We bang on a lot about the importance of looking after your skin, and spend the majority of our time testing skincare so we can recommend which products are worth the money.

Yet there is a much cheaper way to improve your complexion – knowing which foods are good for skin.

Beyond the obvious – that drinking more water is the best way to brighten your skin and help prevent wrinkles – there are some diet swaps you can make to improve everything from acne to dark circles, redness and dullness.

Many help fight the signs of ageing, and are equally beneficial for your hair and nails.

To get the lowdown on which foods are best for clear, healthy skin we spoke to Hamish McNair, Clinical Director at Candela Medical, and sports nutrition experts from Bulk.

READ NEXT: The science of wrinkles and how to prevent them

Best food for skin

A balanced diet of the following foods will cover all the most important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants your skin needs to look healthy and clear. We’ve tried to make sure we cover vegetarian and vegan options, as well.

• Fish: Salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna
• Nuts: Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts
• Fruit: Orange, strawberries, blackcurrants
• Vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Potatoes
• Seeds: Chia seeds, hulled sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
• Pulses: Quinoa, black beans, soya beans
• Meat: Chicken, turkey
• Meat substitutes: Tofu
• Dairy: Eggs, milk, yoghurt
• Oils: Olive oil

You can also take supplements to boost your levels of certain vitamins and minerals. If you want to know more about how supplements work – and what you should and shouldn’t do when looking at taking them – read our guide to the truth about beauty supplements.

Skin Food

Marco Verch

“The simplest way to maintain healthy skin is through eating a well-balanced diet and avoiding free radicals,” Hamish McNair explains. “Free radicals include smoking, pollution, and excessive UV exposure. Too much sun exposure, particularly, can speed up the skins ageing process.”

What are free radicals?

Before we list the foods that fight free radicals, we’re going to get a bit technical. If you know what free radicals are, and what damage they can do to the body and your skin, it can help you know the best ways to fight them.

When we take in oxygen, our body can split it into single atoms with unpaired electrons. Electrons prefer to be in a couple so the single, split electrons – the free radicals – are unstable and hunt around the body looking for a partner.

At a moderate, regulated level, free radicals have been found to have some benefits. These include helping to create energy and helping the immune system fight off infections. Our body maintains a balance and regulates these free radicals through antioxidants.

However, when the levels of free radicals get too high or the antioxidants are too low, through exposure to smoking, alcohol, pollution, fried foods and more, this hunting process can damage our cells, proteins and DNA. Putting the body under what’s known as oxidative stress.

This stress has been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease as well as being a cause of premature ageing.

What foods are good for skin?

Research into these free radicals and their impact on our skin has shown that foods which include the following ingredients are the best foods for skin. You can browse through the list, or click each entry in the list to jump straight to that section.

• Omega 3: Jump to section
• Omega 6: Jump to section
• Antioxidants: Jump to section
• Vitamin E: Jump to section
• Vitamin C: Jump to section
• Vitamin D: Jump to section

Omega 3

Omega 3 is a healthy unsaturated fat found largely in oily fish, so eating more salmon, herring, and mackerel will help promote better, clear skin.

This is because these fish are what’s known as “pelagic”.

In the wild, they spend all their time swimming and searching for food.

This requires large amounts of energy, provided by oil in their body tissues that act as fuel.

If you’re a vegetarian, you can also get Omega 3 from nuts, seeds and plant oils.

Omega 3 is particularly good for tackling redness and swelling in the face due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

“The omega-3 fats in fish can reduce redness and acne and can even make your skin less sensitive to the sun’s UV rays,” according to Bulk. “Fatty fish is also a source of one of the most important antioxidants for your skin, Vitamin E.”

In addition to being good food for skin concerns, the World Health Organisation recommends two portions of oily fish per week.

This is because it can lower cholesterol and recent studies have shown that a diet rich in this supplement can potentially reduce the risk of dementia in older life.

Omega 6

HD Wallpaper

Omega 6 is also a healthy unsaturated fat and is found in eggs, nuts, whole grain bread and pumpkin seeds.

It plays an important role in boosting our immune health and blood clotting, in regulated and balanced amounts. These fats are also said to help with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and dermatitis.

However, Omega 6 has been criticised for causing inflammation if it reaches excessive levels in the body.

Inflammation is beneficial to the body in regards to fighting infection, but too much inflammation can lead to wider health problems.

This is where the Omega 3-Omega 6 ratio comes in. Western diets, particularly, tend to contain more Omega 6 than Omega 3 – almost 16:1 when it should ideally be 1:1 and this can lead to an imbalance.

As a result, Omega 6 foods should be eaten as part of a balanced diet and not relied on solely for improving skin.

It is also worth avoiding processed forms of Omega 6, in processed oils for example, and you should try to seek out natural sources.

Antioxidants

We’re regularly told about the benefits of antioxidants but, before writing this, we didn’t really have any idea what they were or what they did.

Put simply, antioxidants are the molecules that fight the free radicals. Our bodies have their own source of antioxidants which they use to keep these free radicals in check but it helps to boost the levels of these molecules through our diet to make sure free radicals don’t get out of hand.

Several vitamins, including Vitamin E and C, are effective antioxidants and antioxidants generally are largely found in vegetables, and other plant-based, whole foods.

