2020-Style Hacks That Helped Us Through

There’s nothing like visiting your favorite expert for a profesh grooming sesh; but we’re thankful so many of them shared clever DIY beauty hacks during “hunker-downtime;” making beauty maintenance accessible for everyone. Here, a few of our favorite work-around hacks:

1. THE RUB

When there’s plenty of tension, and limited access to a massage therapist, learning how to get out your own knots is key.

Two great ways to self-soothe:
With a massage roller, designed to target tight leg muscles (you simply roll it back and forth over sore areas for about five minutes; it’s also good for lymphatic drainage).

And a head and neck massager that kneads knots caused by everything from stress to long (Zoom!) sessions on the computer.

2. WAX POETIC

There are certain wax jobs best left to the pros, but for quickie maintenance – even on the bikini line – few things beat the pure ease of Nair Wax-Ready Strips. Rub them between your hands or hit with a blow-dryer to warm up the glue, then get ready for some simple DIY hair removal without drippy, painful hot wax or sugar.

Hint: Buy the large size and cut them down to whatever shape you need, rather than buying boxes of multiple sizes.

3. POWER POUT

When collagen injections are off the table (or the last thing you’d want to do), try some of the lip hacks that are garnering raves on Amazon.com. Like the funky, but seemingly effective, Fullips Lip Plumping Tool – essentially a small plastic suction cup that temporarily swells up your bouche for a few hours. Follow instructions to avoid bruising, and finish your look with a lip-plumping gloss, like Buxom Full On Plumping Lip Polish Gloss.

4. NAILED IT

Our own Joico Global Brand Storyteller, Olivia Smalley, showed the world how to camouflage her acrylic nail grow-out by adding a “filler” of glitter polish to the base gap. Almost like a reverse French manicure, this glam hack buys extra time before drilling, filing, or soaking is your only resort.

 

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5. FAKE A BLOWOUT

No one – and we mean no one – has mastered the art of teaching brilliant DIY beauty this year better than Joico Global Brand Storyteller, Olivia Smalley. Go check out her Instagram feed for everything from mask hacks to instant bubble curls. But in the meantime, try her trick for faking a blowout in two minutes — perfect when you’ve got a Zoom call coming up. “It gives you that smooth bend look without a brush,” she explains.

It starts with fully dry hair. How you get there is up to you: Let it air dry (try Joico’s Zero Heat Air Dry Crème for polish and control); or go ahead and pick up that dryer and do a quick number with your head upside down. Next up is Joico’s Ironclad Thermal Protectant Spray, which provides a barrier from the heat of the curling iron Olivia uses to create the look.

Then comes the real genius: Olivia secures her hair into two low pigtails, curling both her bangs and each of the pigtails with a wide-barrel iron. Once she’s done, she removes the hair ties, shakes everything out, uses her fingers to break up the curls a bit, and sprays everything into place. Hair seems to magically morph into a glam, “done” look – in about the same time it takes to make a sandwich.

Watch the video, check out the step-by-steps, and try it yourself!