Right, so we are all in lockdown basically, which means there are a lot of things we may be used to having done professionally, outside the home, which some of us may be considering doing ourselves while unable to visit our favourite personal maintenance places. Well that can work, in some cases, but in others it just might prove to be a very bad idea.
Can’t go to the Gym? Generally this would be fine because you can keep fit at home. Even if you don’t have any gym equipment, you do have floor space and can make do with aerobics for now. Food cans make great aerobic weights but if you’re used to heavier lifting, there’s always the couch or something. Anyway, you are making a good start by continuing with your fitness routine and adapting it to your lounge room.
But doing the gym thingy at home can also be a not so good idea if the last time you did anything vaguely exercise-like was back in your school years, or in the first days after buying that do-everything exercise machine a few decades ago, and you decide to dust everything off and do a three hour workout to kick off the New You. This will probably lead to the Totally Incapacitated You long before the end of the day and will probably have you flat on your back for the next week. Not the outcome you’d like.
Making over your house can be a good idea too, especially if you have been wanting to spruce it up a bit but have never been able to find the time. Now you have the time. It could be something as simple as a new paint job or a more complex renovation (assuming you can still access what you’ll need) but being able to utilise the lockdown time to tackle some DIY is a great way to spend the days.
Unless you absolutely suck at DIY. If you don’t know a paintbrush from a hammer, a house makeover might not be the best way to use your sudden and unexpected free time. This also applies if you have never done any painting or renovation work in your whole entire life. If you are still tempted though, just remember that you will have to live with the end result until the country is back in business again. And if you live with a partner who was adamant that you Not Do It in the first place you might find yourself living in a state of angst and tension for some time. You will really need to think this one through.
Fake tans. Although why you’d want one when you aren’t going anywhere is beyond me, but to each their own. Salons are closed right now so if you are used to having your golden glow sprayed on all nice and even by a professional, please do not opt for doing it yourself out of a bottle. Getting a bottle tan right takes years of practice (look, I don’t care how easy the directions tell you it is) and if you get it just the insy-est, tinsy-est bit wrong, you will spend the next five days trying to scrub it off and it will be resistant to every cleansing product known to woman. So if in doubt…don’t.
Waxing. If you’ve never done this yourself, stick to depilatory creams or shaving. End of story.
Hair. If it’s just colouring, and you sensibly opt for a hue that will gradually wash out, you can’t really go wrong. Even if you’re a novice colour-er and you get the colour wrong. It’s going to wash out over a few weeks and it’s not like you’re going anywhere anyway. But cutting is a whole different animal. If you are a professional hairdresser, or a really deft amateur, who can manage to do a good job using two mirrors then by all means give yourself a cut or trim.
Not a professional or a deft amateur? Then lock those scissors up. Unlike a bad colour that will wash out, a bad haircut is going to be with you a lot longer than the lockdown is and will send you into meltdown every time you look in the mirror. Just put up with the split ends and overgrown fringe until your hairdresser is back in operation. You can always tie it back or put it up until then and console yourself with the knowledge that all your friends are in exactly the same bad-hair boat. Feeling better now?
No, me neither.