This is why vegetarian and vegan diets are said to be beneficial and part of the reason why we’re encouraged to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day.

Foods that are good for skin: Vitamin E

Pikrepo

Vitamin E helps to strengthen the immune system and promotes healthy skin.

This is because it’s what’s known as a fat-soluble vitamin that is found naturally in the sebum in our skin.

In this way, Vitamin E skincare helps to boost your skin’s natural barrier, which in turn helps it retain moisture and leave it looking clear and healthy.

The promotion of a healthy skin barrier is also great for reducing redness and balancing skin tone.

As a result, areas of our skin that contain higher levels of oil tend to also contain higher levels of Vitamin E.

Hence why Vitamin E is so good for the skin on your face.

“Getting enough Vitamin E is essential for helping protect your skin against inflammation,” continues the experts at Bulk. “It is also a source of high-quality protein, which is needed for maintaining the strength and integrity of your skin.”

Foods that are good for skin: Vitamin C

Shutterstock

As you can read in our Vitamin C for skiningredient spotlight guide, Vitamin C helps increase antioxidant levels.

This improves our bodies’ ability to keep free radicals in check, which in turn benefits our skin in a huge variety of ways.

To name just a few benefits, Vitamin C protects the skin from UV damage and pollution, helps reduce the signs of ageing, brightens the skin and reduces scarring.

It’s also great at getting rid of dark spots.

One great source of Vitamin C, as well as other key skin vitamins and minerals is broccoli.

“Broccoli is full of many vitamins and minerals important for skin health, including Zinc, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C,” said the experts at Bulk.

“The super green also contains a substance called glucoraphanin that helps the skin to repair itself.

“As a result, eating broccoli renews your skin more quickly and gives your complexion a beautiful natural glow.”

You can read more about Vitamin C for skin in our Ingredient Spotlight: Vitamin C: What does Vitamin C do and which is the best Vitamin C serum for skin?

Protein

The body and therefore the skin also needs protein for optimum health.

This is because our hair and nails, in particular, are mostly made of protein and your body uses protein to build and repair tissues.

It’s also an important building block of skin and blood.

Choosing leaner meat can provide this vital protein without adding fat to your diet.

Calcium

SatyaPrem/Pixabay

There are a number of sources of protein that also provide the body with vital levels of calcium, another important mineral that is needed for healthy skin and hair.

Most of us know that calcium helps promote strong bones and teeth but it also regulates many of our skin’s functions.

Most calcium in the skin is found in the outermost layer (the epidermis) where it acts as a barrier and helps the skin repair and replenish.

Every two months, or so, our epidermis completely renews itself but as we get older, this turnover rate slows down dramatically.

This is a major cause of ageing and the loss of elasticity, as well as what causes the barrier to become thin. You can read more about this in our guide on how to prevent wrinkles.

Calcium can help maintain a healthy level of regeneration and barrier function, which is why calcium has also been touted as an anti-ageing mineral.

Quinoa is a good source of calcium as well as a number of other skin-loving vitamins and minerals, as the experts at Bulk explain: “Quinoa is packed with high nutrients including Vitamin A, calcium, zinc, protein, manganese, fibre, iron and essential amino acids.

It is also rich in Vitamin B, which can help brighten your skin, leaving it looking healthy. The superfood contains high levels of riboflavin which makes the skin soft. It can also help build connective tissue to prevent wrinkles and fine lines.”

Vitamin D

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Many of us are lacking in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body and these are the nutrients that keep our bones, teeth, and muscles healthy.

A lack of Vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain in adults.

This deficiency can also impact your ability to complete simple cognitive tasks, make you more prone to respiratory diseases – such as Covid-19 – and make your skin look dull.

Two recent studies looking at Vitamin D found that the lower your Vitamin D levels, the more you struggle with mental tests and that people with lower Vitamin D levels have slower information-processing speed. This was especially the case in people over 60.

When it comes to your skin, Vitamin D can prevent premature ageing by boosting it at a cellular level. Our skin ages when the caps of genetic material on the free ends of DNA strands, called telomeres, get shorter. This makes the DNA more unstable and causes cells to die.

A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who get sufficient Vitamin D have longer telomeres compared to those and the difference was equivalent to five years of ageing.

Of course, there is a caveat. The main source of Vitamin D for many of us is from the sun yet the sun and UV rays are damaging to skin. Any colour you get from being in the sun – it doesn’t even need to be sunburn – effectively damages the skin. You can read more about this in our guide to What is SPF and why is it so important?

The best way, therefore, to boost your Vitamin D intake without subjecting it to damaging UV rays is through your diet and Vitamin D supplements. In addition to wearing SPF when you’re outside.

Mushrooms are the only vegan-friendly food that contains Vitamin D, naturally. All other natural food sources of Vitamin D are from animals, including poultry and seafood. Cultivated mushrooms contain a plant sterol called ergosterol, which is the precursor of Vitamin D. But only if it’s been cultivated in a way to absorb Vitamin D from sunlight.

One such mushroom is the chaga mushroom. It is rich in Vitamin D2 as well as Vitamin A, fibre, potassium, amino acids, and B-complex vitamins.

Water

Yes, we know we sound like a broken record but by drinking an average of two litres of water a day can help to keep the skin well hydrated. It’s not a catch-all solution – and it doesn’t mean you can chow down on fried food, wash it down with water and assume one counteracts the other, but it certainly helps.

