Shape Magazine
Home Improvement
4. Waxing
Biggest at-home blunder Trying to wax hair thats too short. An eighth of an inch (about two to three weeks worth) is the minimum you need for top results. Plus, if hairs too stubbly, waxing it is painful and may cause ingrowns.
Do it yourself well Exfoliate skin first to help raise hairs, making them easier to extract. When waxing sensitive areas (face, bikini, underarms), apply wax in small, 1- to 12-inch strips, suggests Marcia Kilgore, founder of Bliss Spas in New York City. Try Nair Lasting Effects Ready to Use Wax Strips ($5.55; at drugstores) on any part of your body, or Veet Facial Easy-To-Use Cold Wax Strips ($7; at drugstores). First, stretch the skin as you apply wax, then remove in one swift, close-to-your-body motion. Tearing straight up to the sky can cause bruising, Kilgore says. Her final note: Small areas like the chin or upper lip line are especially easy and quick to handle alone. Ifyoure squeamish about the pain, temporarily numb the area first with GiGi Anesthetic Numbing Spray ($12; sallybeauty.com). Forlarger, seemingly daunting body parts, you may want to consult a professional aesthetician.
5. Sunless Tanning
Biggest at-home blunder Lack of preparation: People don't realize that what they do to their skin ahead of time can cause streaking, says Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harlan Roberts, president of Flawless Tan. Top culprit: using oil-based body scrubs that cause DHA (the active ingredient in tanners) to separate.
Do it yourself well Exfoliate skin with plain table sugar in the shower, recommends Carmindy, a New York City-based makeup artist. Sugar is cheap, effective and wont mess up your results, she says. When skin is perfectly dry and lotion-free, apply a spray-on self-tanner like Tanline Tan In A Can ($35; tanline.us.com) or St. Tropez Shimmering Bronzing Mist ($36; sephora.com). Then buff your feet, ankles, knees and elbows, and around your jaw and hairline with a barely damp terrycloth towel (to avoid streaking).
6. Brow Shaping
Biggest at-home blunder Overplucking. Women get obsessive and try to take out every little hair they see, says Patricia Giano, an aesthetician at Frdric Fekkai Salon & Spa in New York City.
Do it yourself well Before tweezing, use a brow pencil to draw along the bottom of your natural brow line; try IsaDora Eyebrow Pencil with Brush ($9; at Walgreens). Then take away only the hairs below the line, says Giano. Remove the hairs you can see in natural daylight, standing a foot away from a regular mirror. An initial shaping by a pro cant be beat, but home maintenance gets the green light, adds Giano. Key: Use tweezers that are sharp (the tips align perfectly) and angled, so they follow the curve of the brow bone. Our favorite: Tweezerman Slant Tweezer ($20; tweezerman.com).
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Ratings & Reviews
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1 Review
As weird as this sounds, an alternative to plucking eyebrows is shaving them. I used to model for Ford Models and my makeup artist would actually shave the unnecessary hairs off my eyebrows because plucking was too painful for me. Just be careful and don't shave off your whole eyebrow haha!
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