Look Good, Feel Good

THE MANE ISSUE

Just because you are spending a lot of time at home doesn't mean you should stop caring for your tresses.

Tien Goh, education manager at Shiseido Professional says caring for the hair is more than just choosing the right shampoo and conditioner. "A daily application of scalp tonic can prevent or address concerns such as dry, sensitive, oily scalp, dandruff."

Celebrity hairstylist Leong Lim, who is also creative director at The Urban Aesthetics Beauty Emporium, says now is the best period to spend extra time caring for your hair. "A deep moisturising treatment for the hair is beneficial especially for longer and/or chemically treated hair. Apply the hair mask evenly after shampooing and towel-drying hair. For better effect, wrap a hot steamy towel around your hair and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes to encourage the hair cuticles to open up, but skip this step if you have an oily scalp," Mr Lim advises.

CUTTING HAIR

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If you want to trim your fringe, Ms Goh says to have a pair of sharp-pointed scissors on hand. Start by tucking away hair that is not your fringe behind your ears, or secure with hair clips on each side behind your ears first.

To ensure that you do not end up with a fringe that is too short, Ms Goh says to never cut on wet hair, as hair will shrink a little when it dries. "Do not hold and tug the hair too tight when you are cutting it," she says.

Most importantly, "hold the scissors upright and cut at a slight diagonal angle for a soft fringe. Never hold the scissors horizontally to cut, as it is very difficult to cut a perfectly straight line."

For those who want to attempt to trim the rest of their hair, Mr Lim advises that this be done only if your hair is at least three inches below the shoulder.

Start with dry hair. Comb smoothly and let your hair sit on your chest neatly. In front of a mirror, cut on the diagonal. "If you are not sure how much to cut, always start with half an inch or less. Make sure your hair doesn't move while cutting to avoid unevenness," says Mr Lim.

HAIR COLOURING

If you think this might be a good time to try a new hair colour, please don't do it, say the experts.

"Attempting to change the colour of your hair is one of the riskiest things to do at home, unless you know what you're doing, and are familiar with the product you're using. If the result comes out wrong, and it often does, you'll need a professional to correct it," says Mr Lim.

Even then, it will take your stylist time to remove any wrong shades.

If you do need to touch up your grey roots, pick a lighter shade from the range of DIY hair colouring kits. "Choose colours with labels that state light brown or dark blonde. You can even pick the lightest shade possible, don't worry about it as the colour from a DIY kit will not be as strong as compared to a professional hair dye. It's better to go light than end up too dark," says Ms Goh.

An easy trick to make root regrowth look less obvious is "wear your parting in a zig-zag line instead of a straight one," says Ms Goh.

HOME SPA

With the mind and body feeling stressed out, a day at a spa would be a welcome treat. But for now, that isn't possible. What can be done instead, is to recreate a spa-like environment at home.

Slip into a comfortable bathrobe, head out onto the balcony if you have one, or find a quiet spot at home. Light some candles, put on some soothing music, sip on some herbal tea and feel calm again.

Wellness has always been the core for hotel chain Six Senses. Now that no one can visit its properties, it has introduced its At Home with Six Senses programme.

"In these challenging times and as a wellness-driven company, we feel that we can share what we do best - wellness - virtually," says Mathias Gerds, general manager at Six Senses Singapore.

Every Wednesday at 2pm, it hosts Facebook Live and Instagram Live sessions, teaching viewers how to create products that promote wellness, such as making DIY hand sanitisers, bath salts, body scrubs and face masks, using ingredients that can be easily found in the kitchen.

On bi-weekly Saturdays at 2pm, there are online sessions on sustainable cooking and eating well.

Another hotel that is big on wellness is Capella Singapore, which has come up with recipes to pamper the body. One of which is its Cucumber Mint Face Mist. The recipe calls for one chopped cucumber, half a lemon, one bag of mint tea, half cup of distilled water and a spray bottle.

To make the face mist, juice the cucumber and add in lemon juice. Seep the mint tea bag in hot water for five minutes and allow the tea to cool. Lastly, fill the spray bottle with the cucumber-lemon juice and the cooled tea. Store the mist in the fridge. Spritz a little on the face to stay cool and refreshed.

MAKING SCENTS

Studies have shown that scents can lift your mood, so if you are feeling a bit down, how about creating your own bespoke happy scent at home.

Dan Terry, founder of Oo La Lab, a fragrance design and mixology firm says, "scents and our human sense of smell can be particularly powerful in harnessing emotions, mood and memory to positively affect our holistic wellbeing. According to research, what we smell can affect our mood by up to 40 per cent."

Oo La Lab offers customers the chance to create their bespoke scents using its Mixology Kit, which comes with 27 core fragrance notes. You could spend an afternoon, sniffing each fragrance, setting aside the ones you like, and then mixing them together. The kit comes with all the equipment needed, such as a blotter booklet and vials.

Mr Terry says, which scents and notes you pick is a personal choice. "Simply start with knowing what familiar scents you like and are commonly aware of, or be completely adventurous and pick completely new ingredients."

The magic of the Mixology Kit is that there is always the option to change up the notes in the next bottle, if you don't like what you have created.

Boutique perfumery Maison 21G also offers bespoke scents, but without the need to blend it yourself. It offers three ways to create a scent: firstly by filling up a personality quiz, together with your favourite and disliked ingredients, and an algorithm will suggest a few scents for you. Another way is to select two favourite scents and a perfumer will create a scent out of them. If you already have a favourite perfume, Maison 21G can recommend one that comes close to it.

All scents are blended in Singapore, and you can choose to customise your bottle too. It also offers roll-ons with perfume blends for those who don't want to commit to a full-sized bottle. But if you don't like the scent, simply return it to create a new scent or get a refund.