Drinking water can also help your body absorb more of the vitamins and minerals found in the food you’re eating

This includes tea and coffee, as well as squash, but water is the best source because it doesn’t contain caffeine or sugar. A healthier alternative is Green Tea, containing much less caffeine than regular tea.

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post Skin food: The best foods for clear, healthy skin – and why they work appeared first on mamabella.

Today there are 17 principal finishes for a nail varnish, including glitter, matte, shimmer, crackled and even holographic, and the colour choices are endless. To help you find the best nail polish for you, we’ve handpicked our favourites, including vegan-friendly polishes and the varnishes that protect your nails.

And if you’re looking to discover some of the latest nail trends, jump to the bottom of the page. 

READ NEXT: How to strengthen your nails and what makes them so damn brittle

Best nail polish

1. Editor’s Pick: Essie Nail Lacquer – £7.99+
2. Bargain Buy: Barry M Nail Paint – £2.99+
3. Luxury Buy: OPI Nail Lacquer – £11+
4. Best vegan nail polish: Autograph All-in-One nail polish by M&S – £6
5. Best nail polish for brittle nails: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails – £7.99+
6. Best nail varnish for colour range: Rimmel London 60-second Super Shiny – £3.49+
7. Best breathable nail polish: LENA – £8.95+
8. Best nude nail polish: Leighton Denny – £12

WANT TO KNOW MORE? Best concealer | Best makeup brush | Best foundation brush | Best eyeshadow palette | Best foundation | Best foundation for dark skin | Best foundation for oily skin | Best foundation for dry skin | Best contour kit | Best lip gloss | Best lip liner | Best mascara| Best primer | Best highlighter | Best brow pomade | Best blusher | Best setting spray| Best makeup sets | Best false eyelashes | Best eyeliner | Best setting powder | Best eyelash curlers

1. Editor’s Pick: Essie nail polish

£7.99+ | Buy now

Essie

Why we love it: Essie’s nail polish range ticks all the boxes.

Its colours are excellent, ranging from pastels and nudes to bright shimmering blues and oranges; it lasts and maintains its freshly coated feel for at least a week, and it’s hugely affordable.

If you’re looking to achieve the perfect at-home manicure, this is more than likely the brand for you.

Its gel finish topcoat is the icing on the cake and will hold your nail colour in place almost as well as if you’ve been to a professional.

Buy now from Lookfantastic

2. Bargain Buy: Barry M

£2.99+ | Buy now from Superdrug

Barry M

Why we love it: Barry M nail paint is an absolute classic. Available in a range of colours, shimmers and sparkles aplenty, the full range is incredibly affordable and its topcoat is especially impressive if you’re looking for a long hold.

We often opt for Barry M when we’re looking for a bold colour to match a particular outfit or occasion and while it doesn’t have the staying power as some of the more expensive nail polishes in this list, it more than does the job if you like to mix up your look on a regular basis.

The brand recently released a pair of new colour-shifting, two-toned nail paints, inspired by the sea, which are perfect as we move from Spring into Summer.

These two shades, available alongside the other colours in the Under the Sea collection, cost £3.99 each and come in Mermaid Tail (teal) and Underworld (light blue). What’s more, they’re vegan.

These were then joined by a Hi-Vis Neon range.

Buy now from Superdrug

3. Luxury Buy: OPI Nail Lacquer

£11+ | Buy now from OPI

Opi

Why we love it: A luxury buy that isn’t even all that luxury in price, OPI Nail Lacquer is often the go-to brand by nail experts at salons because of the quality of the product.

Not to mention the fact it boasts almost 250 shades, all with great ‘punny’ names. Colours go on seamlessly and you only need two coats for a long-lasting, professional finish.

It is also incredibly easy to apply compared to other products due to its matte, non–slippy handle, and wide brush; needing only three strokes across each nail, just like the professionals do.

Buy now from OPI

4. Autograph by Marks & Spencer

£6 | Buy now from M&S

M&S

Why we love it: This nail polish range from M&S is a bit of an underdog.

In addition to being vegan, the Autograph line includes Vitamin E and Argan oil to strengthen the nails, and if you choose the All-in-One collection, you get a base coat, top coat, and colour in one, saving you time, money and layers and layers of polish.

Well played M&S, well played.

Buy now from M&S

5. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails

£7.99+ | Buy now from Superdrug

Sally Hansen

Why we love it: Sally Hansen was an impressive woman who pioneered modern-day nail varnish and whose first unique product, Hard as Nails, is still incredibly popular today.

The brand continues to promote Hansen’s original values, and from colour to quality to the brush and mechanics of application, this brand isn’t one to miss. It also claims to bring out 100–200 new colours every single year, so it’s unlikely you won’t find a colour to suit every occasion.

Buy now from Superdrug

6. Rimmel London 60-Second Super Shine nail polish

£3.49+ | Buy now from Rimmel

Rimmel

Why we love it: Living up to its name, Rimmel’s 60-second Super Shine nail varnish really does dry in 60 seconds.

And it really is super shiny!

At such a reasonable price, this product is a must-have for anyone’s nail varnish collection because of its ease of application and its varied and beautiful colour range.

Buy now from Rimmel

7. LENA

£8.95+ | Buy now from LENA

LENA

Why we love it: Nail polishes and gel polishes give us a great finish but over time it can dry out our nails, leaving them weak and brittle.

With the LENA range, we’ve found a great compromise. A range that helps our nails breathe without sacrificing on high-end glossy colour. What’s more, the LENA range is water permissible, halal and vegan-friendly. As a result, these nail polishes are also popular among Muslim women because they’re wudhu-friendly.

This breathable, water-permissible formula is possible because the brand uses a special polymer that enables oxygen and moisture to be transported through the nail polish. This permeability allows moisture and oxygen to make contact with the fingernails after you have applied nail polish.

By comparison, regular nail polishes prevent oxygen and moisture from getting in.

Colour-wise, LENA’s range spans from neon to pastels, glitter and nudes. It also sells breathable base and top coats to keep your colour looking vibrant, and knowing that these nail polishes are giving your nails the best treatment possible is a bonus.

Buy now from LENA

8. Leighton Denny

£12 | Buy now from Leighton Denny

Leighton Denny

Why we love it: Every brand in this best nail polish list offers nude shades, but few are as all encompassing as the range from Leighton Denny. There are 21 in total, just in the nude category,  and these range from pale creams to blush pinks and deeper browns.

At the end of September, Leighton Denny launched three new shades within this category as part of its Back to Nature collection. Foxglove is a clay pink nude, Forest is an everyday brown and Peony is a dusky pink.

What’s more, the Back To Nature collection is low chemical and vegan-friendly, and it contains 75% of naturally-derived ingredients. Each of the polishes have a redesigned, wider brush as well, to “give a perfect, seamless, self-levelling, clean line colour.”

As Leighton Denny, himself, explains: “Tonal nude shades are flattering, universally chic and work for any season, making it the perfect transitional nail colour for those ‘in between’ months. You don’t have to stick to the classic sheer pink nude, mix it up with warmer, cooler or stronger nude shades.

“For those with darker skin’s do go for a stronger shade like Forest. For those with pale skin types avoid pale, fleshy colours, warmer shades like Foxglove and Peony will be more flattering.”

Buy now from Leighton Denny

Lastest nail trends 2022

To get a glimpse into the current and rising nail trends for the year ahead, Vera Clinic scoured the internet, using Instagram to rank the colours and designs based on their popularity.

We’ve listed the top five below. The number at the end of each trend’s explanation refers to the number of hashtags found that were directly related to the trend in question.

1. Marble Nails: From home decor to jewellery, the marble trend is one to watch generally in 2022. So of course, the nail industry has got in on the act. It’s not the easiest of finishes to master but the payoff for your effort is worth it. (2.2 million)

Instagram: @nailinesss

2. French Manicure: It wasn’t that long ago that French Manicure or French tips were seen as basic. However, the classic look is making a comeback. If you want to make the look edgier, opt for bold colours that contrast each other or square off the ends of your nails to contrast with the cure of the design. (1.3 million)

3. Heart Nails: Having gained traction around Valentine’s Day, the trend for heart nails has continued. Subtle and cute, this look can be worn in any colours and the hearts can vary in shape and size. (356,000)

4. Floral Nails: With Spring on the way, floral designs are rising in popularity on Instagram. They are delicate and feminine and can be painted on every nail, or reserved for a select few. (269,000)

5. Animal Print: Anyone who knows us in real-life knows how obsessed we are with animal print in all guises. So this is the 2022 nail trend we’re most excited about! We’ve seen a lot of cow prints doing the rounds on social, but you also can’t go wrong with a bit of leopard print either. (187,000)

More nail ideas and nail designs

At the end of 2021, WeThrift used Pinterest trends data to discover the nail trends of the year. These winter trends ranged from emerald greens to deep brown shades, and metallic tips.

While there are a new bunch of trends available (as we’ve detailed above), we’ve left the top 10 from December in case any give you inspiration!

1. Emerald Green: This season’s must-have nail look is set to be emerald green. Given that green (and red) are the very epitome of Festive, this isn’t a surprise but this particular green shade works so well for winter because of its deep, yet vivid tones. It’s a big leap from the bring colours we have seen throughout the year.

2. Khaki Green: The second most popular nail colour, according to Pinterest is a different take on emerald green, known as khaki green. It has a soft earthy tone that gives a sense of cosiness and warmth.

WeThrift

3. Forest Green: Another green dominating the top nail trends for Winter 2021 is forest green. Searches have risen up by a whopping 244% on Pinterest and green french tips are among the looks found across inspiration boards.

4. Brown Tip: If social media has proved one thing, it’s that the French manicure look is still going strong.

Add a touch of winter with a deep moody shade like chocolate or chestnut brown.

While the more subtle version is still a firm favourite in salons around the world, this style is a great way to dip into darker tones for the colder months…in a subtle way.

5. Navy Blue: Deep navy blue works so well for autumn and winter and is a relatively simple look to recreate at home. It also goes with many skin tones and outfits.

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Libby Mewes

Libby graduated from Bournemouth University with a degree in Multimedia Journalism. She’s worked as a researcher and writer for Heart Radio as well as a features writer for a Somerset newspaper. She’s since taken time out to travel, manage a hotel restaurant, do a lot of dog walking, and now works in London’s West End

The post Best nail polish: Master the at-home manicure with the best nail varnishes from Opi, Essie and more appeared first on mamabella.

