Inna Shukshina

How do you wake up in the morning, take a shower, put on the first thing that comes to hand, and be beautiful? I asked myself this question 4 months ago, because it is hard for a mother of many children to set aside much time in the morning to make herself presentable. In the morning everyone wakes up, wants to eat and is in a bad mood, and one day I understood that this problem had to be solved somehow, radically, rather than suffering from the fact that there is always something I do not like about myself and never enough time for myself.

I used to think that in order to be beautiful you had to spend an enormous sum on a wardrobe, spend an hour every morning on make-up and styling, wear heels, jewellery and designer dresses, constantly redo your manicure and be at a beauty salon almost every day. But for now none of that suits me at all — it takes too much time and money. So what can be done, how do you travel the path towards a beautiful you?

Then I understood that the most important thing is not clothes and not make-up, not jewellery and not perfume. All women love these things, but they are only decoration; the main thing is the foundation — what this make-up will be applied to and what figure the dress will be put on.

It is quite hard for me to set aside several hours at home for treatments; it is far more convenient to travel somewhere periodically, and I decided to find myself a set of long-lasting and affordable salon treatments, so that I could go once every two weeks for a couple of hours, rest, come back beautiful and not think about it at home any more. Apart from daily skincare, of course.

The first thing that helps you feel more confident, especially in summer and especially for dark-haired women, is hair removal.

Sugaring and waxing

These treatments seem to be known to everyone, but many people do not use them and have never even tried them. For a long time I was one of them. There was never time, and a razor is always to hand. But how unpleasant it is that the regrowing stubble constantly reminds you of itself, that you cannot forget about it even for 3 days, that sleeveless tops do not always look good, and there is periodic irritation and cuts. And then I decided to try the currently fashionable “sugaring” — hair removal with sugar paste. The procedure took about 20 minutes at the salon, it was unpleasant but not as painful as I had thought, and afterwards about two weeks of smooth skin, with the regrowing hairs soft and less noticeable. It can be repeated from a length of 2 mm.

To do sugaring at home and for free, all you need is sugar, lemon and water; from these you can cook caramel, wait until it cools, roll it into a ball and start the procedure. There are many videos on this subject on YouTube. But it is easier for me to go to a salon. This procedure works very well on arms and underarms, and the skin afterwards becomes silky and smooth, because the sugar paste removes dead cells.

For legs, wax is more suitable. Waxing can also be done at home, by buying wax strips and a wax heater. But it can be done quickly and affordably at a salon, and then you can forget about your legs entirely for 2 weeks! It is so convenient: you get up in the morning and everywhere it needs to be it is smooth, and where it is not smooth, at least it is not prickly, and the hairs become barely noticeable. You only need to use a scrub gel in the shower twice a week — that is also very convenient and quick: it washes and exfoliates the skin at the same time. If you use a scrub, there will be no ingrown hairs.

Thanks to these treatments you feel free, a lot of time is freed up, and the effect is far more pleasant. Before doing this procedure for the first time, I was very afraid of the pain, but it is quite bearable, especially the third time and after. But at first you will have to put up with a little: the roots are at their thickest the very first time.

For home use there are also ready-made wax strips and jars of warm wax. Strips are uneconomical for a large area; for a small one they are perfectly fine. I tried waxing my legs with wax from a jar, which is heated and applied with a spatula, and with fabric strips. The result is good, but it seemed slow to me. A jar costing 400 roubles lasts about three times.

In short: put up with it once or twice for an hour, and then two weeks of freedom and smooth skin.

A haircut that needs no styling

Yes, sitting with a hairdryer and styling mousse every morning is definitely not for me right now. Short haircuts often require styling, long hair requires braiding into a hairstyle. Dyed hair requires constant touching-up. So I found a good stylist who knows how to cut hair taking into account its direction of growth and its structure, and my hair went from lifeless and shapeless to falling in beautiful locks simply after washing and drying. He also added a tone that differs little from my natural colour but imperceptibly adds liveliness and disguises root regrowth. He added highlights (lightening thin strands), and the hair looks very natural. Now I only need to wash it with shampoo and comb it, and an excellent hairstyle is ready. Plus regularly applying oil or a split-end sealing product to the ends.

In short: spend money once and forget about your hair for several months (depending on how quickly the ends split).

Long-lasting nail coating

I discovered this wonder of nature (or rather, of human thought) only this spring! A manicure you do not have to think about for two weeks. I do not know how it is for others, but for me ordinary nail polish, especially dark polish, lasts two days, and then the chips begin. All the more so with my household, when every day you have to cook for a big family, wash up and do things with the children. I had already given up and stopped painting my nails (at least at the salon they praise my healthy nail plates), but I still want some beauty! Some lilac or perhaps mint nails, and without being afraid of ruining everything. And here long-lasting nail coating came to my rescue (there are now several varieties of them). It is a coating that is applied like ordinary polish but lasts two weeks, until the nail grows out. It comes off without problems, but by its own rules, and does not damage the nails. On the feet it can last a very long time, if you get a good pedicure and nothing grows over. Another advantage of such a coating is that nail polish remover is used less often, and in general the nail is left alone and not touched.

Now my manicure survives all the housework; if it has been done well, chips are practically impossible; with it I even grew nails as long as I have never had before. But I think nails need a rest too, and you should take breaks of about two weeks periodically, without polish.  If you study the technique and buy a special lamp, you can do the beautifying at home as well. I also want to recommend a non-trim, or European, manicure. With it the cuticle is not cut but pushed back, so it does not grow back quickly and you do not need to go for a manicure and pedicure constantly. It lasts a long time, you only need to change the coating.

In short: one hour — and two weeks of walking around with beautiful nails while doing any kind of work. You wash the dishes and your nails are perfectly smooth and bright, lovely! You peel potatoes and nothing happens to them.

Lymphatic drainage massage

Now this really is a valuable investment in your figure! You could write a whole article about it. It is a bit expensive, of course, but it only needs to be done rarely, the effect is wonderful, and if you have a choice, it is better not to buy a couple of dresses and bags but to take a course of this massage. It is not just skin tightening, getting rid of cellulite and improving the condition of your veins, it is also a cleansing of the body and an improvement in health. Just choose a specialist with good reviews and discuss the procedure with a doctor if you have health problems. If you need to improve your figure quickly, you will not find a better way. This massage will help start the natural process of losing weight. Especially if you want to look good on the beach; it is better to go in cheaper clothes but with smooth thighs and a flat stomach than in expensive ones but with sagging sides and cellulite. The effect depends on the state of your body and your age: some people need 20 sessions, others fewer. But the benefit will be there without question. Some practitioners make home visits.

In short: a minimum of ten sessions in a row (ten days), and the result lasts a long time. It may even last a year; if you eat properly there will be no “rollback”, you will only need to top it up occasionally.

A beautician

Nothing gives us more beauty and freshness than good skin. To care for it properly, I strongly advise visiting a beautician. There are places where the first consultation with a beautician is free, and there they will tell you how to look after your skin properly. At the moment I have a dermatological neutral gel, micellar water and a sebum product, but I have only just started getting to grips with this, so I will not write much. This subject definitely requires careful study and sensible investment; it is far more important than decorative cosmetics.

Another important investment in beauty is, of course, visits to the dentist. Everyone knows this, but I ask you: do not economise on yourself, make this investment in mum’s beauty — it is important for your whole family.

So, I have shared with you five wonderful salon treatments which can also be done at home; some of them you can do for yourself almost for free, and some of them need only rare repetition and give a long-lasting effect. They allow me to get closer to my ideal: get up and go, beautiful; all right, let us leave in the morning shower and skincare. So that you do not have to spend hours making yourself presentable before going out, and so that what you are wearing is no longer so important — a simple item that fits your figure will already look excellent, and you will be able to worry less about your appearance and enjoy life more!

Inna Shukshina

This article of mine was written for the portal Matrony: http://www.matrony.ru/krasota-dlya-zanyatyih-zhenshhin/#ixzz38BOYi05O