Why: Don't mess around when it comes to treating your skin -- head to a pro instead. Picking and doing "surgery" on your own pimples usually only leads to more trouble. Lorecin-Northup says quality skin care treatments "just can't be done at home because of the unattainable ingredients, equipment and knowledge needed to give the skin what it truly needs." Going to a well-trained skin therapist that uses professional grade products will help you "see a visible difference and will maintain your skin more effectively than just using products at-home," adds King. Money-Saving Tip: Have your aesthetician recommend a few key products like the best skin brightening products on this list to use at home between facials to maintain the work they've done.
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But ... do masks at home
Why: Facial masks transcend your basic cleansing and "are easy to do at-home once a week," says King. You can remedy the woes for your skin type such as doing regular hydrating masks if you're prone to dry skin. How-to: Try one of these easy DIY skin recipes or pick up a kit like the Kinara Red Carpet Facial Kit, $14 which is a three-step process including a peel, neutralizer and mask. It's almost as luxurious as going to the spa -- no joke.
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Get professional straightening and relaxing done at a salon
Why: Tingley says, "I would fork over the dough and get a professional straightening
treatment twice a year and stop spending mega bucks on blowouts all year."
Money-Saving Tip: While it may seem pricy, she brings up a good point: "depending on how often you get blowouts, it can often save you hundreds if you go every week. Not to mention time!"
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But ... do deep conditioning treatments at home
Why: "I would definitely skip deep conditioning treatments in the salon and opt to do them at home. Any conditioner can become a treatment if you add heat," says Tingly. How-to: "Load up your hair with lots of your regular conditioner and comb it through from roots to ends and clip it up on top of your head and cover with a shower cap," says Tingley. Let the conditioner set for 30 minutes. "The heat generated from your head will help it to penetrate deep into the hair shaft," she says. Do this once a week to "keep your hair super healthy and shiny without spending a fortune in the salon," she adds.
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Get a deep tissue massage at the spa
Why: It's pretty much impossible to do a deep tissue massage on yourself says King. You just won't reap all the benefits of a pro massage, which include, "an increase in blood and lymph circulation, oxygenation of tissues, removal of toxins and lactic acid from tight muscles, improved sleep patterns and digestion, etc. Not to mention the release of endorphins and lowering of stress hormones, so you feel amazing," she says. Money-Saving Tip: Find a cheapie massage place that'll do a great job -- you just might not get the frills of a robe, sauna, etc. And if a light massage is all you need, grab a partner and make them watch this video to improve their massage skills.
Nothing has us running for the hills more than the idea of doing a skin care treatment like a bikini wax at home -- cue horror movie soundtrack. There are some things you can do safely and easily at home, but then there are certainly hair care and skin care treatments that should be left to trusted professionals. Case in point: Loving the trendy lob (aka long bob) is one thing, but deciding to do it yourself by plopping a fruit bowl on your head (visions of the Jack in the Box commercials are running through our minds) is definitely not recommended, and will most likely demand a trip to the hair salon afterwards anyway. So leave the scissors to the pros by going in for a haircut. On the other hand, something like a deep conditioning treatment you can do at home by simply using your fave conditioner and a shower cap. Doing this once a week will help maintain shiny, healthy hair.
You don't have to skip spa trips or settle for uneven highlights because we picked the brains of skin care experts, Olga Lorecin-Northup of Kinara Spa in West Hollywood, Calif. and Annet King, Director of Training and Development for The International Dermal Institute, as well as Whitney Olson, a hairstylist at the Warren-Tricomi salon in Los Angeles and celebrity hairstylist Jessica Tingley -- they revealed which hair and skin care treatments are worth splurging on, and which skin care and hair services you can do at home, yielding pretty much the same results.
