My friends, we’re going to get a little weird in this post about home beauty methods. So if you’re squeamish, you may want to pass. (It won’t be that bad, but it’s a little detailed.)

Here we go …

Over the last almost five months of quarantine, I think many of us have been a little creative with the ways we’ve been taking care of ourselves. Many of us haven’t had a chance to get a lot of outside grooming done, especially here in the Bay Area where I live. Our local nail salons never reopened, and our hair salons were only open a couple of weeks.

Based on that, and based on the fact that I’m always down to try new things, I’ve experimented with a couple of new home beauty methods. And because I’m a sharer, I wanted to fill you all in on what I’ve tried. 

Three (strange) home beauty methods I’ve tried recently

Derma-planing with a Tinkle razor.

*This is only my experience. I’m not recommending that you try this yourself. And if you do, proceed with major caution.

I was having a FaceTime wine date with two of my best blogging fitness buddies about three months ago, when one of them mentioned her love of home derma-planing.

“Derma-planing” is a term I had heard before, and I knew that people got it done by aestheticians, but I didn’t know it was so easy and so beneficial. Once I talked about it with my girlfriends, I started hearing and seeing more and more people talking about it too. So I decided to give it a try.

Here’s the deal: Derma-planing is the process of using a gentle scalpel/razor to lightly exfoliate and scrub off the top layer of the skin on the face, which includes removing peach fuzz. Basically, it’s like shaving your face, but with a single-blade scalpel, without shaving cream and not as deep. Sounds scary, right? It’s so not scary though.

I ordered these Tinkle razors off Amazon, which are designed for shaping the eyebrows. They had great reviews and didn’t cost much, so I figured it was low commitment if I ordered them and chickened out.

Well, I didn’t chicken out. I tried it. Loved it. And so far, I’ve done derma-planing every three weeks on my lower face and around my eyebrows, and I will continue to do it for forever and ever. It feels great. (I’ve gone through a pack of razors and have used each razor two times before discarding it, as was recommended in my research.)

Here’s how you do it: At night, wash your face, then pat it dry. Apply a tiny bit of oil (I use this oil), pull your skin tightly and use your little razor to lightly brush off the extra fuzz/cells in one direction. It’s that easy. Wipe the razor off and repeat in a new area. It’s not a full shave like you would do on your legs, it’s lighter and more superficial. 

Because even if you don’t have much peach fuzz (which I don’t), it still feels extra smooth and soft to remove even the faintest amount of fuzz and the dead cells on top too. I particularly liked doing it under my eyebrows for that smooth-skin look. And, I’ve noticed that all my amazing (and safe and nontoxic) Beautycounter skincare products and makeup seem to get a better hold on my skin without the fuzz.

Now that I’ve been doing derma-planing and talking about it, I’ve noticed that a lot of other women were already into this. Maybe I’m late to the game, but I love it.

I’m sure when you get this done in a professional setting it’s even more effective, but it’s been a fun little thing to add to my skincare routine the last couple of months. And no, the peach fuzz doesn’t grow back dark or course. It comes back just like it left. 🙂 

Once again, this is probably one of those things that’s best done by a licensed aesthetician. However, I watched a few YouTube tutorials (and read some pros/cons) before trying it and have found it super quick and easy. Love it. Game changer.

Soothing the feet with Dermora Foot Peel masks.

Okay, I’ll keep the description of this one to a minimum. But I saw someone on Instagram post about these Dermora foot peel masks, and I instantly ordered a set. 

My feet get a little rough at times, and of course, I haven’t had a pedicure in months. So you know …

Well, I bought the feet masks, and I tried them, and they work. I saw a major difference in the skin softness and texture on my feet after only one use.

Here’s how you do it: You wash and dry your feet. Then you wrap each of your feet in the plastic baggies with sticker closures, and your feet soak in the included liquid solution for a full hour.

You’re supposed to be sitting down, so I did it at night while we were watching TV. After an hour, you take off the baggies, wash your feet, dry them and wait.

Now for the gross part: After about a week, your feet start to peel like crazy, and that’s basically the dead skin coming off (it’s quite a mess for a few days, so wear socks and don’t pick at it). But then about two weeks after your treatment, your feet are super soft, like you’ve just had the best pedicure ever.

I’ll be honest, the peeling part is rather disgusting, but the end result is fantastic. I highly recommend these!

Getting an at-home dip manicure look with Lavender Violets set.

And for the last of the home beauty methods …

I miss my every three-week dip manicures that I had been getting done at the same nail salon for almost two years.

Literally, I went two full years with having my nails consistently done. And dip is the best, because unlike gel, dip manicures don’t require a UV light, they don’t really damage your nails too badly, and they last.

Well, when quarantine first started and I went online to find an at-home dip option, almost everything was sold out. So I left my nails bare for a bit, then decided to do regular polish. Unfortunately, for me, regular polish lasts about a day before it starts chipping, and it is not worth the time it takes to do or remove.

A couple months into quarantine, I checked Amazon again and was able to find some good at-home dip options. I ordered this Lavender Violets dipping set, which is less than the price of one manicure, and it is probably enough product for 20 manicures.

I was a little nervous to give it a go, but it’s really not hard at all. The whole process takes about 30 minutes total (which is about an hour less than it took in the salon).

The key is to have a really good buffer, because you need to smooth out and shape the dipped nails before applying the final top coat. 

My set came with instructions and everything I needed except for the nail file and buffer, so I ordered this buffer from Target drive-up and got started.

The end product is really shiny, firm and lasts much longer than regular nail polish. I’ve done five at-home dip manicures so far, and they’ve each lasted just about a week.

Normally, the problem with dip manicures is that you have to soak them to get them off. But I’ve found that my at-home dipped nails end up popping off, which is likely because I don’t have them buffed down as much as they can at the salon with professional buffing tools. (The nails do look a little thick when I do them at home, which isn’t my favorite. But it’s way better than the alternative of bare nails. And the popping off is painless and doesn’t appear to damage the natural nail underneath.)

Moral of the story on this home-dipping option: It’s not hard to do. It lasts longer than regular polish. And it comes off easier than professional dip. I’d say it’s a good compromise for those who don’t have access to nail salons right now. But it’s not a permanent solution, because the salon version lasts so much longer.

And those are the three home beauty methods I’ve tried and taken into my own hands.

There we go! Hope you enjoyed this one, friends. I’ll see you back here soon!

Here are the at-home products I used …

• Tinkle razors
• Dermora foot peel masks
• Lavender Violets at-home dipping set

Here are other posts you may like …

• How to improve the health of your skin
• All about skin and my review of the Beautycounter Countertime skincare line
• Five positive changes I’ve made during quarantine
• Five things you should be doing in your 30s for your life and health

Questions of the day

Have you done any of the above?

What’s a home beauty method you have tried recently?

How was your weekend?