Thanks to the internet, we’re getting more educated about the beauty world. From the latest make-up trends to beauty DIYs, we love following them. Speaking of DIYs, haven’t all of us at some point experimented with various beauty hacks at home? Let’s be honest here, how many of them failed? Don’t worry, all of us have been through the embarrassing moments wherein either our eyebrows were ruined or our face was covered with rashes. But, we care about you and that’s why some of us at POPxo decided to share all the deets about our DIY fails.
1. When you colour more than just your hair
‘Oh, this was about the time when I tried to change my hair colour at home. This was a good chunk of time ago when I thought I was an all encompassing beauty expert and that I should colour my hair at home. I got all of the equipment and the L’oreal Excellence Creme in Iced Chocolate (btw if you guys are looking at colouring at home, this is definitely the most convenient option). Anyway, I applied petroleum jelly to all the exposed areas like a boss – this is done to avoid the colour staining your skin along the hairline. Though, here’s what happened. I forgot the nape of my neck, and my hair was shoulder length. Let’s just say, that part of my neck felt like it was cooked to perfection and I couldn’t tie my hair up for almost 2 weeks. Ah, fun times!’ – Kannagi Desai, Junior Beauty Editor
Give hair colouring a try at home with the L’Oreal Paris Excellence Creme Hair Color (Rs 600).
2. Waxing fails
‘I had bought Veet wax strips because the idea of not having to go to the parlour and stripping in front of a stranger to wax you sounded so appealing to me. I dread those monthly appointments with a vengeance, don’t you? Anyway, I decided to try waxing my legs myself and felt very optimistic about how simple and pain-free it would be. How naive I was! Not only was it tricky to get the angle right for pulling off the strips for a newbie like me, it hurt like HELL! There’s a major difference when you’re getting waxed and when you’re the one inflicting the pain on yourself. I managed to get through a couple of strips but couldn’t go further. Your parlour wali has much more experience at pulling them off the right way and doing so much faster, so at least the pain is short-lived. I took my legs with a few hair-free patches straight down to the salon to complete the job and thanked my stars that I didn’t think of starting with my bikini line!’ – Priyanka Ghura, Assistant Editor
Get The Body Shop Almond Milk & Honey Gently Exfoliating Cream Scrub (Rs 1,495) and scrub 2 days before getting waxed for a less painful experience.
3. When life gives you lemons…
‘I have been dealing with acne and redness of the face since I was 15. I remember, I had suddenly developed nasty heat boils on my back, which I thought were pimples! YouTube DIY videos were really huge then and I would love to binge watch all of them. One such video suggested I rub a sliced lemon on my back to get rid of those stubborn boils instantly. I had no clue how abrasive lemon could be on my sensitive skin, and readily massaged half of it in the shower. The next few minutes were the death of me. My skin burnt and the citric acid from the lemon made my boils flare up further. I tried splashing water to wash it away, but it didn’t help. I finally had to go to the doctor who strictly advised me to stay away from any such DIY tricks. I swear, I haven’t used lemon again in any of my homemade beauty hacks before experimenting with it on my younger brother first! *Wink*’ – Kaveri Waghela, Junior Wedding Editor
Say goodbye to acne, get Avene Cleanance Gel (Rs 1,260) and wash your face regularly with this product.
4. When Dettol backfired…
‘One morning I woke up with pus-filled bumps all over my nose and cheeks and obviously, I freaked out! I thought it was some kind of a bacterial infection and was in a hurry to get rid of it. Knowing that Dettol is a pro at killing germs and bacteria, I quickly dabbed a cotton ball in a bottle of dettol and applied it all over the bumps, expecting them to be gone instantly. Biggest mistake ever! Not only did it burn my skin, but I had rashes all over my face. My face was red with both embarrassment and rashes. Moreover, I had to go to school with that face and eventually had to consult a skin specialist.’ – Roopal Jain, Influencer Coordinator, Plixxo
5. A leafy affair
‘We’ve all heard how neem leaves are amazing for our hair. So I got some and tried to create a paste with neem leaves and water to apply on my hair. The thing was, in the mixer, the leaves only turned into little particles and not a paste. I applied them anyway but even after I washed it off, I had those little pieces of leaf in my hair. And that happened for the WHOLE DAY. I had my friends picking it out of my hair.’ – Isheeta Sharma, Junior Lifestyle Editor
Avoid Isheeta’s mistake and get Soul Secret Pure Neem Leaves Powder (Rs 190)
6. So much for bright skin!
‘I was just stepping into the world of beauty and make-up when I saw that turmeric helps brighten up the skin and reduces pigmentation. Like an excited 16-year-old, I instantly mixed some rose water with 1 tsp of turmeric and applied it on my face. Fast forward to 20 minutes later, I rinsed it off and when I wiped my face with the towel, I saw yellow patches on it. I washed my face with a soap 2-3 times and then saw my face in the mirror – I was still yellow! After numerous attempts to get it off of my face, I went to my grandmother, crying my eyes out. Well, she asked me to wait as it’d eventually fade off. The yellow did go away… after two days. To this date I’m scared of adding even a pinch of turmeric in any of my face masks.’ – Sonali Pawar, Beauty Writer & Editorial Coordinator
Buy The Face Shop Bio-Cell Brightening Face Mask (Rs 300) that will help brighten up your skin!
