A hair mask can’t repair your dead ends, but it can give your hair a needed boost of hydration. If you’re looking to invest in one, try the fan-favorite Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, which claims to replenish moisture and protect against future damage. If you want to save some cash, you can make your own using ingredient combinations like eggs and mayonnaise, banana and avocado, or yogurt and honey, according to blog recipes.
Declutter your makeup collection
Now that you’re spending more time at home, you may be taking inventory of any non-necessities cluttering up your space. Unlike clothes, books, or other home purging projects you may consider tackling, makeup doesn’t take up too much space, so it may not be top of mind when you’re sifting through belongings. If you sit down at your vanity, though, you’ll likely find at least one product you haven’t touched in awhile, or ones that are expired.
Most cosmetics have a small graphic depicting an open jar on the packaging with a number inside that indicates its shelf life in months. Go through your collection and toss anything that sits unused or you’re certain you bought longer ago than this suggested expiration. If you have unopened products that you don’t see yourself using, consider donating them to an organization like Project Beauty Share, which gives products to non-profit organizations “serving women and families overcoming abuse, addiction, homelessness and poverty to help restore hope and dignity in their lives.”
Groom your eyebrows with care
Proceed with caution here—we are not trying to bring back the thin eyebrow trend of the early 2000s by accident. But if your wax or threading appointment is cancelled for the foreseeable future, you may want to clean up the stray hairs around your brows and trim any lengthy strands. It won’t keep you occupied for too long (if it does, you’re in the over-plucking danger zone), but it’s still a task you can do at home and it may even be a new beauty experiment for you.
The key to plucking is to pull with the grain, or in the direction that the hairs grow out from the skin, says Benefit Cosmetics’ Global Brow Expert, Jared Bailey. You also want to only pluck in a well-lit area or use a lighted makeup mirror and keep away from magnifying mirrors because you want to see the big picture of your face, not just focus in on a tiny section—zeroing in on a small section often leads to over-plucking. The safest bet is to pull clear outliers and not remove any hairs in the mainland of your brow. To trim long hairs, brush your brow up toward your hairline using a brow brush or spoolie and snip with small cosmetic scissors (erring on the side of keeping the hair long).
