7 Beauty Treatments You Should Never Do Yourself

Let me be (not even remotely) the first to say: Feria, burn in hell for convincing so many unsuspecting people that ombre hair is a thing can be successfully accomplished at home.

By Jessica Blankenship

Updated 11 years ago, January 15, 2014

Complex hair color

Let me be (not even remotely) the first to say: Feria, burn in hell for convincing so many unsuspecting people that ombre hair is a thing can be successfully accomplished at home. I’ve known a handful of people who tried to DIY this hair trend du jour on their own, and literally every single one ended up at a salon within a week getting their jacked up locks repaired. If you want to dye your hair from a box, go for it. I’ve done it. It’s a fabulous way to make a hasty decision that you’ll question for weeks. But if your desired look involves a specific and complex array of colors, save yourself the shame and seek professional help.

Chemical straightening

Some relaxing and straightening products have chemicals in them that could not only fuck up your hair if used incorrectly, they could burn your skin or eyes. You can often find over-the-counter options that don’t contain such harsh ingredients, but these tend to be less effective, and even these are easily misused in amateur hands. Let’s just say anything that is involves a significant amount of chemicals should be left to the pros.

Waxing

Waxing is bananas. I hate it. I am, however, in awe of aestheticians who can wield that hot, gooey, evil shit with precision and produce flawless results because most of us, when left to our own waxy devices, end up with wax fucking everywhere and we pull off at least as much skin as hair. I suggest not waxing any body part on your own, but if nothing else, always tend to at least your brows and your vaj in the salon.

Chemical facial peels

All the same warnings as chemical straighteners apply, but times about a thousand. Because in this case, instead of potentially ending up with damaged hair, you could end up with mangled face skin. Mangled face skin. If that’s not worth spending the extra bucks to protect, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life.

Hair extensions

Mostly, I just feel like this would be really difficult to logistically pull off. Like, you can only see so much of your head, and from certain angles. Your arms can only go in so many directions. Trying to do your own hair extensions can really only result in super tired arm muscles and a persistent nagging feeling that you can never be completely sure that the back of your head looks right.

Serious pedicures

There are two main purposes of getting pedicures: to make your feet feel and look pristine, and to give yourself a solid half hour of relatively inexpensive pampering. I’m pretty sure wanting my feet to look nice is only 20% of the reason I get pedicures; It’s all about reading trashy magazines while someone else does the work. Then I tip them mightily (because it’s feet), and we all go away happy. It’s one thing to throw some polish on your toes when you decide to wear sandals at the last minute, but if you’re going to really go for all the scrubbing and sanding and moisturizing, doing it yourself means trading “relaxing” for “exhausting”. Pedicures are a small pleasure that everyone should indulge in whenever possible. Doing it at home not only robs you of those tiny moments of respite, it adds a serious chore to your day.