Transcription
Okay, listen up, gorgeous. You do not need to spend $10,000 on fillers, facials, and skincare hauls to look like that girl. Most of the glow up game is simply strategy and consistency. So, today I'm breaking down a few high ROI beauty tips that will literally make you look expensive on a budget. And what ROI means is simply your return on your investment. So, let's get into it.
If you're new to my channel, my name is May and I share personal growth blowups and transformational tips, whether that's physical, mental, or spiritual. This video is for anyone who's trying to level up their looks without dipping into their bank account. So, I'm going to be focusing on DIY beauty, skincare hacks, wellness upgrades, all of the stuff that can give you results, but for an 80 to 90% discount or free.99.
First of all, let's get into a few disclaimers. While it's true that in life you get what you pay for, you have to decide what's worth it to you. Sometimes the expensive price point is literally for the convenience, for the ambiance, and also for the knowledge of someone who knows more than you. For example, a DIY facial means you're learning to do the whole thing yourself instead of lying down at a spa with a technician giving you a skincare analysis and then doing the facial for you. But the end results that you get from it will still be comparable if you know yourself and you do the same steps correctly. And then obviously there are also things out there that you can't do yourself like certain procedures or even surgery for example. Like this was expensive. We discussed this plenty of times already on my channel and this video is about your glow up not mine. And that's another Glock tip for you. A positive attitude is free and it's magnetic and it's beautiful. As a rule, I do not accept insults or bullying and I literally don't allow people to be ugly and negative on my channel. Nobody wants that energy. Not even you. This is a glow up channel, not a clown down channel, guys. But in all seriousness, some of the best things in life are either free or a good deal. And I'm a good deal hunter.
So, first, let's talk about a few ways to snatch up your face. So, let's talk about the first thing, which is lymphatic sculpting. and specifically for your jaw lines and your cheekbones because facial puffiness is the enemy of looking snatched. You can do some lymphatic drainage every day, maybe after your skin care to work in the products with your fingers, or you can even use one of these, which is a gouacha tool. You can also use an ice roller, which I have here. And if you don't want to invest into any of these products, that's fine, too. You can either grab an ice cube instead of an ice roller, or your clean hands to do this. And I actually prefer to use my hands because it's easier and there's less things to wash afterwards. The key is to always start by activating your lymph nodes around your chest muscles, your armpits, your clavicle bones, and then your neck for a few minutes. And then move on to your face and massage your serums or your creams upwards. And then sweep downwards once you get to the side of your face towards your lymph nodes, especially around the ears and your neck. and then back into your chest and down into your armpits and massage your armpits when you're done. And always remember the last step is to drain everything down from the sides. So, I do this every morning with a hydrating serum and it makes my jawline sharper, my cheekbones are more prominent and my eyes less swollen, especially if you tend to retain water or bloat or wake up inflamed. Sometimes I wake up red with little bumps around my eyes and I'm all swollen from inflammation. And what I do to combat that is to wash my face so that I don't touch my face and spread the sebum and the face oils and then do my skin care and then massage. And usually that inflammation goes away pretty quickly, 15 to 20 minutes max.
A potassium and hydration-rich diet is also another way to look like you got a subtle buckle fat removal without spending thousands on surgery. And that is also to cut way back on ultrarocessed food, overly salty and overly sweet foods and add in these potassium rich and water loving ingredients including water itself. So in terms of food that can be cucumber, leafy greens, lemon water, chia seeds, wild salmon, even bananas are rich in potassium and a great source of prebiotic which means that it feeds good bacteria in your body and regulates digestion. So, if you eat a very healthy and nutritious diet, and you try and avoid so-called filler food, which means stuff with no nutrients inside, all of the waste products in your body is just going to flush out of you. You do not want that stuff lingering around your intestines, your liver, and around your body, on your face. And if you focus on eating nutritious food, you're going to eventually end up looking way healthier and glow up from the inside out and debloat within days. Let's say compared to someone who's eating potato chips and drinking soda every day. Now, soda is carbonated water, which means you're also drinking a lot of carbon dioxide. And of course, that will make you feel bloated afterwards. And most people do not realize this, but 60 to 70% of facial puffiness can be attributed to your diet. You do not need to starve. You do not need to stop eating all of your favorite foods immediately. You just need to eat nutritiously for the sake of your face car. A consistently good diet is the best form of skinare, period.