This Summer Essentials Kit – which features mini and full-sized products from the likes of Dr Dennis Gross and Oh K! – will go on sale on 31 July at 9am for Glossybox subscribers.

If bought individually, the 12 items in the kit would cost you £95 but Glossybox is bundling them together for a reduced price of £30.

The waitlist is open now and if you sign up you’ll get an email ahead of time reminding you to get involved. 

Non-subscribers won’t be able to buy the Glossybox Summer Essentials Kit until midday on 31 July. 

What’s inside the Glossybox Summer Essentials Kit?

The Glossybox Summer Essentials Kit largely features skincare products, including peels and masks but there is a number of makeup items including a lipstick and lip balm, plus a nail varnish from Nails.Inc. 

• Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Peel  – Worth £8.90  (Deluxe Mini)
• Hawaiian Tropic Aloha Coco Shimmer Edition Body Mist  – Worth £10 (Full-Size)
• Oh K! Anti Jet Lag Sheet Mask  – Worth £5.00 (Full-Size)
• Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Lip Balm  – Worth £2.49 (Full-Size)
• Nails.Inc Nail Polish in Gimme A Peck or Cheeky Bird  – Worth £15 (Full-Size)
• bareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Serum  –  Worth £7.20 (Deluxe Mini)
• Maria Nila Invisidry Shampoo  –  Worth £12.99 (Deluxe Mini)
• Holika Holika Aloe 99% Soothing Gel  – Worth £3.95 (Deluxe Mini)
• Lanolips Face Base Aussie Flyer Leave-On Recovery Mask  –  Worth £10 (Mini)
• Tangle Teezer Compact Styler Detangling Hairbrush  – Worth £14 (Full-Size)
• MUA Cosmetics Super Stylo Satin Finish Lipstick  –  Worth £3 (Full-Size)
• First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Barriair Cream  – Worth £6.36 (Deluxe Mini)

We recently featured a number of the products in the Glossybox Summer Essentials kit in other articles, so we can vouch for at least some of them. 

We’re particular fans of the Dr Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Peel, for instance. Chemical peels are great for rebalancing the skin and clearing stubborn lumps and bumps.

We recently recommended it in our What is milia? guide but they’re equally good for general skin concerns.

What’s more, this peel from Dr Dennis Gross is gentle enough for sensitive skin. 

Similar, the Korean brand Oh K! has extremely high-performing products that punch well above their cheap price tags. 

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post Glossybox Summer Essentials Kit waitlist is now open: Get £95 worth of products for £30 appeared first on mamabella.

That’s according to data collated via Google Trends by Cult Beauty. 

Among the other DIY beauty treatments that hundreds of thousands of us are seemingly attempting during self-isolation, are “how to dye your hair at home”, “how to make your own hair masks” – and face masks for that matter – and how to make bath bombs. A slight outlier and not one we had considered!

Cult Beauty

What’s more, searches between March and April this year, as opposed to year-on-year trends – show similar spikes, with searches for hair-related topics more than doubling.

This data builds on previous search data from RedBrain that looked at the most in-demand beauty products during lockdown. That particular list found that hair scissors, manicure glue and hair curlers topped the charts, which goes hand-in-hand with the numbers seen in Cult Beauty’s research.

Haircuts: How to cut your own hair

iStock

Data from various sources have shown that the key beauty treatment that people are looking for the most help with is haircuts. Searches for terms such as “how to cut your own hair” have risen by 1,379% compared to last year and almost half a million of those queries have taken place in the past two months. 

Men’s haircuts accounted for 70,070 of the searches while 60,430 searches focused on beard grooming. Meanwhile, women are carefully trimming grown-out fringes or experimenting with cutting in layers.

If you’re looking for advice, stylists Lee Stafford and Paul Windle recently gave us a tutorial on how to cut hair at home, including how to add layers, in our haircut guide. 

We also spoke to hairdresser Sam Tully, who advised us on what to look for when buying the best hair scissors. 

Hair dye: How to dye hair at home

Mamabella

While we’re not brave enough to cut our own hair – yet – we have been researching how to dye our hair at home. We recently revealed what we consider to be the best hair dye kits, including the best products for covering up those pesky roots.

With this in mind, Hollywood stylist Paul Edmonds explained how to determine what colours to choose in our What hair colour suits me? guide. 

It appears we’re not alone and more than 179,490 searches have been made around this topic since self-isolation began – making it one of the most popular beauty queries.

Eyebrows: How to do eyebrows

iStock

From one hair concern to another, Cult Beauty’s data shows that terms around how to do eyebrows have similarly soared in popularity. In particular,  searches for “How to thread your own eyebrows” have increased by 1,115%

Whilst DIY eyebrow threading has seen the highest increase, the search term “How to wax your own eyebrows” is also proving popular with a 619% increase.

Our resident makeup artist recently took us through a step-by-step guide on how to do eyebrows and we spoke to experts about what causes thinning eyebrows and how to get thicker eyebrows

Hair masks and face masks

Mamabella

Hair masks, and face masks, aren’t necessarily products that people are struggling to get hold of but that hasn’t stopped people searching for DIY versions. General searches have risen by 333% for hair masks, which has seen an associated peak in searches for coconut oil – one of the most popular DIY hair ingredients. 

