offer both UVA and UBD protection and completely invisible. I love using it before my primer because sets my makeup really well and keeps it from smudging all day.
3. Clean Your Makeup Brushes
If you’re anything like me, then you’re someone who dreads cleaning their makeup brushes. It’s one of those tasks I always seem to “forget.” But, it’s super important to know dead skin and product buildups on brushes can cause breakouts and acne so…. Quarantine time means it’s finally time for you to wash those brushes.
I recently purchased this scrubber mat that I just stick to my sink so as water flows down the faucet, it’s easy for me to just scrub my brush right under. I also use this makeup brush shampoo, you don’t need more than a pea-sized amount. For those who don’t feel like purchasing any products, feel free to use a little bit of facial cleanser on your pam and just swirl the brush head in your palm to cleanse throughly. Lay out your brushes to let them air dry.
4. Try Face Masks
Right before quarantine began, I did a giant Target and Sephora haul and just purchased an array of face masks to try out. I’m not someone who can stick to one brand or type because I like how different each face mask works on my face (obviously, don’t do this if your skin is sensitive). My current favorite one is Skin Republic’s Sports and Blemish Anti-Spot & Pore Refining mask. I LOVE how this feels on my skin, I also get sun spots so this helped eliminate a few of them.
5. Maintain Your Brows
Ain’t nobody trying to get out of quarantine looking like Frida Kahlo. The only piece of advice I can offer for maintaining your brows is tweezing them regularly. I pluck the strays from below my brow line and between my brows every week. Don’t try to shape them, just maintain them until you can get them done professionally.
6. Hydrate Your Hair
Aside from the weekly shampoo, conditioner, and wash, I like to hydrate my hair through hair masks and hair serum. I use the Deep Conditioning Hair Mask from Kreyol Essence every couple of weeks. I apply it to damp hair before I shower, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then wash it out with my normal hair washing routine.
Another one I’ve heard good things about is the Keratase Paris’s Nutritive Magic Night Hair Serum. It’s a serum you can apply straight on dry hair before you sleep – focus on applying it to the lengths and ends. You don’t have to rinse it in the morning! I’m dying to try this, but hoping it doesn’t make my hair oily in the morning.
7. Exfoliate Once A Week
I try to exfoliate once a week. I currently use the Kylie Skin Walnut Scrub, despite all the backlash, I actually really like how it makes my skin feel. I’m sure there are better ones out there, but for those who don’t want to purchase an exfoliator, you can just make one at home.
An easy recipe is mixing coconut oil, 3 tbsp of sugar, and 10 drops of an essential oil (I prefer rose or lavender). You can use this scrub on your body too!
8. Take Your Daily Dose of Vitamins
TAKE YOUR MULTIVITAMINS. Drink that healthy green smoothie and get your days worth of nutrients in a second. I’m a child and will only take gummy vitamins, but my two favorites are Nature Bounty’s Hair, Skin & Hair (with Biotin) Gummies and Women’s Multivitamin (with Collagen) Gummies.
9. Give Your Acrylics a Breather
If you go to the salon for frequent manicures and pedicures, you’re likely in a mild state of panic like me. I don’t think I’ve ever been without my acrylics, but this is the forced breather my nails need. Highly recommend not picking at your dips or shellacs. Instead, soak some cotton balls in acetone and wrap them around your nails to soften the product. After 15-2o mins, the material will be soft and you can use an orange wood stick to scrape off the residue.
I’m just focusing on strengthening my nails now, so just using nail strengthening polish on top of regular nail polish. My nails have already started to get so healthy – even thinking about not going back to acrylics…..maybe.
10. Whiten Your Teeth
I told myself I would floss more during quarantine, but that didn’t happen. But what I did decide to do was purchase a box of Crest whitening strips so that I could use it a few times a week to whiten my teeth up. Honestly, this stuff works amazingly, I’m wearing them now as I write this blog post. Shiny teeth and me!
Hope these tips were helpful for those who are practicing self-care during self-isolation. I’ll be doing another blogpost on my nighttime skincare routine with some awesome products I just started using so stay tuned! Quarantine’s the time to experiment woooo!
Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Keep writing.