And the same thing goes with drinking water. It is non-negotiable. If you want to deppuff and stop your face and body from holding on to water and all kinds of other things, honestly, like skin texture issues, acne, all of these things, you need to replenish your body with new supplies of water so that your body knows how to let go of the old stuff instead of holding on to fluids for survival. I always say this, the body is really amazing if you think you don't need that much water, but really your body is on survival mode when you're not drinking enough water. I will always support whatever ways that you can do to drink more water. Like for example, I'm always carrying a bottle of water with me with a straw in it, so I'm always sipping on something and I'm never caught without a bath. You can even juice your own fruits, make smoothies, put lemon juice in your water, which I like to do, or even flavor electrolytes. Just do whatever you need to do to get more water in your system, as long as you're not constantly drinking super sugary processed drinks that cause bloat.
Same thing goes with cold and heat contrast therapy, which is one of my favorite budget snatchy hacks. So, you know, all these like $200 cryotherapy and infrared spas and going to the day spas and all that and that feeling you get from coming home from the spa, you can do the same thing at home for free. The concept is basically just switching between cold and hot temperatures. And I like to first start with warm or hot temperature to open up the pores and warm up my face and then close the pores and snatch my face up later on with very cold temperature. In practical terms, this means that you can start your day with facial steaming or a warm towel or a warm compress and then alternate it with a cold face towel or dip your face in a bowl of ice water or even use a face roller or use ice. You can also do this in the shower and just alternate between very warm and very cold water, maybe 1 minute at a time. This contrast is a really great for boosting blood circulation. It really tightens up your skin, brightens up your complexion instantly, and it's such a good thing to add to your morning routine because it will also wake you up. This is also amazing if you're about to put on makeup or if you're filming something. You're going to feel so fresh and so snatched afterwards.
I've also been loving micro needling and I've been focusing on skin regeneration and cellular turnover for my skincare routine. Those are my goals. And of course, I love my SPF and retinol, but there's only so much it can do, right? SPF is a must and non-negotiable for me, especially since, as you guys can see, I live in a glass box. But retinol, despite how amazing it is, is still considered a surface level treatment. So if you have something on a deeper level like acne scars, pitted scars, textured skin, wrinkles, fine lines, or even stretch marks, I want you to look into micro needling. And this is probably one of the most effective treatments you can do and also the most expensive thing that I recommend. But there is a DIY version that you can do yourself that's way cheaper than regular micro needling. And if you can do it correctly, you can still get good results. So what micro needling does is it triggers your body's natural collagen production through controlled injury to regenerate new skin cells. And over time that means less scars and fine lines, more plump skin and less overall dullness. They typically offer micro needling and med spas and some facialists and also dermatologists do it as well, but it costs a lot of money. So, I want to talk about a DIY micro needling tool that you can safely use at home that can actually change your skin longterm because you can do it more frequently and more consistently, especially since med spot treatments are so expensive. Just make sure to try to be religious with hygiene. Disinfect your tool with rubbing alcohol and replace the needles frequently and use it only on clean skin. I like to wipe my face and hands with rubbing alcohol before I start. And then once you're done, follow up with a soothing serum. I like to use serums with healing ingredients like Santella Aiatica after micro needling. Just remember not to use this retinol or any other kind of strong activives at the same time. And don't put on makeup afterwards and especially not if you're taking Accutane. Go gentle if you're just starting out. And this isn't like a the harder you go, the more results you get kind of situation. You need to build this up over time and stay consistent with it like everything else in life.
