The Downside of DIY Beauty Treatments: Lessons from a Damaged Lash Lift
After photo of eyelash lift and tint performed at Brow to Toe
I recently had a client, who performed a lash lift on herself and ended up damaging her beautiful lashes in the process. She came to me asking if I could relax them for her. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and there was nothing I could do to help her. This wasn’t the first time I had gotten a call like this. I have seen home skin treatments, brow treatments, and lash treatments go wrong on numerous occasions.
This incident got me thinking about the downside of DIY beauty treatments. While it may be convenient and cost-effective to perform some beauty treatments yourself, there are significant risks involved. In this blog post, I want to help you understand why seeing a professional is crucial.
The Risks of DIY Beauty Treatments Without Formal Training
When you visit a professional, you entrust your skin or hair to someone with experience and training to perform the service. One of the most significant risks of DIY beauty treatments is that you may lack formal training. Our estheticians at Brow to Toe have completed esthetics school and received additional formal training and certifications for each service we perform.
We deeply understand the anatomy of your skin or hair and how to work with different types of products and techniques to get you the best results. We can also educate you on pre and post-treatment care, which are crucial to getting and maintaining the results. On the other hand, a customer who decides to try a beauty treatment at home may not have the same level of expertise. This lack of knowledge can lead to mistakes that can cause long-term damage to your skin, lashes, or brows.
Lack of Access to High-Quality Products/Devices Weakens DIY Beauty Results
Another downside of DIY beauty treatments is that you may not have access to all the products and devices needed or highly recommended to perform the service properly. Professionals have access to a broad range of high-quality products and devices and know what products/devices to use and how to use them to achieve the best results. On the flip side, we also know what products and devices we shouldn’t combine.
This level of knowledge and expertise, coupled with the right products and devices, is something you cannot replicate at home. For example, we combine three other therapies with our microchanneling treatment to prepare the skin for microhanneling, as well as increase the effectiveness, reduce redness, and speed up healing post-microchanneling.
DIY Beauty Treatments and Improper Analysis May Lead to Negative Effects
A picture of me doing a Skin Health Consultation
I am a trained professional, and there are some treatments I don’t do to myself because I can’t objectively analyze my skin, brows, and lashes before and during the treatment.
Most people are surprised to hear I don’t even do my own eyebrows. Think about it, the brows frame the face, bring out eyes, and should be designed to complement the face shape. So, if I am looking at my brow, close-up, in the magnifying mirror, with one eye closed, how can I possibly see the rest of my face to ensure I properly design my brow?
It's important to properly analyze before and during the process. This can be difficult for people to do on their own, which is why it's best to see a trained professional.
A professional can determine if a certain treatment is even right for you or if any adjustments need to be made. Most treatments come with a recommended processing time, but I have learned these are just that, recommendations and that I have to adjust based on what I see and feedback from the client. Based on the lash lift scenario, this was likely a case of overprocessing. FYI, 30 seconds is a short amount of time, but can make a big difference in the outcome of a lash lift.
Additionally, everyone is not a great candidate for every service based on many factors. For example, a common request is, “Give me the strongest chemical peel you’ve got.” One, that is not how we operate at Brow to Toe, and two, most of these people’s skin is not balanced or healthy enough to get even the lowest level of chemical peel.
Risk of Complications with DIY Beauty Treatments
Finally, one of the most significant risks of DIY beauty treatments is the potential for complications. Fortunately, for the lady in the lash lift gone wrong scenario, lashes usually replenish themselves every 60 to 90 days. So, she should be back to normal; however, some people are not so lucky.
Improperly performing beauty treatments can result in a wide range of issues, including skin irritation, rashes, burns, dark spots, or even infection. These complications can be costly to treat and may require a visit to a medical professional. In some cases, the damage can even be permanent, leaving you with long-term skin or hair damage that can be difficult to reverse.
While DIY beauty treatments may seem convenient and cost-effective, the risks involved should be taken seriously. Without the knowledge, expertise, and access to products that professionals have, clients risk causing long-lasting damage to their skin or hair. Rather than taking the risk, it's crucial to trust a trained professional who can provide the best care possible for your beauty needs. The next time you consider a DIY beauty treatment, remember the story of my client's damaged lashes and the significant risks involved. Click below to visit a professional esthetician for your skin, lash, and brow needs, you are making the best decision for both your health and your beauty.