Similarly, searches for DIY face masks have increased by 233%, while the specific “how to make an oatmeal face mask”  has seen a rise of 22%. Popular ingredients searched for alongside these terms include aloe vera, charcoal, and honey. You can read more about these ingredients, among others in our guide to the best face mask 2020, and our The truth about the acids in your skincare guide. 

We’ve also highlighted the best hair masks, best overnight hair masks, best overnight face masks and best sheet masks. 

At-home facials

Getty Images/iStockphoto

In addition to thousands of us turning to face masks to help with the lockdown breakout – this is a thing and you can read more in our Why is my skin breaking out? guide – the data shows that the search term “facial at home” is up by 115%, whilst more invasive treatments which require professional equipment, including hydrafacials, have seen an increase of 136%.

We recently explained how to make your own cleanser, and how to make your own toner in our DIY beauty guides. 

FURTHER READING: How we test skincare to see if it lives up to the claims

Eyelashes: How to remove eyelash extensions

Pixabay

At the start of lockdown, a number of our readers were asking about how to remove eyelash extensions at home and this goes hand-in-hand with increases for “how to remove lash extensions with coconut oil”and “how to remove lashes with baby oil.”.

Alongside these searches, people have also switched to queries on DIY lash lifts. In fact, they’re at an all-time high, with more 20,030 searches being made during self-isolation alone.

We do not advise you attempt such treatments at home, but you can read more about lash treatments in our eyelash extensions guide, or discover the best mascara and best false eyelashes, to plug the gap. 

Nails: How to remove acrylics and gels

iStock

Before lockdown began, we spoke to a skin specialist who revealed what causes brittle nails and how to strengthen them.  Since lockdown kicked in, we’ve seen an increase in people reading this guide – likely because they’ve attempted to remove their false nails at home and wreaked havoc on their hands!

What’s more, over 137,440 people have searched for “how to remove acrylic nails at home” – an increase of 129% on what is an already popular term. As we saw in the RedBrain data, in which there had been a surge in searches for manicure glue, Cult Beauty’s data shows that “How to do gel nails at home” has risen by 170% receiving 33,940 unique Google searches.

Bath bombs

StockSnap from Pixabay

And finally, with some people having more time to de-stress and relax – not something we can say is in abundance in our home with two kids – searches for DIY bath bombs hit 62,960 searches, a year-on-year increase of 128%. Among the top associated Google search results, moisturising rose petal is a popular ingredient, as are calming lavender and chamomile.

Top Google searches March–April 2020

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post Here are the most Googled DIY beauty treatments during lockdown appeared first on mamabella.

With hairdressers shut, data from e-commerce platform RedBrain.com has found that demand for the best hair scissors has jumped by more than 3,000%, while searches for hair curlers is up by more than 800%. We at mamabella have similarly seen an increase in the number of people clicking on our how to cut your own hair guide from celeb stylist Lee Stafford. 

READ NEXT: How to cut your own hair

And with many of us faced with manicuring our own hands and nails, demand for manicure glue, false nails, cuticle creams and nail art kit has soared by as much as 680%.

We recently asked a nail technician how to remove acrylic nails – if yours are still holding on – and a leading skin specialist recently ran through some of the reasons why your nails are so brittle and how you can strengthen them. 

If you’re in the market for hair curlers, and already own a hair straightener, we also spoke to experts at Trevor Sorbie about how to curl hair with straighteners. 

The UK’s top 10 most in-demand beauty products are:

1. Hair scissors – up 3,400%
2. Hair curlers – up 839%
3. Manicure glue – up 683%
4. Nail art kits and accessories – up 668.42%
5. False nails – up 548%
6. Hair pins, claws and clips – up 434%
7. Cuticle creams and oils – up 384%
8. Facial pore strips – 320%
9. Nail tools – up 299%
10. Combs and brushes – up 273%

Other notable increases in the list were for waxing kits, hair colour accessories, skin care masks and peels and makeup tools. If you’re among the many people searching for such items, below we’ve rounded-up the best options in each category. Those which come highly rated – either by  experts we’ve spoken to, people on our team or by online reviews. We’ve also gone into more detail for hair scissors because these shouldn’t be a purchase you make lightly! 

• Best hair scissors: Joewell Classic scissors – £165
• Best hair curlers: GHD Curve Classic Curling tong – £129
• Best manicure glue: NYK1 Nail Bond manicure glue – £9.99
• Best nail art kits and accessories: Proteove high-quality nail art kit – £11.99
• Best false nails: Bememo 120-piece acrylic Ballerina shape nails kit – £7.99
• Best hair pins: Salon Services Grip and Pin Session kit – £11.99
• Best claws and clips: Frcolour Hair Claws – £9.59 for a pack of four
• Best cuticle creams and oils: Mylee Nail and Cuticle Oil – £12
• Best facial pore strips: Biore Deep Cleansing Pore strips – £9.57
• Best nail tools: Ted Baker Manicure Set – £35
• Best comb: GHD Detangling Comb – £8.50
• Best hair brush: Wet Brush Original – £15 for pack of two

Hair scissors

We suspect that many of the people searching for hair scissors aren’t trained professionals. They’re more likely to be people like us who are in desperate need of a cut and have tried (and failed) using everyday kitchen scissors. 