So, I'd like to thank my sponsor Banish. So, Banish is the number one dermatologist recommended at home micro needling brand. I started using the Banisher 3.0 from Banish. And I'll be real, I was kind of skeptical at first. I didn't think that an at home micro needling tool could compare to professional treatment. But I've been using it for about a month now. I even brought it with me to Santorini and used it there and it's made a visible difference. Even though my skin has come a long way from being covered in acne, I still deal with a bit of issues here and there. I've been using Bandage to help with old facial scars and some lines on my face. And I use it like a stamp on my face after cleansing and before applying the serum. And I get to do this about once a week because it is a bit more gentle than professional treatments. Immediately every time the day after I use it, I see my skin get noticeably plumper. And then I started noticing my pores started shrinking and my nasal labial fold lines were beginning to soften up at around week 2 or three. Like at least a 35% improvement in my lines, which is honestly faster than I expected. plus about a 10% improvement on my old facial scars so far. And I have no doubt if I keep using this for a few more months, my skin is going to look brand new because of the compounding effect. The more you do this, better it gets. So, the Banisher uses goldplated titanium needles, the thinnest on the market, which makes it way gentler than other at home micro needling devices and reduces the risk of scarring from excess trauma. So, it uses a self-cleaning cap, which makes it super hygienic, which was also another top concern of mine with at home needling is that you need to keep everything clean, especially the needles to prevent introducing bacteria into your skin. And Banish gets that and makes it really easy to sanitize. So, I picked up the starter kit, which includes the Banisher 3.0 with two 0.5 mm heads, which I learned those are actually the best for acne scars, and that each head can be used up to eight sessions. It also comes with additional 1.0 mm and 0.25 25mm heads for gentler treatment, the pumpkin enzyme mask, which is incredible for exfoliating, the vitamin C serum, as well as the vitamin C cream for brightening up your skin, as well as the fighter gel for calming breakouts. On top of all of that, you also get a cute storage bag and also a $30 gift card towards your next needle replacement. Using the micro needling tool with the vitamin C creams is also helping me brighten up some sun freckles and skin discoloration. All of that stuff is a $366 value for just $225, which is wild when you think about how where I live, one single inoff micro needling session can cost an average of $500. And you also typically need to get multiple sessions to even see a difference. So if you do the math, $225 gets you 32 sessions with the needles included plus skincare products. 32 professional sessions cost us $16,000, which means comparatively you're getting a 98.6 discount, which is unheard of. So, if you're working on a serious glowout, whether it's smoother skin, tighter pores, fading old scars, this is 100% worth having in your routine. So, check out the banisher at the link in the description if you want to find out more and get yourself one of these.
The next thing I'm going to talk about is the hydration sandwich method. So, I know I already talked a little bit about skincare, but I didn't really talk about exactly how you should layer your skincare products because it matters in that it makes your products work together more effectively and last longer. And let's say if you're applying olusive or oilier products early in your steps, then it's going to make everything else after that not work for you. And that is exactly how you waste money. This method is also how you layer your skinincare so that you can get dewy skin. And this is called the hydration sandwich method. So after you cleanse your face, you start layering hydration by misting your face with maybe a toner that has hyaluronic acid in it or something very hydrating and then your serum and then your moisturizer. And then if you want to at night, you can seal everything off with a balm or an oil. This last step is going to lock in water and give you a very smooth and plush finish. You can also do this in the morning as well if you have dry skin or if you're about to put your makeup on so that your makeup will glide on more smoothly. Extra bonus if you sleep with a humidifier which gives the air around you a bit more moisture. And this is going to give you that soft Korean glass skin texture by the time you wake up in the morning.
And if you want to go a little bit lighter on your makeup and rely on your natural glow, you can use natural highlighting and use skinincare oils as a highlighter instead. This way, you're making your skincare products work overtime and multitask for you. So, instead of piling on glitter and highlighter on your cheekbones, you can mix a tiny drop of facial oil like Hoba or rose hip for example, which are my personal favorite oils for your face, you can get a bottle of that that lasts forever for about $8 to $10. And then you mix that into your moisturizer. And then you apply to your cheekbones, your brow bones, and your cupid's bow. And this will mimic a natural light bounce and make your face look sexy and sculpted and not sweaty. Because where you apply this facial oil matters. If you do it all over your face, that's not going to work. And this is the difference between looking dewy and looking absolutely radiant. Because a gorgeous and expensive face reflects light in all of the right places, and you want to highlight your best features. This trick is definitely going to get you there.
