Grooming Tips During The Lockdown- An expert’s advice to the lovely mothers

The COVID’19 pandemic has changed our lives completely, especially affecting us when it comes to our personal grooming. I still wake up in the mornings, dreaming about me visiting salon / spa and having a good haircut, facial or a body massage. But, oops, it’s just a wish now for most of the ladies…If your hair is straight, it may be getting in your eyes. If it’s wavy or curly, it might be looking voluminous and frizzy. So, aren’t we all eagerly looking forward to resuming the normality of life post-COVID and going back to our visits to the Salon?”

With the lockdown, mothers have been super tied up at home… juggling with their career, childcare, taking care of elders, an increase in household chores like cooking and cleaning the house, monitoring kids attending their online school, taking their studies/ homework and so on. Thus, she can no longer squeeze personal care into her exhausting lockdown schedule.

They have also become more cautious about how they look while attending office conference call or doing a video call with friends & family. But with salons & spa’s shut amidst lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, this has compelled ladies to take matters in their own hands. To look presentable, fresh and positive… the situation leaves them with only one option i.e. ‘SELF GROOMING AT HOME’.

In this article, we have an expert- Neha Suradkar, a Makeup & Nail Artist and Educator who shares some interesting tips, ways to tweak our look staying home or working in isolation. She is a also Certified Style Coach, Fashion Educator and Grooming Consultant specializing in Personal Styling and Makeup with an experience of more than a decade.

How can ladies look after their hair during the lockdown; take care of their coloured hair and keep away those split ends at bay until they can get to the salon?

Hair care can become a daunting task for a lot of people and add it to their hair fall, which a lot of women have been experiencing during the lockdown.

Since, it is summer and most of the women are doing all the household chores, there’s a lot of sweat in the hair. Hence, it is important to wash your hair frequently or on alternate days to reduce issues like hair fall and dandruff.
Use hair mask or oil your hair at least once a week to reduce frizziness.
Since, a lot of us have done chemical treatments like cystine, smoothening or hair color, it is important to use the hair products accordingly and not to use anything off the shelf. (Most of the professional hair brands are selling their products via salons or through e-commerce)
For coloured hair, use colour protecting shampoo and wash your hair with cool or lukewarm water. Use a nourishing mask to make your hair look healthy.
To keep split ends at bay, it is important to condition your hair well- using a conditioner, leave in serum or oil. Regular use of hair masks and washing hair with lukewarm water helps too. Balanced diet becomes very important. If your diet is going for a toss, have vitamin and mineral supplements to take care of the deficiencies. Drinking water and staying hydrated is a one step solution to most of the skin and hair concerns.

As ladies are busy with their household chores and office- work, please suggest simple ways they can do at home to keep their skin healthy; hydrated; moisturized and glowing.

Regular skin care routine is very important. It just takes less than 5 minutes in the morning and at night to follow your skin care routine. Being regular with your routine and using the correct products as per your skin type can help you get a healthy skin.
– The morning skin care routine would be using a face cleanser to clean the face, toner to hydrate the skin and moisturizer to hold in the hydration, followed by sunscreen, even if you are indoors.
– In the night, again, you wash your face, apply toner followed by night cream. Use sheet masks or other homemade mask to apply on your face for 20 minutes, once or twice a week when you are relaxing. Keep drinking water throughout the day.

With women unable to step out during the lockdown, how can they shape/ remove unwanted eyebrow; upper lip or facial hair at home…Any tips/ hacks

Some women are comfortable with threading on their own, they can continue with that. For others, these are the options-
• Tweezers– can be used to pluck extra hair
• Face waxing strips- Ready wax strips can be used for sidelocks, upper lips and chin
• Peel off wax– The wax pellets can be heated, apply the wax in a thin layer at required area, let it dry and peel off to remove
• Depilatory cream (for sensitive areas) – can be used for the face.
• Face razor– these are different from men’s razor and the ones women use for the body. This can be used to shape eyebrows as well as on the face.

One can try the most comfortable method or device as everyone’s pain tolerance and handling ability is different. I prefer to pluck eyebrow hair, while for other parts of the face, I either use ready wax strips or face razor.

Can you help with some light make-up tips for ladies to feel motivated at home?

Makeup is an instant mood lifter. During lockdown, we are not stepping out and hence, are not doing makeup. You may want to dress up for your video calls for work or with family. You can apply some compact, eyeliner or kajal or both, mascara, blush and lipstick to look dressed up and fresh.

What precautionary measures customers and staff must follow for a safe visit?

Initiatives have been taken to educate the salon and beauty parlour owners as well as staff for health, safety and hygiene in the coming times.

Social distancing will be followed- only alternate stations will be used for service. Services will be done by appointment only so there are a limited number of people in the salon. Cashless and online payment will be preferred, so there is minimal contact and clients can pay directly from the station and need not come to the reception counter.

All salons are getting deep cleaned and sanitized before opening and multiple times during the day. All equipment will have to be sanitized before using and after every service. PPE is mandatory for clients and staff. There will be mandatory temperature checks and personal history will be taken for each client.

Most of the salons will start with essential services like hair cut, colour, waxing and threading. Services like facials, spa, massage, etc. may be restricted for some time now.

As a client, What will be the new normal in terms of a salon visit?

You may not be able to just walk into a salon. Appointments will be mandatory. While making an appointment, be prepared to answer questions on the personal history of travel, coming in contact with a COVID patient, etc. Be considerate if you are not getting an appointment at your preferable time.
Avoid taking a companion or child to the salon and be prepared for digital payments.
Expect some increase in prices of the service as the cost of disposable and PPE kits have to be added to the service cost. Services might take some additional time as everyone is getting used to new ways of working, so have some buffer time in your appointment.

What’s your take on the lockdown, would you like to share a few advise / routine to follow while staying indoors?

We usually have a complaint that, we don’t have enough time for ourselves or family. Everyone, now has 24 hours, but how you plan and prioritize during those 24 hours, makes all the difference.
– Define your priorities and make a schedule like how many days a week you’ll be cleaning and mopping the house.
– Plan what you’ll be cooking the night before.
– Make your schedule for important work related calls. Also, plan kid’s time for their school or classes.
-Once your day is planned, you can take out sometime in between to relax or to do something that you enjoy or start a hobby.

About Neha Suradkar

Neha Suradkar is a Makeup & Nail Artist and Educator, a Certified Style Coach, Fashion Educator and Grooming Consultant specializing in Personal Styling and Makeup with an experience of more than a decade.

She is the founder of Style-N-File Makeup & Nail Studio and Academy for professional makeup training sessions and styling workshops.

She is the Pan India makeup head trainer with an international makeup brand as well as a Grooming consultant with corporate houses. She is an expert at Korean beauty and has been associated with various events.