Hair scissors come in various shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common – they’re sharp. This is what makes them so effective, and so precise, so if you’re investing in hair scissors, we recommend that you also invest in a sharpener.

READ NEXT: How to make your hair grow faster

Beyond that, you can choose based on size and blade style and, broadly speaking, there are two types of hair scissors blade: bevelled edge or convex. 

Most European scissors feature bevelled edges on their blades with micro serrations on one or both side. This design stops them from sliding over the hair and are best used on dry hair or if you have less experience because you can take your time with these hair scissors. You can also get polished bevelled-edge blades and these are used for slicing and a whole host of other cutting techniques. 

Meanwhile, convex , or “Japanese-style” blades, are super sharp and, with a razor-like edge, making them perfect for slicing the hair, but this makes them better suited to the more experienced – or ambitious – among us. 

Best hair cutting scissors

Aylesbury-based hairdresser Sam Tully told mamabella that the best brand for hair scissors is Joewell. These scissors do not come cheap – far from it – but with reports that salons are going to be shut until the end of the year (), it may be worth investing now. You’re also saving a sum of money by not having it cut professionally!

The silver Joewell hair cutting scissors are the most affordable, although still come in at £165. If you buy them in various colours, Sam uses pink for example, these will set you back £250. 

“It can be tempting to opt for cheap hair scissors but if you want to have a cleaner finish, with less damage to your hair, you absolutely need to invest in a decent pair,” said Sam. “Also avoid getting them sharpened. In my experience, scissors are never the same after they’ve been sharpened and you should look to replace your scissors every three to five years.”

1. Haryali London Professional – £14.97
2. Nuoshen 6-inch professional – £8.99
3. Jaguar Pre Ergo scissors – £75
4. Dark Stag Offset Scissors – £67.50

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post Hair scissors, curlers and manicure glue become most-searched for beauty terms in lockdown appeared first on mamabella.

The guidance around social distancing hit many people unexpectedly and many nail technician businesses – both high-street and home-based – have closed. Understandably and responsibly so. This has left many people facing the fact they won’t be able to have their gel or acrylic nails removed professionally. 

READ NEXT: How to strengthen your nails

If this is you, we spoke to Sam Haw – founder and chief nail technician at Sam Lee Nails – as part of our latest in our Ask the Experts series to explain how to remove gel nails quickly, easily and with minimal damage to your natural nails. If you are left with brittle nails, you might also want to check out our guide on how to strengthen your nails from a skin specialist from Colorescience.

What’s more, if you’re looking for a professional finish without the damage, or without exposing yourself or anyone else to the virus, you can cheat your way to flawless nails with nail wraps, featured in our guide to the best cheat products. We also have guides on how to cut your own hair, how to do your eyebrows, and even how to make homemade cleanser.

How to remove acrylic and gel nails at home 

The method for removing acrylic nails at home and removing gel nails quickly are very similar and here is what you’ll need for your at-home acrylic nail removal kit (all available from Amazon so you don’t need to leave the house!). 

It should be noted that Sam, and other nail technicians, don’t usually recommend over-the-counter acetone-based nail polish removers because of the damage they can cause to your natural nails. There are a number of acetone-free nail polish removers, which we detail further down, but because they don’t typically work as effectively as acetone remover, you may end up exposing your nails to their chemicals for longer, which can be almost as damaging your nails. Acetone is, at least, quick and easy.

Acrylic nail removal kit

• Clippers or scissors – this nail clipper is only £3.99 from Amazon
• A nail file – Amazon has a pack of 12 for £4.99
• Cotton pads/balls – this bag of 75 Johnson’s Cotton Balls is just £1
• Acetone nail varnish remover – Sam recommends using the Mylee Salon Professional Polish remover, £7.99 from Amazon
• Manicure cuticle stick or toothpick 
• OPTIONAL: Nail buffer
• Hand moisturiser or oil – Mylee also sells a cuticle and nail oil for £7.99

How to remove gel nail polish

iStock

Once you have all the items for your at-home acrylic nail removal kit follow these steps:

Step 1. Use your clippers to remove any excess lengths.  

Step 2. Remove gel nail polish by filing over the top of the nail bed with your nail file so all the gel is completely scratched off. This will help lift the polish.

Step 3. Soak a cotton pad or ball in your chosen nail varnish remover and wrap around the nail bed. Secure with tin foil to create an airtight seal (or as airtight as possible) to make the removal quicker. You can alternatively buy foil wraps with cotton pads already attached from Mylee for £8.79.

Step 4. Leave your nails soaking for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Step 5. Once the air hits the gel it should crumble. Sam recommends using a manicure cuticle stick to scrape the rest of the gel off but a toothpick or similar does a similar job if you don’t have a manicure stick to hand.

Step 6. Once you’ve removed the gel nail polish, and you have a nail buff, buff the nail to make sure all of the polish is off and the nail is clean. Sam says: “Only brush a nail file over the top of more persistent gel – never file the top of the nail bed this is damaging to the natural nail.”