And you don't have to use overpriced mask or go to the spa to get a facial treatment. You can do this with DIY face masks with active kitchen ingredients, meaning ingredients that you already have in your kitchen. So, what I like to do is to mix two or three ingredients based off of whatever your skin concerns are. My personal favorite combo is yogurt, turmeric, and honey. Everyone has different goals, so I will list down a few of my favorites and tell you what I like about them. So, let's start with honey. It's a potent hctin, which means it can pull in moisture deep into your skin. It's also naturally antibacterial and antifungal. It's full of enzymes and antioxidants. All of these things are great for healing your skin and supporting hydration, controlling acne, and gently exfoliating and brightens up your dull skin. And then there's yogurt and turmeric. And this combo is anti-inflammatory. It brightens up your skin and gently exfoliates. Yogurt specifically has lactic acid, which is AHA. And this actually exfoliates your skin by loosening up dead skin and promotes more cell turnover. There are serums that have AHA, and you don't need that honestly if you have some yogurt in your fridge. And because yogurt is also a probiotic, it helps balance out your skin's microbiome, especially if you're prone to acne breakouts. Turmeric is rich in curcumin, which is a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. And this reduces the level of redness that you have in your skin and it can also help you lighten up post acne marks. The key is you don't want to overdo the turmeric because it can stain your skin. So I would use a pinch and matte.
Egg whites is the classic live and snatch mask. The aluminan, which is egg white protein, firms up your skin temporarily by forming a thin film on your face that contracts on your skin as it dries, which gives you that snatch look. It can also tighten up your pores and slightly mattify the oil on your skin, which helps with shrinking large pores. And if you're extra prone to oily skin, I would mix this with a little bit of lemon juice. And then there's clay and apple cider vinegar, which is amazing for congested skin. It's like a vacuum for your pores. For example, bentonite clay will draw out all the oil and debris and blackheads and pollution on your face. It's very purifying. And then the apple cider vinegar will slightly lower the pH on your skin, which helps balance the pH levels on your face and acts as a m exfoliant and also enhances the clay at the same time. You only want to do this combo once a week max because it is quite strong.
Cucumber slices are also so soothing and amazing for deeppuffing. It's made of mostly water, but also has vitamin C and a bit of acid in it, which reduces the swelling. It also calms down the irritation. And if you're using cool cucumber slices, it helps constrict blood vessels and reduces fluid retention, which is excellent for lymphatic drainage. Lastly, rice water is one of the best DIY toners you can use for your face. You usually get this by rinsing or boiling rice and then using the water that's left over from that. So, this has inositol and amino acids that tone and soo your skin. It supports elasticity and gives it a nice glow. You actually see this ingredient in East Asian skincare a lot. It's great for irritated skin. It soothes it and brightens skin over time. And it's also great for sensitive skin. You can use this to rinse your face as well as just soak a cotton pad and then layer the cotton pad all over your face for a gentle mask. And then you leave that on for about 10 to 15 minutes. Whatever it is that your skin needs, you now have a DIY facial mask for it. For example, if it's feeling inflamed or if you're dealing with a breakout, then use honey yogurt and turmeric. If it's puffy and sensitive, use cucumber or rice water. And if it's oily and clogged, play in vinegar. And if you want to snatch up your face, use egg whites.
One of the quickest ways that I use to maintain my face and make it look good and glowy is with DIY dermiplaning. So, I use a very clean and sharp facial razor. They make them for the eyebrows and face with like a single blade on it to remove little baby hairs, also known as peach fuzz, as well as dead skin, off of the top layer of your skin. Make sure to go light and don't rush this process because you are literally taking a razor to your face and you don't want to cut yourself. And I only do this about once or twice a month matte and then follow it up with a toner and serum. And never do it while you have active pimples or acne. If you do this a couple of times a month, your makeup is going to go on much smoother and your skin is also going to look more glowy. And the exfoliation is going to help with skin cell turnover. Ideally, I would do this at night right before going to bed because you don't want to put on makeup after this or a ton of skincare products, especially not with anything like acids or activives, especially because afterwards your skin is going to be a little bit sensitive. Less is more here, guys. And just give it a good 12 hours at least for your skin to recover.
