9 Weird Beauty Hacks Which Used To Exist And Hopefully You Don’t Do Anymore

We all resorted to embarrassingly silly techniques (aptly called hacks, actually) to make ourselves prettier. While most of these kooky experiments were done by us during our childhood, a good number of them used to be a thing not-so-long-ago. So, we thought we’d revisit them, just to ensure that you know they are terrible ideas!

Kajal as brow pencil

Remember when people would use kajals to pencil in their brows? Two caterpillar-like tattoos would frame the eyes like reversed Nike ticks. Fortunately, that’s not a thing anymore among those who go a bit overboard with their love for “bold” brows.

Powdering the face with talc

While some people still bake their make-up with baby powder – a perfectly acceptable practice – there were some who would use talcum powder to mattify their make-up. Perfumed, ashy white faces would then roam the streets.

Setting make-up with hairspray

Someone used their ability to oversimplify things and thought, “Hey, if it sets hair, why can’t it set make-up?” That is how the horrible idea that you should spritz hairspray on your face, was born. Nobody seemed to realise that the alcohol, chemicals, and hardening agents coating your strands, shouldn’t be on your face.

Removing blackheads with glue

A trend that isn’t as old as you’d think, creating a peel off pore-strip with glue is nevertheless a bad idea. Glue has a lot of chemicals and adhesives which irritate skin and can damage it. Why not buy a normal old peel off mask?

Using stationery as nail colour or make-up

It is one thing to play with sketch pens and draw lips on Barbie dolls. It is another to put on sharpie-style nail colour. It is even worse to use black sketch pens as eyeliner. The point is, don’t do any of these amateur things.

Brushing hair a 100 times at night

In old Enid Blytons and princess stories, you may have noticed little girls talking about brushing their hair a 100 times every night. The idea behind this was to stimulate the scalp and improve circulation. This would result in the scalp’s oil reaching the ends, moisturising the hair. However, doing that a 100 times is not only overkill, but also not great for hair. For most people, it can make the scalp too greasy and build a lot of static in dry hair.

Washing oily skin multiple times a day with soap

Overwashing oily skin was a logical step for people who thought oiliness should be remedied with a good scrubbing. However, skin is more complicated than that, which is why washing oily skin multiple times a day is detrimental for skin health (and could make it oilier!).

Using bottle caps and other weird tricks to plump your lips

Last year, lip plumping inspired a level of craze nobody anticipated. From suction devices to bottle caps, people went to great lengths to make their pouts plumper. The only thing they ended up with was bruised lips. If you’re still doing this, please stop.

Using razors to get bangs

Remember those emo days when straightened, razor-cut bangs were in? A trend so great, this even reached beauty salons. If you ask for this in the post-emo era of 2017, you will get a stern scolding from your hairstylist. Just FYI.