Beauty Upkeep During the Stay-at-Home Order

Thirty one US states including WA have now declared stay at home orders. This means essential business only like grocery shopping and seeking medical treatment. Restaurants have closed with the option of take-out only and large companies like Boeing have suspended operations for fourteen or more days. It is a time like other and I am taking the stay at home orders pretty seriously in order to limit any exposure to myself and my kids from the coronavirus.

But moms, I know I am not alone when I say the other thing I am taking seriously is the fact that my nail, eyelash and sugar salons have all been shut down through the end of April. My mom texted me today that she was even coloring her own hair. Desperate times do call for desperate measures.

You might have seen funny memes like this one regarding what we will all look like after not having access to our normal beauty spots for weeks on end. It’s funny, but also true!

While I think many of us will be running for our salons the minute the stay at home order is lifted, here are some simple ways to stay somewhat put together until that time comes.

Shellac, Dip or Acrylic Nail Removal– Use an acetone based polish remover. Other kinds won’t help to remove anything other than regular nail polish. There are many things you can order on Amazon to help with the removal like these plastic caps but a cheap and easy way to do so is to soak cotton balls in the acetone and then use foil to hold them onto your nails. You can also just soak your nails in a shallow bowl of acetone. After about 15 minutes, the nails will start to peel off but in a much healthier way than peeling them off without the help of the acetone to soften them.

At home manicure/pedicure- Once you have nails clean of shellac, polish etc, soak your nails in warm water. You don’t need anything fancy, a bowl will do. Or even a bathtub for a pedicure! This will soften your cuticles to make it easier to push back and get cleaned up. If you don’t have manicure tool like clippers, be sure to find a file as that’s the best tool to clean up/shorten nails. You can use it to also file down any ridges. I love this callus remover for at home pedicures.

Polish suggestions-If you need polish and/or base and top coats, use Amazon Prime to quickly get brands like Nail Tek or Essie Couture which I have heard are the best brands!

Lashes– This is a tough one since it’s not like you’ll be able to give yourself a lash fill. To remove outgrown lashes, use an oil base makeup remover to gently rub on them to get them to come out on their own. There are lash growth serums found on places like Amazon as well as options like strip or individual lashes you can glue on. I also am a huge fan of the one-two magnetic lashes. My friend recently purchased Lashify and said they were super easy to apply and apparently last up to one week!
Let’s not forget the power of a good ol’ fashioned mascara too.

Unwanted hair– This one is another bummer since I have not used a razor in years for the areas I get waxed or sugared. I looked and it turns out Nair is still a thing. You might remember this from the 90’s or early 2000’s but it basically melts off hair without a razor. This terrifies me but there are apparently also at home wax kits to use. If it’s an area like your brows, I suggest getting those tweezers out. There are lots of tutorials on you tube if you are looking for brow shaping tips.

Hair– Now is not the time to decide you want to cut bangs. Stay away from anything drastic. It is all about just maintaining some sort of normal appearance. Remember those pull through caps we used to use to “highlight” our hair? Don’t do it. If you have grays to cover or extreme grow out, try a spray or temporary color so if it’s awful, it will wash out. Now is also a great time to pull out things like deep conditioners you never used because you actually have the time to let them sit on your hair.

Face and skin– Similar to deep conditioning your hair, you now also have been granted the gift of time to do things like exfoliate your skin or pull out all those face creams you purchased but then stuck in a drawer. Check out my super easy sugar scrub you can make at home. You can use this all over and it leaves your skin feeling amazing.

Pro tip– be sure you are on the list for your salons to contact you as soon as they are making appointments. Call or email them now versus waiting until our stay at home orders are lifted.

The good news is we are all in this together. Nobody is going to come out with fresh highlights and French tips. We’d love to hear any tips from you as well!