Beauty Skin-Care Tips

4 DIY Beauty Treatments Pros Are Begging You Not to Do at Home

Zoe Weiner

April 22, 2020

There's a meme circulating the Interwebs telling people: "If you want motivation to stay home, just shave off your eyebrows." But I'm here to tell you: Do. Not. Do. It. At-home beauty treatments are the name of the game right now, but while covering your grays and treating yourself to an at-home mani are fair game, there are certain things that should be left to the pros.

"Think maintenance, not makeover," says Pekela Riley, Ulta Beauty Pro Team Member. "It’s important not to do irreversible things at home." It may be tempting to chop off all of your hair, for example, but if you've got no experience with scissors you may want to hold off until its safe to go to the salon again. Here, pros share the beauty treatments that you should steer clear of while in quarantine—and shaving off your brows is only one of them.

Brow waxing

Unless you're going for the Frida Kahlo look (which, let me just say, she rocked), trimming and tweezing your brows is A-OK. But according to the pros, it's best to steer clear of wax. "In addition the total lack of control when shaping the delicate geometry of your eyebrows, you risk burning yourself if you can’t properly control the heat," says celebrity brow artist Joey Healy. "People also often have adverse reactions to ingredients, which can lead to breakouts and rash." If you need a little extra help, he's offering one-on-one tutorials via Zoom.

Drastic hair changes

Touch ups are fairly easy to achieve on your own, but things can get dicey if you're attempting anything more technical. "Beauty treatments that should not be done at home are highlights, all over color, ombre or any change of color," says Sonya Dove, Ulta Beauty Pro Team Member. Ulta Beauty Pro Team Member Sean Goddard adds that you should also stay away from relaxers or smoothing treatments because, "this can affect future appointments with your stylist." If you do want to touch up your roots, take a peek at this handy guide to learn how.

Brow tinting

If the thought of accidentally dying your hair orange terrifies you, think about how you'll feel if you do it to our brows. "Everyone’s brow undertones are unique and it takes a pro to tint them correctly, says Healy. Instead, he suggests using a tinted brow gel to experiment with different shades.

Microdermabrasion

When your skin is freaking out from all this stress and indoor air, it can be tempting to want to scrub the living hell out of it. Don't. "As with any form of physical exfoliation, the danger is using too much pressure, which can injure the skin, leading to inflammation, redness, hyperpigmentation and even infection and scarring," says San Francisco-based board-certified dermatologist Caren Campbell, MD. While DIY microdermabrasion is the worst offender, overdoing it with any mechanical exfoliant—like a scrub or even a brush—runs the same risk. Instead, use a small-grain scrub like Schaf Skincare Purifying Scrub ($30) with gentle pressure, and start slow with twice weekly exfoliations.