There are few things in life more intimate than our beauty routines. Think about it — the majority of the preening and primping we do takes place in the privacy of our own bathrooms, while we're alone. But most of the time, if a roommate or S.O. were to pop in, we wouldn't be too bothered. What's so bad about your friend seeing you mid-mask?However, there are certain beauty behaviors we save for when we know we're 100% alone. The waxing, the shaving, the extracting, the rubbing of oils in odd places — we love doing it, but we're not about to Instagram it.
Well, now we're spilling the beans on these grooming moments that we normally keep between ourselves and our mirrors. Click through to see our staff's secret single beauty behaviors, and then tell us: What do you do behind closed bathroom doors?
"I love using the harsh lighting in store dressing rooms to squeeze the really tiny, hard-to-see blackheads out of my nose!"
"When I was single (or when I'm home alone now), I liked to fill my sink up with hot water, pour in some oil, and soak my feet while talking on the phone or listening to music. I find it relaxing to give myself a mini pedicure (minus the polish) at home."
"For eight to 10 minutes every few weeks, I apply Nair to literally every part of my body I can reach, while simultaneously wearing [Crest] Whitestrips and a hair mask."
"I sit in front of the mirror with tweezers and pluck my eyebrows really close up."
"You know those nights when your hair and makeup randomly looks really good, but no one else is around to see it? I used to take a bunch of pictures of myself on nights like that. Then, when the person I was dating would ask me to send a sexy, spontaneous selfie, I’d send a photo from that mini session — even if it was two months old."
"I keep an extremely nice men's razor and shaving-supplies kit — think, like, a $200 set of creams, a shaving brush, and razor — and I do a full-out luxurious men's shaving routine on my face once a week. I don't need to for aesthetic purposes; my hair is thin, but it makes me feel all dapper and ready for the week."
"When my roommate's not home and I'm putting on makeup, I will sometimes narrate the whole thing like I'm making a YouTube tutorial. It actually helps me think about the overall look I'm going for, rather than just throwing things on without a plan."
"On Friday nights when I have no plans, I have a little ritual I like to do: I’ll go into the shower and shave everything from the waist down. Then I’ll exfoliate, hop out of the shower, and slowly rub oil all over my body like I'm giving myself a mini massage. Then I'll wash my face and layer on a few face masks. While they’re on my face, I’ll sit in front of the TV in my robe and watch really shitty television with a glass of red wine. I look forward to these evenings so much it’s ridiculous."
"My Sunday-night ritual is to blowdry my hair, pop a mask on my face, and then slowly section each part of my hair and flat-iron for hours while I watch TV. Sometimes I'll pause to do something on my phone or get a snack, which is why it takes so long."
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