DIY Salon Style Beauty – Gel Nails, Thermal Straightening and Teeth Whitening at home

I have put my hair, teeth and nails into this post, literally. That actually sounds gross but it’s not. It’s actually a rundown of at home, DIY, salon style beauty. Teeth whitening, gel nails and a keratin, thermal hair treatment. Because I love DIY that much!

I am a DIY girl through and through. The only maintenance I get from a beautician is an occasional eyebrow wax, it's just that I really can't stand forking over cash – and vanity-related-stuff is expensive. I even went as far as growing my own balayage, it only took 6 months.

It is also possible that I'm a little addicted to DIY beauty too, so I thought I would share some of my trials here on the blog.

In the interest of full disclosure I need to tell you that I was gifted the Sensationail Starter Kit and a bunch of colours and I was also sent the JoBaz hair treatment and whilst I am super grateful, all the opinions stated here are my own. 

At Home Teeth Whitening

I drink a lot of red wine and coffee. They are my two drinks of choice right now and let's just say they aren't exactly doing my teeth any favours. So, being the sucker for advertising I am – when I saw the adds for these Oral-B 3D White Whitestrips, I put them on the shopping list. I love a good supermarket beauty product, the grocery bill is already so outrageous that $10 here or there doesn't exactly make a huge difference. This being said, When I saw the price ($32.95 at Coles) and decided against it. Surprise, surprise the need to feed brought me back to the shops and my curiosity got the better of me so I gave them a go. I'm a fan.

The process 

It is really easy to do. You get 28 individually sealed packets of the strips, each packet has a strip for both your bottom and top teeth. The idea is that you pop them on and go about your business for 30mins and bam! Whiter teeth. You are supposed to use them twice a day for two weeks before seeing results but I have only used them about ten times, definitely not twice a day (cuz I'm totally ADD) and my teeth are definitely whiter. You know when a product boasts 'ease of use' and you think, 'yeah right', well I was surprised, they really aren't annoying at all. I can easily talk, drink water and pass for someone who hasn't got things stuck to their teeth when I'm wearing them. I tend to pop them on while I'm bathing the kids and take them off when everyone is in their PJ's – simples. 

We don't have the same options as the states do when it comes to teeth whitening and I'm sure that this is because our health regulations are better but yeah, they aren't available in NZ which worries me – so before using this product make sure to have a sticky beak into the health implications, especially if you're pregnant or feeding. Conclusion – Yes, I will buy them again.

 

DIY Gel Nail Polish

I am so over painting my nails and that is a huge statement as I am a freakin nail polish junkie, but either I have heaps less time on my hands or – my hands do heaps more since having kids. I can't seem to keep polish on for longer than about 24 hours without it chipping. Even when I buy the fancy stuff. But guys, it's ok, I have discovered my new favourite thing ever. (Do I say that a lot?) Sensationail Gel Nailpolish is pretty great. It basically is a salon style gel mani kit so you can do them at home. For $89 you can get a starter kit that has everything you need for 10 applications, including a LED drying light. (They are actually half price here right now which is the price of one gel mani in-store) So it's not exactly cheap but if you get your nails done regularly it is going to save you money, or if you have little kids and can't get out to get your nails done it is a freakin godsend. 

The Process

It is kind of an involved process, first you prime, then gel base coat, gel colour, gel colour, gel top coat and cleanse. You also have to set the gel coats in the LED light each time. It seems like a lot but at the end of each step your nails are touch dry so you can't actually bodge them, even if you need to pee. The outcome is professional looking and basically indestructible. Seriously, any given week for me includes bathing the kids 7 times, changing 35 nappies, getting little people dressed 28 times, (on a good week) washing my hair 3 times, loading the dishwasher 8 times, doing 11 washes, washing my hands about 70 times, and the rest. Oh and I get little people in and out of seat belts and pram belts all bloody day. So yeah, I actually took it off before there were any chips because it had been two weeks and I was really excited to try a new colour. The removal isn't too bad either, because mine was on for so long it actually peeled off pretty easily but you are supposed to use a soak or foil wrap removal process. After I took it off my nails were in much better shape than when I have had shellac done in the past. I was lucky enough to get gifted the starter kit but I would definitely buy it. One downside is that the polish bottles are really small but whatevs, it lasts for freakin ever. Who wants to come to my place for a mani? Conclusion – I would marry this product. 

 

DIY Keratin Thermal Hair Straightening 

I have been lusting after a Brazilian blow-out ever since Nicole Richie talked about them on her blog about 5 years ago. But they cost about $400 in store, so yeah. Let me explain my hair to you guys, I have thin, fine, damaged, dry ends, oily scalp style hair. I find it very hard to choose a conditioner, they all describe my hair. If they made a conditioner that was called GOT CRAP HAIR then I would just buy that all the time. Now people who have met me between the invention of the GHD and now may not know this, so ta-da! Bet you wish you were privy to my awkward phase. Anyhoo, I do actually wear my hair natural sometimes but only if I have just washed it and there is a whole bunch of Moroccan oil in the ends (does this still count as natural?) SO JoBaz Everyday Straight Hair to the rescue ($29). It is a thermal straightening treatment that uses a combination of chemicals to re-shape the hair's natural direction and Keratin to moisturise and set it in a mermaid-like shimmery mop of perfection. I used the Max Conditioning one that is just supposed to relax your hair but there is also an Extra Straight one that makes your hair perfectly straight – but isn't recommended for damaged or colour-treated hair. 

The Process

It took a really long time. Two episodes of The Big Bang Theory, one Mindy Project, one Parenthood and half of another Mindy Project, to be precise. You have to wash it, put the straitening treatment in, wait, wash it out, put keratin in it, wait, wash it out, blowdry then flat-iron each section of your hair at least six times then apply the fixing treatment and bloody blowdry and straighten it again. Then you have to not tie up your hair for three days while it really sets which goes a bit like this. Day one, oh my god my hair looks insane, it's soft, swishy and I'm a total mermaid. Day two, wow my hair looks pretty nice but I wouldn't mind tying it back as I'm getting pretty over the bub grabbing it. Day three, sweet mother of hair pulling. It's one thing to have three-day-dirty hair but to have to wear it out is pretty gross, let's just dust off the baseball cap. And then you wash it and it dries straight – not Mia Wallace straight but yeah-my-hair-just-naturally-looks-boho-and-beachy-straight. And then I left the house without Morocan oil. My hair has relaxed, especially at the ends where there is an tendency for frizz, now there is none of that.  If I do want it perfectly straight I can just GHD it and not bother with the blowdry first, it is heaps easier to manage in that sence. Outcome – it was high maintenance and I'm not sure I would go back for more but I do like how if de-frizzed my ends.