Like most people, my spending has evolved over time across many areas, and beauty is no exception. My wants, needs, and what I find fun have obviously evolved – and I don’t want to store a ton of stuff that may expire, too!
Here’s the latest on what I don’t spend money on:
Back in January, I shared some fairly shocking news: I was suffering some pretty dramatic hair loss which seemed related to my use of a shampoo from TRESemme. A reader recently reached out having suffered a similar experience – which made me realize that it is time for a hair loss update.
No matter your age, sudden hair loss is unnerving. But when:
Your concern turns to fear.
Cancer-surviving fitness instructor and entrepreneur Linn Lowes asserted in a recent Instagram Story that our hair isn’t just frivolous vanity. She would know: she lost hers to chemo (but now has a beautiful head of her own hair again).
I threw out the TRESemme. Then, I switched to Costco’s salon quality Kirkland Signature Moisture Shampoo after scrutinizing its label for things that concerned me. It passed my test and is (un)surprisingly good (review).
Two weeks after stopping use of the shampoo, full-shaft hair shedding started to slow. More of my loss was midshaft breakage. This is a marked improvement, but is still wild as hell to me. My hair wasn’t even damaged to that point from my balayage highlights.
Since then, I’ve been trying to reverse the damage.
Last week, I wrote about the myth that gel damages your nails (it doesn’t). In most cases that people experience nail deterioration after gel polish or enhancements, it’s due to incorrect use of an electronic file (or, e-file for short).
–but it’s a myth, too. E-files do not damage your nails. The key words in the previous paragraph are incorrect use.
You’ll see people online harping about, “When I go to the salon, I tell them they aren’t using, ‘that drill,’ on me!”
Proper usage of an e-file is safe! It is safe and effective, that is, provided the right combination of bits and speed are used for the task at hand: prepping the nail plate calls for a very different combination of factors than prepping an enhancement for a fill. Unfortunately, though, in many salons, a one-size-fits-all approach is used – and that is not appropriate.
It is also a great way to accelerate the service, Hand filing takes a long time. It is gentler, but definitely less efficient.
A faster service benefits you, the client, because it gets you out of the salon faster. Even if you like the experience of being in the salon, your time is valuable!
The sheet mask trend has completely missed me. What value is having a sheet on my face? It seems wasteful; I’d rather just slather the product on. But although the sheet mask trend isn’t for me, the little swoop eye masks are not only relevant to my interests but a fairly important part of not looking quite so … zombified. So learning about the Dieux Forever Eye Mask blew my mind.
Over the years, I’ve been working towards a more mindful approach to my consumption and use of disposables. I no longer use makeup wipes, have drastically reduced my use of disposable cotton, and done several other things to lower my beauty waste. Under-eye masks, however, didn’t have a good swap or alternative, though – until now.
What makes these eye masks so great?
I started writing this four times. That isn’t common; usually I have an immediate sense of what to say, but in this case only an essence. I just saw an ad for the Urban Decay Wild West palette and rolled my eyes. Just re-release Naked already, damn it. We don’t need another inferior clone with a couple exciting colors with edgy names (though Tex is a gorgeous emerald green).
/curmudgeon off
I’ve been on a not-terribly-defined low buy for a while. Part of me not spending or buying means not shopping. Fortunately, between a combination if finding my stride and general beauty burnout, I don’t shop or consume nearly as much content about the beauty industry as I did when I started this blog.
Beauty burnout is a thing. We’re seeing it everywhere in brands, products, retailers, content creators, friends, colleagues. The pandemic is a contributor, but not the sole instigator.
Do you drink enough water? I can relate – I don’t. After my doctor told me that I need to scale back my caffeine intake last April (FML), I’ve been trying. While I’ve succeeded in managing my caffeine intake, I am trying to balance things out by being better about drinking water.
Not unlike using a fountain to entice cats to drink, tricking myself to drink more water is a good strategy.
For example, before I drink coffee in the morning, I try to down 16 fl oz of water first. I don’t always succeed, but it sets me up on a good note before I start screwing myself over with diuretic coffee.
I managed to get myself to actually crave water. Just water. (I still adore exciting water. I just have to marvel at actually wanting still water; I thought it was an impossibility for me.)
You’ll probably feel better if you drink more water – in the same way that regular exercise, once you get past the discomfort of starting anew, will. This and last winter have really started to make me notice the waning resilience of my skin.
I simply don’t retain hydration like I did: