Style

18 Grooming Hacks Every Grown-Ass Woman Needs To Know

by Alida Nugent

The older I get, the more I add to my grooming routine. Gone are the days of using the one razor that's rusting in my tub — now I exfoliate, scrub, and use at least three different tools for the hair I choose to remove. So I rely on grooming hacks for women to make sure I'm not stuck in the bathroom all day every day, looking for any errant hairs on my chin. These are things that will make my routine faster, help my results last longer, and keep my skin and hair healthy.

This is the point you might find yourself asking — what exactly constitutes grooming? Well, I define it as anything that helps me maintain my desired appearance. No grown-ass woman is required to remove even a single strand of hair on their body, but if she chooses to, it's probably best to do it in a pain-free, efficient, and timely manner. Nor is any grown-ass woman required to cut her nails, or remove dead skin, or make her eyebrows look a certain way, but if she does? These are the kinds of products anyone would dream about — think: a nail clipper that catches clippings or a weird tool that removes facial hair in seconds. And as a grown-ass woman, I appreciate the little things in life, like saving time, finding new products I love, and, uh, dipping my hand in wax.

1

Exfoliate Before Shaving With A Dry Brush

Dry/Wet Body Brush By C.S.M, $16, Amazon

Before you shave, try using one of these body brushes first — without using any product, it exfoliates your skin, improves blood circulation, gives you a little massage, and leaves you soft and smooth. This brush is made with natural bristles, and the ergonomic handle makes it comfortable to use.

2

Don't Just Tweeze Your Eyebrows, Shape And Trim Them With This Brow Kit

Sally Hansen The Now Brow Perfect Arch Brow Kit, $8, Amazon

We all have eyebrow tweezers around for when we want to groom our arches, but it's not the only way to perfect them. This brow kit comes with scissors to define brows easier and faster than tweezing does, and can help shape them without overplucking. The included brush and comb are also great to smooth things out and keep everything in place.

3

Use Essential Oils To Heal Cracked Feet With This Balm

Badger Foot Balm, $10, Amazon

During the winter my feet look like blocks of parmesan, and I've tried a fair amount of heavy duty creams to rid them of my dry and cracked heels. But nothing has worked as well as Badger Balm — it's full of peppermint, tea tree, and rosemary to moisturize and repair feet. Plus, there's the added benefit of those oils being antibacterial. Another bonus? Because it's a balm, you can fully slather it before you slip on socks for intense overnight healing, or you can spot treat throughout the day without it becoming a mess like more traditional lotions.

4

Save Some Money On Trims With A Hair Cutting Kit

Bellesentials Professional Quality Home Hair Cutting Kit, $17, Amazon

Regular trips to the salon can be expensive, and when you're just going for a trim, it can feel like a waste. With this home hair cutting kit, you can do some of the work at home with professional quality tools — not just your kitchen shears after a couple of glasses of rosé. It comes with thinning shears and cutting scissors — both made from Japanese stainless steel — and can maintain layers or just trim split ends. It also comes with a straight edge and curved tool for cutting bangs and ensuring even ends. It's a worthy purchase for anyone with hair that needs constant maintenance, or for those who've had the same haircut for years and are familiar enough with it to perform some touchups.

5

Make Tweezing A Breeze With A Magnifying Mirror

Fancii Daylight LED 10x Magnifying Makeup Mirror, $28, Amazon

If you choose to tweeze your eyebrows or remove facial hair, you're going to want a good magnifying mirror. This one magnifies 10 times, has LED lighting that's natural, and can suction to any mirror or surface so you can easily see every hair you want gone. It's also great for travel, and it's useful for makeup application as well.

6

Get Rid Of Ingrown Toenails With This Nail Softener

Miracle Toenail Soft, $13, Amazon

When thick, painful ingrown toenails happen, it can be dangerous to just start cutting them with nail scissors. Instead, try this toenail softener, which is made of 60 percent aloe gel and can be put on overnight for temporarily soft nails in the morning. This will make cutting any hard toenails easier and can make fixing ingrown ones almost pain-free.

7

Speed Up Hair Removal With An Electric Trimmer

Philips Bikini Trimmer, $15, Amazon

Not everybody wants to remove hair from their bikini area, but everyone who does knows this: it's annoying, and it's time-consuming, especially if you do it at home. This bikini trimmer is an electric shaver specifically for that area, and it'll do the job in no time. Its precise head will leave a clean finish, and it also comes with a comb.

8

Get Rid Of Razor Bumps With An Organic Balm

Kerah Lane Organic Razor Bump And Ingrown Hair Formula, $19, Amazon

Whenever you remove hair — whether it's through shaving, waxing, or tweezing — put some razor bump formula on afterward for instant pain relief. It's an organic blend of essential oils, witch hazel, aloe vera, and botanical extracts, and it will soothe and disinfect. It's also antibacterial, will eliminate razor bumps and ingrown hairs, and can even out skin tone. The moisturizing formula is also good for any skin type, and can be used on both the face and body, including sensitive areas.

