So we are not officially in a lockdown, and the chances of making it to the spa or salon in the next week or so are next to zero, but we have never needed a little me time more than we do now! Aside from using this nifty app that editor Vivienne Tseng-Rush recommends for bringing manicurists and hair stylists to your home, here are a few simple ways to use some of your panic-bought groceries to give yourself the at-home pampering you so desperately need. All take less than three ingredients!
Hair Mask:
Guaranteed to up the shine factor and reduce breakage until you can make it in for some professional TLC for your strands.
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup yogurt or 2 tbs coffee cream.
Squish it all up in a ziplock bag or mix it in a food processor until smooth. Comb it through your hair, and put on a shower cap or tie an unused plastic bag around the hair. Leave it on for 30 to 60 minutes and rinse!
Moisturizing Face Mask
Beijing is famously dry, and nothing keeps wrinkles at bay like a good moisturizing mask.
- ½ a ripe avocado
- 2 tbs of honey
- 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
or
- ½ cup oatmeal (ground into a flour)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp vinegar or lime juice
Mix and apply to clean dry skin. Leave it on for 15 to 30 minutes and rinse. Follow up with your favorite moisturizer.
Body Scrub:
Sluff off the dry winter skin and prepare for baby softness.
- 1 cup of any type of sugar (white, brown, cane … it doesn’t matter as long as it has a little bit of grit to it!)
- ½ a cup of oil (coconut, olive, sunflower, whatever you got!)
Optional
Today-cooled coffee grounds
A few drops of essential oil or perfume
Mix and apply. After your shower, rub the mixture all over your body, paying extra attention to any rough patches. Rinse off and apply your favorite lotion.
It’s not as good as a day on the beautician’s table, but it will boost your mood, is good for the environment, and will help you feel as gorgeous on the outside as you are on the inside. Hang in there, Beijing!
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Images: Canva, Pexels
