Five Low-Cost Beauty & Grooming Tips

If you pay attention to TV commercials or read women's magazines or listen to the radio you can easily get the impression that maintenance and upkeep on being a woman has become more complicated in recent years. It HAS to have, if you believe that women need all the expensive products which have hit the market in the last generation or so, just to get out the door in the morning (unlike woman herself which - unless I'm mistaken - has been around for much longer). Today I'm offering up five humble suggestions as a means to save some money AND as a means of using our common sense AND as a means of getting out the door in the morning without looking like Quasimoto. They're just low cost alternatives if you're without the financial wherewithall to finance yet another high-cost beauty product.

First off, get yourself reacquainted with the virtues of an inexpensive old friend - petroleum jelly. It can be the brand name Vasoline but it doesn't have to be. Run down to your local dollar store and get a jar. Now here's how you can use it:

As a make up remover it's excellent. Use those small soft makeup pads (again, available at your dollar store), and wipe on, wipe off. Remember to be gentle with your skin - no pulling or swiping - you're not polishing a car! For removing eyeliner, daub a light, small amount on a cotton swab and run over the eyeliner. Then simply wash with your usual (hopefully, gentle) soap and water. There. You've just saved a bunch of money NOT buying specialized makeup removal products.

A second, excellent use of petroleum jelly: Summer feet. I run and do aerobics and, especially in the winter when I'm apt to be sporting slippers, athletic shoes and/or a couple of pair of socks, I tend not to give my feet the attention they deserve. Then, as warm weather approaches I'm stuck with a couple of horse's hoofs rather than sandal-ready feet. A fast, easy and cheap solution is this: After you jump into your jammies at night take a few minutes and massage petroleum jelly into your feet. Cover the whole area, including soles and around the toenails and especially any areas showing signs of callous or corns. Then find an old pair of socks and slip them on. Keep them on in bed so that your body heat is trapped and your feet get a mini-spa treatment overnight. Do this a few nights in a row and before you know it, you've got Summer Feet, at a fraction of the cost of purchasing another specialized product. And once you've got the summer feet, they're easy to maintain with a once a week petroleum jelly treatment and routine lotioning.

Now let's move on to shaving. When my daughter started to shave her legs I was amazed and astounded at just how much it cost to keep her defoliated. I was buying Venus refills at about $2 a pop AND shaving gel/foam as well. At around the same time I became aware that my wonderful dollar store lady's disposables weren't exactly saving me money either, since I "dry shave" and wear out the razor edge too quickly. Then I hit upon this brainstorm:

Go ahead and purchase some twin blade lady's razors at the dollar store (five or six razors for $1) as well as a bottle of hand lotion - Jergen's, St. Ives, Lander - whatever you happen to find there. Use the lotion instead of an expensive shaving gel. Apply enough on your underarms or legs so that it's apparent (so that it leaves a white film you can see - similar to shaving gel). The lotion softens the hair and your cheap little razors with glide right through. Be sure to clean the razor during your shaving session by running it under the tap. I find an old toothbrush, kept specifically for this purpose, helps remove the gunk between the blades. I've now spent about $2 on shaving materials which will last me about two months.

Now for a couple of ideas regarding hair: Mine's permed. Yes, I'm "chemically-dependent" and have been for about three years now. I like to semi-dry my hair and scrunch at the same time to encourage the curls but, my gosh!, scrunching spray/mousse is one of those items which can run a bunch of money! I still keep a tube of my favorite product for special occasions but for everyday use this is what I do: Buy a bottle of inexpensive hair gel - name brand, off-brand, I don't see where it matters that much. This stuff usually comes in a consistency similar to mayonnaise - meaning that it's awfully thick - and if used in its natural state results in your head looking like someone shellaced it. Also buy yourself a small refillable spray bottle. If you flip the hair gel bottle over to the ingredients you'll notice that the primary ingredient is water. So, what you do is squeeze some of the hair gel into the spray bottle, add some water and shake. It doesn't take long to find a good consistency which will spray easily through the spray bottle and provide you with a wonderful scrunching spray which will hold your curls and prevent them from frizzing AND which won't give you a "helmet head" look.

My last thought is this: ANY hair conditioner can be a deep conditioner. I agree that it's wonderful to go into your beauty supplies and pull out that special product which you feel revitalizes your hair perfectly. It's just that sometimes something happens - you ran out and haven't replaced it yet, your household is strapped for cash, whatever - and for whatever reason you're out. Here's what I do: Drag out your everyday conditioner. Rinse your hair under warm water to open the hair cuticles. Make sure your hair's wet but not dripping before you take the next step. Next, squirt your conditioner on and brush/comb it through all your hair. Then grab yourself a shower cap or something similar. Frankly, a plastic shopping bag from the grocery store works just fine if you bobbypin it in place. Put it on your head, then wrap your head in a bathtowel. Leave this setup on your head for about a half hour or so while you do something else - answer emails, pay bills, call your mother (I love multitasking), then when that's done shampoo as usual. If you're out of conditioner, try mayonnaise. If you opt any old fashioned conditioning which involves a raw egg just remember not to get your water too hot - it will literally cook the egg in your hair!