Step 7. Once all the polish is removed, go crazy with moisturiser or oil. Seriously, go over the top with it to counteract the damage from the nail varnish remover. Work it especially around the cuticle area and continue for a few days following the removal. Sam continues: “Acetone is very drying and will weaken and soften nails. The more care you give your nails in the following days, the better.” 

How to remove acrylic nails at home 

iStock

The steps for removing acrylic nails are incredibly similar to removing gel nail polish but the wait time is typically longer. 

Step 1. Use your clippers to remove any excess lengths.

Step 2. Remove acrylic nails by filing over the top of the nail bed with your nail file.

Step 3. Soak a cotton pad or ball in your chosen nail varnish remover and wrap around the nail bed. Secure with tin foil.

Step 4. Leave your nails soaking for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Step 5. Use a manicure cuticle stick to scrape the rest of the acrylic off.

Step 6. Buff the nail to make sure all of the polish is off and the nail is clean.

Step 7. Lather your hands and nails with moisturiser and cuticle oil immediately after and regularly for at least three days after you’ve removed the acrylic nails at home. 

How to remove gel nails and acrylic nails without acetone

Due to the fact not everyone can, or wants, to use acetone-based remover, there are acetone-free alternatives at various price points. Karma Organic sells a vegan, non-toxic remover that smells like lavender for £9 plus delivery. Elegant Touch’s acetone-free nail polish remover pads cost £2.15 while OPI’s acetone-free remover comes in at £7.50.

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post How to remove acrylic nails at home: Experts reveal how to remove gel nail polish and acrylic nails quickly appeared first on mamabella.

It can be tricky to know why they’re fine one minute and brittle the next, which makes knowing how to strengthen nails a bit of a guessing game.

What causes brittle nails and how to strengthen them

To take the guesswork out of it all, Patricia Boland, a skin specialist at Colorescience has revealed the top causes of brittle nails and what you  can do to get them back to full health.

Cheap nail polish remover

When it comes to removing nail polish, this is one area where you really do get what you pay for.

Cheap nail polish removers not only take more effort to get rid of the polish, exposing your nails to harsh chemicals for longer, but cheap removers can also strip moisture from your nails, causing them to become brittle and weak.

If you are using nail polish remover, always invest in a trustworthy brand and not to use it excessively. We recommend Cutex’s Non-Acetone nail remover, but whichever remover you choose, try to find one that doesn’t contain acetone as it tends to dehydrate your nails.

Lack of iron

Weak nails can be caused by low levels of iron, or anaemia.

Iron helps form haemoglobin, a molecule that shuttles red blood cells loaded with oxygen directly into your nail and without this, your nails will suffer from stunted growth.

It’s best to load up on foods which are rich in irons such as spinach, dark chocolate and white beans or take supplements. The Vitabiotics Perfectil Plus Hair supplements are great for boosting your hair, skin and nails if you are lacking some of these vital vitamins.

FURTHER READING: The truth about beauty supplements

Dehydration

Dehydration caused by not drinking enough water is the cause of so many beauty ills. In our How to get rid of dark circles explainer, our resident MUA explains how a lack of hydration could be ageing you prematurely.

And it’s damaging to your nails, too. Not drinking enough water is a major factor in many cases of brittle nails so it’s best to drink throughout the day to keep those hydration levels up.

Lack of moisture

Your nails not only need moisture from the within but also from the outside. The best way to keep on top of this is to apply frequent hand cream and moisturiser throughout the day. Keep it in your bag or desk at work and apply whenever you think about it, but more so after your hands have been wet.

The Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment is expensive (£23 for 100ml) but a little goes a long way, it smells great and it provides a barrier for your skin and nails from the environmental damage. Continued use can also reduce the appearance of dark spots. 

Excessive water

By this, we mean the water that comes into contact with your hands, not the water you drink. Doing the washing up, for example, can take a big toll on your nails as soaps and solvents from the liquid can have a drying effect on your nails.

A simple solution to the household chore side effect is to pop on a pair of gloves which will protect your nails from the bad chemicals and keep them from drying out. The Clarins Treatment listed above can help reduce the damage by providing a barrier, and you can buy eco-friendly washing-up liquids that contain fewer harsh chemicals.

Compound Chem

Too many manicures

If you are a nail fanatic, it can be hard to cut down on how many manicures you have each month. If you are constantly powering your nails with acrylics or gel nails, this can damage your nail beds and leave them feeling brittle and weak.

Even if you’re using gels that promise to moisturise your nails, and you have them removed professionally.

Always ensure you take a few months break between each treatment and use a nail hardener instead to build your nails back up to their natural state.

We’re huge fans of nail wraps – you can read more about them in our roundup of the best cheap products every makeup collection needs – and while they’re still not foolproof when it comes to keeping your nails as healthy as they would be without any treatment, they’re a better alternative than repeatedly having gels and acrylics applied. 

You pick your nail polish off

Peeling off nail polish, gel or traditional, doesn’t just remove your coat of nail polish but it also removes part of the top layer of your nails – which causes your nails to thin.

It can be easy to do, especially as your manicure starts to chip, but if you do this an excessive amount it can take months for them to grow back in a healthy condition. If you see your nails have started to chip away, take them off with remover as soon as you can so the temptation isn’t there.

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Victoria Woollaston-Webber

Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget

The post A skin specialist reveals how to strengthen your nails and what makes them so damn brittle appeared first on mamabella.