9

Repair Split Ends, Heal Cuticles, And Increase Hair Growth With Castor Oil

Organic Castor Oil, $13, Amazon

This organic castor oil is cold pressed, USDA certified, and essential to anyone's grooming routine. It can be used in so many ways — it can repair split ends and leave hair shinier and thicker, it can heal cuticles or brittle nails, and can even be used on eyebrows and eyelashes as an all-natural growth serum. Some people even use it to get rid of dandruff and reduce the appearance of scars. This one comes with an e-book to explain its many uses, and a few applicators for eyelashes or eyebrows.

10

Trim Nose Hairs With This Water-Resistant Groomer

Professional Water Resistant Steel Nose Trimmer, $13, Amazon

This professional nose trimmer will get rid of any hairs you have in your nostrils, it's pain-free, made of steel, and you can use it in the shower. But the best part? There's an LED light on it, so you won't have to tickle your nose again to get any hairs you missed the first time around. One reviewer says it all: "It was simple, fast and completely pain free."

11

Get Rid Of All Your Dead Skin With This Coffee Scrub

Frank Body Coconut Coffee Scrub, $24, Amazon

Packed with roasted coffee beans, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil, this coffee scrub is a great way for people with sensitive skin (and those with nut allergies) to slough all that dead skin off before shaving. It uses jojoba beads to buff your way to smooth skin, and it also provides moisture without clogging pores.

12

Take Off Hair At The Root With This Odd Tool

Bellabe Facial Hair Remover, $16, Amazon

This very bizarre facial hair remover tool grabs hair by the root, so it won't damage or irritate your skin like waxing does. It essentially works like a tweezer, but the spring is able to grab much larger areas of hair at a time, so it can be done a lot faster. Reviewers like it for its convenience, and claim the pain factor is similar to threading.

13

Soften Cuticles With This Conditioner

Cuccio Revitalize Cuticle Oil, $13, Amazon

When hands get dry, your nails and cuticles always suffer, and biting them is definitely not something a grown-ass woman should do. Instead, use this lightly scented milk and honey cuticle oil — it heals and protects dry, cracked cuticles. The dropper makes for precise application every time, and reviewers love how well it works, in addition to how big the bottle is.

14

Cut Your Nails With A Clipper That Catches The Trimmings

No-mes Nail Clipper With Catcher, $14, Amazon

There's nothing worse than clipping your nails and then finding the remnants all over your house for days. That's why this stainless steel nail clipper is completely genius — it has a compartment that catches the nails when you cut them, and when you're done, you just empty it out into the trash. It also gives a very clean cut to both fingernails and toenails.

15

Remove Excess Hair Dye With These Wipes

Colortrak Hair Color Removal Wipes Canister, $9, Amazon

Coloring hair at home has one major risk — ending up with the hair dye all over your hairline, ears, and skin, threatening to reveal to the world that your hair is not naturally neon pink. However, with these wipes, you can hide your secret for a little longer. Infused with aloe vera, these gentle wipes instantly get rid of hair dye wherever it's landed on your skin, and the canister comes with 100 wipes.

16

Soften Hands And Feet With Paraffin Wax

True Glow By Conair Paraffin Bath, $20, Amazon

This paraffin bath instantly sooth feet, hands, and elbows — wait for the included aloe vera wax to melt, then dip your hands or feet into it for a spa-like experience. When you're done, peel the wax off to soothe dry skin and reveal softer hands. Reviewers love the results, but recommend making sure the wax isn't too hot for you to enjoy. You can also reuse the wax before you need to refill it!

17

Keep Nails Strong With This Oxygen Treatment

Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment, $18, Amazon

When applied twice a week, this nail treatment will bring strength back to thin nails that are breaking or peeling. It has plant cells to strengthen, UV protection, is water-resistant, and will allow nails to breathe while they heal in only two weeks. Reviewers love it because it heals nails from acrylics, it's easy to remove, and makes nails harder than they were before.

18

Remove Calluses For Good With This Bizarre Device

Tweezerman Safety Slide Callus Shaver With Rasp, $11, Amazon

Stubborn, dry calluses never seem to go away for good, but this shaver is anyone's best bet. It has a gentle shaving tool on the side to remove thin layers of the dry, cracked skin on your feet. The other side works to get rid of the top layer of dead skin, like a pumice stone does. One reviewer raves: "If you have really calloused feet, this thing is great. The callous files that I've used before are nothing compared to this thing. In a few minutes I had removed callous that would have taken me months to file off with one of the traditional solutions."

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