7. Don’t Go Bananas!
‘I have frizzy hair because of which most of my days are bad hair days. And so one day, I decided to try banana and honey on my hair which is believed to add oodles of moisture to the hair and fight frizz. I mashed the bananas, mixed it with honey and applied it all on my hair. I kept it on for a good ten minutes till it dried and believe me, it was a disaster. The dried banana stuck to my hair and refused to come off. I rinsed my hair with water – it didn’t work. I shampooed my hair – it didn’t work. I tried to condition it – it didn’t work. Then finally I had to take my mother’s help. She spent an hour picking out sticky pieces of banana from my hair. I then had to go for a haircut and a hair spa to set it right. So ladies, do whatever you want, but don’t ever put banana on your hair.’ – Shivani Shrivastava, Trending Editor
Use The Body Shop Banana Shampoo (Rs 642) and avoid these kinds of DIY Fails.
8. Vodka For Hair Can Get You Thrown Out Of Your Morning Lecture!
‘You know how they say “never meet your heroes”? Well at 19 I met mine and she was this elusive aunt who I only knew from pictures. I adored her long silky straight hair, which I now realise was because of her half Assamese genetics, and was ready to do anything to get that fab mane! My aunt had a quirky fix for my ‘big’ hair – rinse it with vodka after your regular shampoo. So I rinsed, I dried and headed to college for my Macroeconomics lecture, only to blind my fellow classmates with waves of Smirnoff! Nobody gave me a chance to explain my ‘unusual odour’ and assumed the worst (or best) and in a moment I was transformed from big eyed college hopeful to a hungover all-night rager! I was actually asked to leave the classroom as the stench was unbearable! Since then, I stuck to my usual hair serum to tame that crazy mane!’ – Sumona Bose, Fashion Writer
Sumona swears by this hair serum and you should give it a try, too – L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Unlimited Evening Primrose Oil (Rs 642)
9. That Awkward Moment When A Peel-Off Mask Won’t Come Off Your Face!
‘There’s something oddly satisfying about peeling off a dried up face mask from your skin – back in college, peel-off masks were a rage. I bought one on my way home from class and tried it out as soon as I got home. The product had an amazing fruity scent and the mask felt gooey and sticky when I applied it onto my face. I kept it on for a good 30 minutes. I was amused at how quickly the mask had dried up and hardened. The only bad news was that it wouldn’t come off! I spent another 30 minutes trying to peel off the mask. Because I was constantly picking at my face, my skin got red and itchy. It was like jumping from the frying pan, into the fire! I finally washed my face with water and scrubbed the mask off. My skin felt soft and looked fresh post the wash, but bits of the mask were still stuck in my eyebrows and baby hair. Most of my friends thought it was dandruff #Facepalm.’ – Sharon Alphonso, Lifestyle & Beauty Writer
Sharon loves Everyuth Naturals Orange Peel-Off Mask With Nano Multi-VITA & Orange Peel Extract (Rs 140)
10. The pain of threading your own brows…
‘When you’re living in a hostel where the beautician comes in once every two months, perfectly made eyebrows are a distant dream. I couldn’t get myself to trust her with my brows, and the fact that my hair grows back at the speed of light didn’t help either. So by the time she’d come back to fix my brows, I’d be ready with a unibrow! This one time I got quite desperate to get rid of the extra growth on my eyebrows – maybe because I had a presentation in class the next day. So I decided to take matters in my own hands. I spent a good amount of time in front of the mirror trying to ‘fix’ my eyebrows. You know the feeling when you colour a little outside the line and then try to extend the line by colouring even more? That’s exactly how I was feeling throughout this process. Because I kept plucking hair that wasn’t supposed to be removed! This 2-hour long procedure left me with the weirdest looking brows which my friend helped me fix later. But they still looked far from normal. Of course, everyone in class noticed something was different (and not the good different) about my face!’ – Srishti Sabharwal, Senior Fashion Writer
Get Vega Tweezer – Square Tip (Rs 57) for an easy hair removal. Just make sure not to get too overzealous with it!
