After a successful show and all the appreciation for the performance, a performer is always very happy and excited. In that excitement when you get back home many a time do you just eat, brush your teeth, pop the needed vitamins and hit the sack? No, you don’t. Is your hair and skin ready for bed just yet? You have to prepare your skin and hair before you hit snooze after a successful dance performance. I spoke to my student cosmetic dermatologist Dr Rashmi Shetty and my hairstylist Shiva of Shiva Stylo to suggest a bedtime beauty ritual for dancers. Here’s a checklist for your hair and skin that they suggested that a dancer just couldn’t give a miss.
Hair: Do not sleep with dirty hair, you’ll be clogging your pores if you do so, wash your hair if it is dirty, this way you’ll also be saving time in the morning. Don’t sleep with wet hair either; your hair should be almost dry when you sleep unless you want to wake up with your hair sticking out in weird angles. Comb out all the heavy products you have used in the day, make sure to sleep with tangle-free hair. Vitamin E is food for the hair and also the skin, cut a vitamin E capsule and apply it to your problem areas. Falling hair, dry scalp, thinning hair, frayed ends — it works wonders on them all.
For female dancers with long hair, tie your hair in a high pony so that the scalp is able to breath and avoid tying it too tight as hair on the crown starts thinning first. Tying hair loosely is necessary, especially if you have long hair; your hair might get tugged while you are asleep. Pull your hair up right to the hairline at the front close to your forehead, comb softly and tie it up in a top knot. It’s like working against the natural direction of the hair. When you open your hair in the morning, it will look full bodied, as if you have blow-dried it.
Face: Cleansing, mositurising and sun protection are the three golden words for your skin care regime; wipe off every last bit of make up using a cleansing lotion. Wash your face with a good facewash, use a moisturiser with anti-oxidants regardless of your skin type. This is the least you can do for your skin and something that you must start doing in early 20s and from the start of your dancing career. Indian climate and skin are extremely prone to tan, so use a skin-lightening agent before you start noticing a tan. Exfoliation is not as simple as it seems, people can over-zealously scrub skin, sapping it of its natural oils. Instead, splash a lot of hot water, remember not scalding hot on your face to open up the pores.
Take a dollop of mild face wash on a soft sponge and work up lather while scrubbing the face gently in circular motions. This is more than enough rather than the exfoliating with harsh substances. Rubbing your face with face wash and a soft sponge has the same effect as exfoliating. However, remember that with the entire outdoor and odd hour rehearsals schedule without sunscreen, all this is doesn’t mean anything.
Eyes: As a dancer never has a fixed timetable and travel to different cities and countries is vital, you may see darkening and fine lines appear around the eyes before anywhere else. Using a slightly stronger anti-aging cream around the under-eye area is always advised, which helps to keep the delicate skin around the eyes free from fine lines.
All the eye makeup, artificial lashes, heavy kajal, etc should be removed with a proper eye makeup remover, and remember not to use a face make up remover for the eyes. Eyes are a delicate area and are more prone to problems so use make up remover especially ment for eyes.
Hands and feet:
A dancer’s expression comes from their hands and feet apart from their face. So maintaining the hands and feet is most important, since there are no oil glands on your hands and feet, they tend to get drier and hence age faster. In the quest of maintaining their facial looks, a dancer often neglects their hands and feet. Use more creamy products for your hands, especially upto the forearms, preferably something with alpha-hydroxy acids. The same stands true for your feet.