DIY beauty in the recession…
Written by Chi
In the second half of 2023 Britain's economy fell into a recession and there is no denying that everyone has felt it to varying degrees. I’m sure a quick trip into your mobile banking account will reawaken to you our current financial state if it managed to momentarily slip your mind. At a time like this just getting the essentials can be burdensome, by now you may be one food shop from a breakdown on aisle 5. Who would have imagined the day that Tesco would have a £5 meal deal option? Whilst meal deal prices are sending us into a frenzy, how does one even begin to consider the cost of beauty maintenance. This may appear superficial vain and even irresponsible but amidst a financial recession it is expected and natural that beauty treatments become overlooked, dismissed, and unimportant.
Who has the funds right now to be getting a £50 lash install guilt-free. A fresh set of nails. Or a hair blowout every two weeks. But thankfully we have seen a resurgence in DIY beauty treatments. Tatti lashes has graced the TikTok for you page offering an at-home and cheaper alternative to the lash install. Unfortunately, this does mean that you must bid the lash nap a brief farewell. It is not a coincidence that we are seeing so many DIY treatments being marketed at a time when we need them the most. Caring about your physical experience and being defined by your physical appearance are two very different things. For many people, when you feel good you look good and advice versa. There is a symbiotic relationship between these two elements and living in a recession may feel that we have to compromise on feeling good. But a brief Google search or TikTok scroll and there are so many videos and tutorials on how to start learning new skills to cheapen your beauty outgoings.
The rise of DIY treatments has also encouraged a new wave of creativity. Whether that is learning how to customise certain treatments to the individual requirements of your skin or even making your own face mask from the left-over avocado you were never going to eat. The advantages are endless, DIY beauty treatments have also promoted self-sufficiency and offered a sense of empowerment in discovering that all along you were capable of doing something that you initially paid someone else to do for you. DIY treatments not only foster creativity and self-reliance, but it also means that we are subconsciously choosing more sustainable options not just financially but also environmentally. Rather than accumulating an excess of products, individuals are curating their own beauty routines with intention, opting for multipurpose items and reusable alternatives. Even the aforementioned avocado face mask demonstrates the use of readily available natural ingredients, such as fruits, oils, and herbs encouraging individuals to explore their surroundings whether that’s the fridge or the cupboard and utilise sustainable resources. By incorporating ingredients sourced from their surroundings, people can reduce reliance on commercial products that may contain synthetic or environmentally harmful ingredients.
Because so many of us are in the same boat, content surrounding DIY content in the beauty industry has strengthened and it has amassed a great online community of people learning and trying new hacks. Creators such as @makeupbyallesdadr taught her TikTok followers how to make their own body glow oil ready for the summer. Or @_noors and maya may (@minimalllymay) boasting a combined following of over 100K followers both create provide tutorials on how they created their own face masks and skincare routines from natural resources and foods in the fridge items troubleshooting different problem areas on the face. These and many other creators are blessing out timelines and bank accounts one trending sound at a time.
However, it is also important to remember that you are doing your best and right now, time and money are two things that are being stretched to their limits. So, if you managed to get out of bed today, you are doing amazing sweetie! (Kris Jenner circa 2007)
HAIR ME OUT.
As I sit here writing this, I have just attempted to bleach my hair blonde and have adopted an ice spice look, which I can’t lie, I’m not mad about. Ice spice, if you read this, I’m your long-lost twin.
Hair is such a delicate matter, both metaphorically and physically. It is astonishing how much of our perception of beauty is tied to the way our hair looks but also how much Hair and emotions are tangled and matted together. When a new style turns out right, it can be the most uplifting experience. It can have you walking home as though you are the main character. However, we can also all reflect on a bad hair day in our lives and how that affected our confidence and the way we perceive ourselves. We use hair to show off our faces at times, but also as a disguise (Hannah Montana, I am looking at you). It appears that hair has become an extension of our personalities and confidence and a reflection of where we are at a particular stage in life. For example, the famous post-break-up chop—perhaps a way of chopping off the attachment and emotions that were tied to that relationship or a visual showcase of the new era you are entering. Psychotherapist Rebecca Newman stated that our hair gives us a false sense of control that we can hold onto in confusing and uncertain times. Hair politics can be exhausting to navigate and detangle.
From a female perspective, it seems we have reached a subconscious conclusion that the longer or bigger your hair is, the more feminine you are. This ideal perpetuates in many different cultures across the world. I have 4c hair, and the shrinkage is real. Until recently, I always felt that my afro and shorter hair made me more masculine and less beautiful, whereas long straight hair was the physical manifestation of femininity. Since leaving sixth form, I have had a newfound freedom with my hair, and it has come to the forefront of the way I present myself. I now spend a fair amount of time scrolling on Pinterest deciding on my new hairdo. With this exploration, I have also engaged in conversations with my peers about hair and it is fascinating to hear the different relationships and stories others have with their hair and how much their surroundings affected what they did or do with their hair and how they feel about it.
My childhood relationship with my hair was a mixture of positive, negative, and indifferent. At one point, I had it relaxed to make it easier to manage as I was quite tender-headed, which resulted in having such burnt and frazzled hair that the back of my hair stopped growing. It was like a reverse mullet, 4c style. Additionally, being immersed in a predominantly white space for the vast majority of my time as a person of colour constructed much of my beauty ideals so that they were largely ingrained in Westernised notions. I would go home and try to style my afro into a long flowing style which, for reasons obvious to me now, my hair never turned out like a TRES Emme advert. For a long time, afro hair has been subject to much discrimination, both blatant and subtle. Often, braids, locs, or large afros are seen as unprofessional, disruptive, and unruly. These ideals affect the way in which workplaces and schools react to those with afros or protective hairstyles, which in turn can feed into a subconscious assertion that black hair is deemed unsuitable. In the UK the Halo collective advocates against hair discrimination and encourages companies, schools, universities, and more to sign up to the Halo code and commit to non-discrimination against afro hair textures. Dove was the first brand to sign with the Halo code and has also created their own campaign to tackle hair discrimination. Part of this includes the CROWN fund, which invests in organisations fighting against barriers in the black community. The act of learning to love your hair in its most natural form takes patience and practice. It is seeing the beauty for all its worth despite what society deems desirable which is why organisations such as the HALO code are so pivotal because they normalise afro hair styles so that young black people can grow up in environments where their hair texture is not a spectacle or a marker of unprofessionalism. They can prevent the emotional toll that occurs when such harmful rhetoric take root as an internalised misunderstanding that afro hair is not as beautiful or elegant. As women we must make our own rules with our hair. Do that big chop. Dye it that colour, put on a wig, shave it all off. Fall back in love with the curls and the coils.
