How to come out of hibernation
The clocks change on Sunday — a wake-up call for grooming habits you’ve let slip over the winter
WITH less than a week before British Summer Time starts on March 29, British Grooming Time has kicked off in earnest.
Do you want to present perfectly primped limbs to the world when the weather heats up and opaque tights and cardies are cast aside?
Then you need to get to work. Here, we test the latest beauty gadgets and creams and give them a BGT (British Grooming Time) rating.
BRIGHTEN DULL HAIR
PROBLEM: Spring sunshine means it’s time to lighten your locks. ‘Going two or three shades lighter will keep hair looking natural, but fresh for spring,’ says Jack Howard, Poppy Delevingne’s colourist at Paul Edmonds salon in Knightsbridge.
‘Or you can freshen up your existing dye job with an at-home mask.’
SOLUTION: I decide to lighten my fiveweek- old highlights with Maria Nila Golden Blonde Colour Refresh (£16.99, sallyexpress.com, launches on Monday).
This fruity- smelling non- permanent hair mask promises to revitalise dyed hair using temporary pigments. I do a strand test first, then, reassured, squeeze a little orange-gold liquid into my hand and massage into wet hair.
To my relief, my highlights do, indeed, look a couple of shades lighter and my hair is glossy and groomed.
BGT rating: 7/10
REGAIN YOUR GLOW
PROBLEM: ‘The beginning of spring needs to signal the end of lacklustre skin,’ says Dr Mervyn Patterson, cosmetic doctor at Woodford Medical Aesthetics.
‘Months of cold weather and central heating have taken their toll. The top layer of your skin is full of dead cells. Microdermabrasion is a great way to get rid of dead cells and dirt.’
SOLUTION: The PMD Personal Microderm (£150, harrods.com) is a hand-held gadget for at-home microdermabrasion.
It looks like an electric toothbrush, but at the end is a clear plastic lid with a hole at the top. Under this is a small, flat head covered in fine aluminium oxide crystals. Read the instructions carefully — this could damage your skin if used incorrectly.
I choose a medium-strength head and turn it on, running the end of the nozzle up the back of my hand. There is a faint tingling.
I try it on my face, holding the skin taut and running it carefully and slowly up my cheeks and chin. When I’ve finished I look much brighter, my fine lines are reduced and my skin is clear and glowing.
I’m impressed with the results around my nostrils, which had lots of blocked pores. Expensive, but seriously effective. I follow this with celebrity favourite, Epionce Intensive Nourishing Cream (£79, epionce.co.uk), for hydration.
BGT rating: 9/10
ULTRA SMOOTH LEGS
PROBLEM: ‘Winter can leave your legs as scaly as a thirsty lizard,’ says Dr Patterson. ‘Those comfort- ing hot baths will have leached away natural hydrating lipids.’
This season’s fashionable ripped jeans and off-the- shoulder tops mean every bit of you needs to be petal-soft.
SOLUTION: ‘Exfoliate away dead dry skin and use a rich moisturiser all over,’ says Dr Patterson.
I whiz up a body scrub by slugging a glug of coconut oil into a jam jar, adding a mound of sea salt and shaking well. I smear the gloop all over me in the shower and get to work with a loofah.
After rinsing, I apply Marks & Spencer’s Huile d’Olive Miracle Oil (£10, marksandspencer.com, out at the end of the month). It smells divine and the next morning my skin feels clean and silky.
BGT rating: 8/10
FIRM UP ARMS
PROBLEM: ‘As skin loses collagen with time, it begins to sag, including on your upper arms,’ says Dr Patterson. Not a problem when you can cover up with a cardigan, but tricky in a sleeveless dress.
I have noticed that my arms look saggy. I have my eye on some sleeveless tops from Zara, but I’m reluctant to remove my cardies.
SOLUTION: Ultrasound waves stimulate collagen production to make skin plump and radiant. I try the ACCELerator Ultra (£175, harrods.com), by U.S. skin specialist Nurse Jamie.
I apply conductor gel to the metal head and move it in a circular motionti over my leftl ft arm. All I feel is a slight warmth. Apparently, results may be seen within three minutes — but not on me.
BGT rating: 4/10
PERFECTLY PALE
PROBLEM: The fashion for pale skin means you can’t conceal wispy hairs under a layer of fake tan.
‘Pale, end-of-winter skin means dark hairs on arms stand out more,’ says Dr Patterson.
SOLUTION: ‘Hair removal creams will probably be better than waxing,’ says Dr Patterson. ‘It’s hard to hold skin taut and pull off a waxing strip with one hand.’
I invest in Veet Natural Inspirations hair removal cream for sensitive skin (£4.66, boots.com) and smooth it on my forearm.
After five minutes I remove it with the spatula and wipe the area clean. My skin looks and feels like satin. Invest immediately.
BGT RATING: 9/10
BABY SOFT KNEES
PROBLEM: My knees are so wrinkly they look like walnuts.
SOLUTION: ‘Marine algae is good for hydrating, especially super- dry areas such h as k knees andd elbows,’lb ’ says Dr Patterson.
So I try a Casmara Algae peel-off mask (£9.99, boots.com). This bright red mask comes in a black cylinder with two sachets that you mix in the lid, apply, then peel off.
When mixed, the powder and clear gel turn into a vibrant poster paint gloop, which I slop on my knees. After 15 minutes, the mask is set hard and I peel it off to reveal babysoft knees. A great one-off.
BGT rating: 7/10
WAX HAIRY TOES
PROBLEM: ‘Open-toed mules are in fashion, so hairy Hobbit toes must be dealt with,’ says podiatrist Emma Supple.
SOLUTION: ‘Wax toes,’ says Supple. ‘Hairs here are thick and you’ll see the ends of the follicles if you shave.’
Prepare feet by soaking in hot water and scrub with a nailbrush, then apply a cream such as Supple London Mineral foot cream (£16, supplefeet.com), which contains lactic acid to melt away dead skin.
I cut a strip from a Veet Sensitive Skin wax strip (£7.29, superdrug. com) and apply it along each toe. When I rip it off, my feet look cleaner and well-groomed.
BGT rating: 8/10