Home beauty experiments
MANILA, Philippines - For folks lucky enough to experience a regular summer vacation (enjoy it while you can, kids), summer is the time to loaf at home, hang with friends from sun-up till sundown and work vigorously on getting a tan. It’s also the best time for experimentation. Since you’re out of school or off work, you have the freedom to try new things or, in case of catastrophe, correct mistakes before debuting to the public.
Essentially: summer is for experimenting — with clothes, cosmetics, even hair color.
Take stylist Garovs Garovillo, who tends to stand out with her fiery orange mane. Last month, she debuted this beautiful blue-gray color that was positively luminous and, honestly, wearable. It wasn’t loud or strange at all.
“I was in Glorietta and had a sudden urge to change my hair color. Luckily my friend just opened his salon in the mall! Had my hair bleached twice and colored blue at Lourd Ramos’ salon Creations in Glorietta 5,” she tells me. Then she took a dip in a chlorine pool and her hair color morphed into something different. It is currently green.
I dye
Home hair color kits are nothing new. They’re cheap and fast — but tend to be troublesome and hard to do on your own. Since I live on my own, with no helper to partition my hair or wipe stray color drips, I’ve never attempted them. But a friend of mine, who had long, shiny light brown hair told me about bubble foam.
It’s a painfully easy process, even for people who don’t like to read manuals. A bubble foam mixture is basically lathered onto hair, much like you shampoo. Leave on for 20 to 30 minutes, rinse, shampoo and you’re done. It’s that simple. The results are pretty even, and the color payoff is considerable. I tried Liese, but I heard Etude House will soon be stocking their bubble foam hair color when their Megamall branch opens in early May.
Teeth whitening
The perfect partner for a tan is bright pearly whites. Since some folks (I’m looking at you, Mom) are afraid of the dentist, there’s an at-home treatment you can try. Dentist Olivia Francisco of The Dental Place (tel. 812-8891) cautions folks to be careful when correcting teeth color. “People do so many things to whiten their teeth on their own and save a buck but don’t know they are hurting themselves,” says Dr. Francisco. “Some use lemon or strawberries, but these have acid and can destroy the enamel of your teeth and cause sensitivity. Some will use baking soda straight from the Arm and Hammer box, but this is an abrasive and just like acid, can thin out your enamel and cause sensitivity. It’s just that acid works chemically, while baking soda works mechanically.”
Her suggestion: hydrogen peroxide. “Thirty-six percent hydrogen peroxide is the primary ingredient in the most potent bleaching solutions widely accepted by dental authorities — only for use in clinic set-up, under a dentist’s supervision with complete paraphernalia and a careful watch not to harm your gums. So your closest bet would be gargling with a solution made up of 1/2 three-percent hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 water. Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 (water plus another oxygen atom), but for all its healing miracles be careful when using it and do not swallow!”
The home spa experience
Beauty buff Neva Talladen, the brain behind local organic skincare line Leyenda, has some ideas for at-home scubs and facials. She came up with various at-home treatments with ingredients that can be found in your own kitchen:
Safe exfoliant: For sensitive skin (as in really sensitive skin), you can still reap the rewards of a wonderfully exfoliated skin by using baking soda as a facial scrub! Just put drops of water on a teaspoon of baking soda to create a paste and rub gently on facial skin. Rinse well with tepid water (not hot or cold).
Baking soda volumizer: My hair’s really flat and lifeless but I can’t spend so much time in the shower. So I mix baking soda with my sulfate-free shampoo and it becomes an instant volumizer!
Protein pack: If you’re really in the mood, whip some egg whites and add some baking soda and calamansi. Apply to face as a masque, avoiding eye and mouth areas. Leave on for five minutes then rinse thoroughly. The combination of baking soda and calamansi helps promote a more even skin tone and the egg whites are simply nourishing for skin.
