We’ve all seen true tough love as the fashion critics of TLC’s What Not to Wear throw out a client’s out-of-style wardrobe, but where are the Stacy Londons and Clinton Kellys for the hair and makeup-challenged? While we won’t come to your house and critically analyze your beauty products, we want to give a quick session in Beauty 101by revealing the crucial “what-nots” of makeup and hair styling.
1. Don’t overheat your hair: As you break out the curling iron, wand, or straightener, make sure you set the heat only as high as necessary to achieve your look. If your style tool of choice doesn’t have a temperature selection option, it may be time to upgrade. Heat poses a serious threat to your hair’s health, potentially causing split ends and breakage.
Be sure to use a heat protectant to prep hair before you start using styling tools, even if you’re just doing second-day hair touch-ups. If you have questions about which brands are trustworthy or what temperature setting is right for you, consult your stylist. Turn up the heat with your look, not your styling tools.
2. Don’t fight your hair’s natural texture: You may be used to checking the weather to determine today’s outfit, but it’s time to get in the habit of noting the day’s precipitation and humidity percentages. If it’s going to rain all day or you know your curls won’t hold in the moist heat, don’t worry about using heated tools that day. Not only is it a waste of time, but also an increased amount of heat damage. Rainy days are a great opportunity to rock natural your waves and curls—#IWokeUpLikeThis.
3. Don’t overdo your ‘do: Maybe you rock a high bun, or your go-to style is a low pony. Even though it may require going out of your comfort zone, it may be in your hair’s best interest if you switch up your pony position throughout the week. A hair tie around the same area of hair day after day can cause breakage and crimping.
4. Don’t conceal your natural beauty: Concealer can be tricky. The right concealer for your skin tone should be a shade lighter than your foundation, in order to give your eyes that fresh, well-rested look. If you have naturally puffier or dark under-eyes (or you’re recovering from a rough, sleepless night,) you may be tempted to pile on the concealer, but often times, less is more. You don’t want to look like you got a suntan while wearing goggles. Blend concealer well and consider using powder to seamlessly combine concealer and foundation.
5. Don’t overstate your brows: As pretty as they look on Instagram models, dark, squared, and sharp brows don’t work for most of us. If you want your eyebrows to be “on fleek,” keep it simple. Choose a color that’s similar to your natural brow hue or even a shade lighter. Try to softly line the outer edges of your eyebrow and taper the ends off gradually. Use light, short strokes that follow your natural eyebrow pattern to fill in.
Try AVEDA’s *NEW* brow definers, with a unique offset pencil that allows for both a point and filling-in (and there’s a spoolie on the other end to boot)!
6. Don’t overline your lips: A lot of Insta-MUAs overline their lips to get a plumper, Angelina-Jolie-esque pout. Caution: Don’t try this at home, ladies. Lipliner can help to better define your natural lip shape and provide a foundation for lipstick or gloss, but when used in excess, it can start to look like you did your lip makeup in the dark.
If you do choose to line your lips, use soft, short strokes with a sharp pencil on the natural edges and blend lightly inward, toward the center of your lips. Trust us: overlining may look genuine and effortless on Instagram, but we can tell in person.
If you’re struggling with finding your look or mastering your beauty technique, schedule a consultation with one of our knowledgeable stylists today. Thanks to our talented stylist, Karla, for these tips and tricks! Follow her on Instagram at @hair.by.karla.