So, we all know that getting enough sleep is one of the best things that you can do for your glow up, right? Right. But the way that you sleep also matters. It is an important part of your face cart glow-up strategy. Number one, you want to create as little friction as possible between your face and even between your hair and the bed sheets that you use. And usually that means using a silk or satin material bedding for where you sleep. And that is going to protect your face from creasing and also reduces morning swelling and bloating literally. Ideally, you can use 100% silk, but if that's expensive, which it can be, you can also use a silk pillowcase and then use cotton or tensile for your bed sheets. Make sure that it's breathable. material and not polyester. And you know how sometimes people wake up with all these lines on your faces after sleeping? That is literally from the creases on the pillowcases in the bed sheets. Especially if you're sleeping on the sides of your face or on your face, which I'm telling you, you can do whatever you want in your life. Sleep however you want, but then you have to deal with the consequences. That's your choice to make, not mine. But I will tell you though that there are certain sleeping positions that will create more lines on your face over time. And it will be a disservice for me to not tell you that because your sleeping position is free compared to you spending thousands on Botox later on in life, which I don't even feel like I will ever need it because I do all of these other things. So, of course, the best way to sleep for your face is on your back. And ideally, you don't press your face against your hair either, especially if you have long hair like me. I used to wake up with lines from my hair on my face and my hair used to also be so messy until I started wearing a silk satin bonnet to bed which honestly saved my hair from a bunch of split ends. I don't feel like a mess from my hair being all over my face all night which leads to my next point actually.
Your hygiene matters so much. Yes, there's bacteria and fungus everywhere including on your skin on every surface and in the air. But you don't have to keep introducing new bacteria on your face constantly, right? Make sure to clean your pillowcases and your bed sheets once a week at least. And keep your hair out of your face while you sleep with that soil bonnet on because you do not want to introduce more bacteria on your face. And this is such a subtle thing because a lot of us don't think about how frequently we touch our face during the day and what else we have touched, whether our hands are clean or not, whether our body or our hair is clean or not before we go to bed. And then spending 8 to 10 hours in bed with dirty hair all over our face and dirty bed sheets and dirty pillowcases. All of these things are so insidious and it adds up over time. I used to have terrible acne until I vastly improved my hygiene. I'm not saying that this is the only cause of acne, okay? There are many causes, but a lack of hygiene and the bacteria and fungus that results from that can be a huge contributor and make things worse for you and cause breakouts. And you don't know what kinds of bacteria and fungus strains that you're introducing to your face. And both bacteria and fungus can cause acne and breakouts. If you have a partner or a man who you know does not wash his hands very frequently, let me just tell you honestly, you better make sure this man does not touch your face with his dirty hands for the sake of your face card.
Last of all, if you wear makeup, make sure to thoroughly remove your makeup before you go to bed. Otherwise, that's stuff that's on your face all day already, like powder and foundation, accumulating dirt and sweat and bacteria. And then you're going to be bringing it with you to bed, which is when your body is healing and optimizing. And that is when your skin cells are also regenerating and you're blocking a lot of that from happening because your skin is too busy dealing with your leftover day old foundation. Not to mention, it rubs on your pillowcases. It rubs on your bed sheets. Mm-m. No, no, no. No matter how tired you are, please wash your face thoroughly. I never go to bed without showering or taking a bath first. And I'm always wearing breathable natural fabrics to sleep. And you guys have to know this for the sake of your glow up. Polyester material is literally plastic fabric. It traps heat, clings onto sweat, suffocates your airflow. When you wear it to sleep, it builds up humidity between your body and your bed sheets. Your skin cannot breathe properly. And you have oil sebum and bacteria sit pressed up against your pores with the sweat. And I'm telling you this, I used to have really bad back acne because of my bed sheets and the clothes I wear to bed. I dealt with that for years. So, if you're acne prone, this is a recipe for congestion and flare ups and you don't want any of that. And if you're healing or have sensitive skin, that will also delay cellular repair. Your sleep itself can also suffer because of non-breathable material because your body needs to cool down in order to fall asleep. And polyester does the opposite by trapping heat and warming you up.
It's all about the intentional effort that you can do both actively and passively to have everything build up over time into your glow up strategy. And one day you're going to wake up with an expensive face car and nobody's going to believe you when you tell them you did it yourself. If you have any other tips, I would love to read it in the comments. And I make videos like these every week for glowing up and leveling up different areas of your life, whether that's physical, mental, or spiritual. And hopefully you enjoyed this video. I will see you in the next one. [Music]