Beauty Q & A with John Gustafson

Our make-up, skincare and beauty guru solves all your beauty dilemmas

John,

I am going on holiday soon and had been thinking about getting gel nails done. I have had false nails done before and they nearly ruined my nails, but the lady at my manicurist tells me this is completely different and safe to do. I trust your opinion and was wondering what you think of having this done and if you think I will do more damage than good. I have worked to get my nails in good condition and don't want to throw all of that away for the vanity of having pretty holiday nails - but I don't want to spend half of my holiday fixing chipped nail lacquer either! So whatever you say: I am going to go with!

Cheers,

Candii

 

Candii,

No pressure then! So here is the deal - if I had to say whether or not you should give gel nails a go - the answer would be, yes. Gel is not anything like having tips, wraps, or extensions put on. The gel is a sort of nail lacquer that gets "baked" to the nail using a small UV light. The light hardens the nail colour and you have completely chip-proof nails for about a month! You can have your fingers and your toes done and the colour will stay true in both sea and sun. Nor can you ruin the shiny finish with things like hair products and solvents. I was a little bit dubious as well until I had them tested out by a make-up artist mate and she fell completely in love with it. She has never been able to have pretty nails because products like brush cleaners would always dull the finish and she had chips all of the time.

The only slight fallback is that as the nail grows out, you can see the ridge of the colour at the bed of the nails. But that was more if you used a very dark shade. If you were to choose a pretty summery shade or a French manicure - you will barely notice it. When it comes time to either remove them or have them redone, all they do is soak you in a special solvent and gently scrape off the old colour and replace it with new. This is ideal for weddings, events, and especially holidays. Your toes can withstand sand and surf and never look anything other than salon fresh. Completely worth the cost if you ask me. I know Nails Inc. does a special offer on Sundays to Tuesdays as well, so you can have it done a really reasonable price. You won't get the full colour spectrum that you would with ordinary colour, but you will get extraordinary wear. Verdict? Worth it!

Happy holiday,

John

 

Dear John,

I know in the past you have said you are not a big fan of curling your eyelashes. I was just wondering why that was? I would be lost without my lash curler and was just wondering why a professional would be so anti.

Curious,

Beth

 

Beth,

It is not so much that I am not a fan of curling eyelashes, it is that I am not a fan of the medieval torture device most of you use to curl them with! Many of you swear that you never pull out any lashes and I have to believe you, but I would never risk clamping all of my lashes and squeezing them between two cruel pieces of metal! Not to mention the fact that I would most likely pinch my lids just as I applied the death-grip to my lash line. But I can appreciate how much more they open the eyes up and emphasise the lashes. So it is a double edged sword. If you are going to torment your lashes into submission, make sure you never ever ever curl them with a clamp lash curler after you have applied mascara. No matter how much better you think this works. It means there is no give at all between the rubber stopper and the metal bar and you will be far more likely to pull lashes out. And they don't always grow back! Gently apply pressure before mascara and only enough to get the required bend to your lashes. Apply mascara and then leave them alone. Even if you are going to go out in the evening, don't clamp them again unless you have removed your mascara from the day.

Now, if you ask me, the way to achieve the bend is by using a heated lash curler. These I have no problem with at all and actually - rather love them. You will have seen me using these in countless handbag TV video clips and they are completely safe. Heated curlers work by gently warming your mascara, melting the waxes in the formulation, and holding the curve you create. To do this, apply your mascara and comb them through to remove any clumps. Then press the pre-heated lash wand filament to the root of the lashes and press it back toward the lid. You will feel a gentle warmth, but you cannot burn the lid or the lashes. Count to five and then move along the lashes. If you want a more extreme curl, press the tips of the lashes back and hold for another five seconds. Voila. The great thing with the heated variety is that CAN use it multiple times, so if you are going out for the evening, heat them for around 20 seconds and use them again to refresh. The only warning I would give is to make sure you don't run the filament of the heated wand through your lashes like a brush - you will end up gluing your lashes together. Press back, count to five, and then move to the next section. The other nice thing is you will never get an angled crimp in the lashes and the heated curler will allow you to follow your lashline regardless the size and shape of your eye. All of them are pretty much the same as the next. Prices vary and the stylishness does as well. But you can try out an inexpensive one from the local chemist and upgrade if and when you want to.

Best regards,

John

 

John,

I take pretty good care of my skin, but recently have noticed a couple of major blocked pores. They are like mutant gigantic blackheads and I can feel them from the surface of my skin. They are gross! What is the best way to get rid of them without doing any damage to my skin? One is on my forehead and the others are around my nose. Help! I feel like everyone is looking at them...

Hurry please,

Susanna

 

Susanna,

I know the sort. And no matter how well you look after your skin, occasionally you can get this sort of blockage. It might be that your skin is a little out of balance, or that you have been spending too much time in pollution or a smoky environment. They can also be caused when you are using too rich products for the wrong sort of skin. If you can afford it, you should go to a professional facialist and have an extraction facial done. They would use a combination of heat, steam, and vacuuming to gently remove the blockages. But if you are going to go the DIY route, you must do some preparation to avoid damaging the skin and ending up with an open pore you could drive a truck through! Simply squeezing the blocked pore can work, but this does usually end up leaving you with a small hole in the surface of the skin.

The best method of DIY removal is to start with a gentle steaming of the skin over a sink, or by laying moderately warm flannels over the area where you have the blockage. Do this several times until the skin is very soft, pliable, and warm. Once the skin is ready, gently press in from the sides, but from underneath the blockage. Sort of like you were going to try to break open a blemish, but nudging it from underneath instead. This should very gently push the little plug up from the pore opening. And it will be like a little seed. Once this is out; stop. Don't keep squeezing or you will damage the skin. You have achieved your goal. Apply a little bit of antiseptic or a little dab of a cleansing mask for a few moments. And then leave it alone. You can get a little tool called an extractor from some beauty supplies and this would be even better. It is a small flat surface at the end of a handle with a little hole in the middle. By pressing the tool over the blockage with the hole's opening showing the blockage itself; press the tool to the skin and it will force the little seed to pop up through the hole so you can flick it away. Again, follow with a little antiseptic or a dab of cleansing mask. But please Susanna, if you are prone to being rambunctious with how you treat your skin, let a pro do this for you. Home extraction is a tricky business and you can end up making a real pig's ear out of it.

Hope that helps,

John

 

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