There are beauty skills to learn that decrease cost and bring additional options to someone on a limited budget.
Looking good on a small budget can admittedly be tricky. But with these beauty skills to learn, you can begin to decrease your looking-good budget by doing it yourself!
(Here are my financial tips to help new or struggling single moms.
https://www.singlemomoutwest.com/skills-for-single-moms/single-mom-financial-tips/
However, there are things that you can do from home to decrease cosmetic costs. You may need to be open to some experimentation and willing to learn.
Sometimes, you will need to accept something less than perfect.
Consider what areas of beauty you may be willing to do at home.
Learning beauty skills is intimidating. We are so used to having professionals do it. But these are skills we can learn!
Initially, I was only willing to dye my hair at home.
But as time passed, I became more willing to cut the kids’ hair at home. As I learned more about giving haircuts, I became more comfortable with this.
Spending money on haircuts can break the bank. But a nice pair of scissors cost around $20 bucks. And you can use them over and over again. Hair clippers may be a little more expensive. But it’s worth the money. And they last for a long time.
After learning to be more open-minded, I considered other skills that help keep the kids and me looking as best as possible.
I’ve learned that sometimes you must be willing to let things be good enough. Not perfect, but it’s good enough.
Haircuts from home.
I only cut hair in the summer when I first started. If I messed up too badly, they could wear a hat, and they weren’t in school, so no one had to see them.
That worked great! But as time passed, I felt more comfortable and began doing it year-round.
Thanks to YouTube, you can learn anything. I’ve even cut my hair a few times. It’s tricky but doable. You must only be brave or very desperate!
Here’s a YouTuber that I have followed for my haircuts.
There are many different hairstyles to choose from. There are some brilliant people out there!
Here is a video for little boys’ haircuts.
Opening up to the idea of giving haircuts was a bit scary. But when I considered the amount of money and time it saved, it was worth it!
I used to grab whatever pair of scissors I had available! But I have seen the light about investing in a nicer set of hair scissors.
I would also suggest grabbing a pair of thinning scissors as well. For boys with very thick hair, it makes a huge difference!
You can find them on Amazon.com, and they are pretty economical.
Hair Dye. Let’s face it: every little bit helps.
Another beauty skill to learn is hair dyeing.
I’m not ready to go gray. And yet I am! I blame the children! If I didn’t have to have Solomon’s wisdom for every squabble, maybe I wouldn’t have gray hair.
But, alas, I do. And I am going to live in denial about this!
I used to spend a lot of money in a salon for this, but not anymore! As much as I want to support local businesses and other moms, this isn’t in the budget right now.
Eyebrows! The scariest thing!
I have Tom Selleck eyebrows. They look great on him but not so much on me. You can picture Red on Angry Birds if you are too young to know who Tom Selleck is.
It’s my cross to bear. And while I could have worse issues, why did I have to have this one?
This was also the scariest one to attempt at home. There are a lot of things that could go wrong with waxing your eyebrows.
But out of desperation, I did it! And you know what? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Wrinkle cream. Or whatever helps!
If you have not noticed, wrinkle cream is like gold. I could probably invest in this stock and make a bundle. But to use it on a budget? So pricey!
But then I found out about skin serum! It seems to last longer and gives excellent results. You can use it with your favorite moisturizer.
Those pearly whites.
Not so much. I drink a lot of coffee. ( I cannot overemphasize this. It is my happy drink. And frankly, the children are safer if I have it.) Therefore, the coffee stays, and I will make the teeth whiter!
Lemon juice and baking soda make a great natural whitener as well!
And while we are on teeth, I heartily recommend this for kids!
Consider getting a timer for kids who struggle with brushing! It works great and helps them focus time and attention on brushing!
These are simple self-care things that you can do to help you stretch your budget.
They may take you out of your comfort zone, but eventually, you will be grateful for the time and the money these skills will save you!
Single moms may have to think outside the box regarding beauty, but we can still look fabulous!
