I recently went on an 8-day holiday where I spent most of my time resting, eating and floating around in large bodies of water. The mandate was clear and followed to precision: rest, recuperate and recover. I also wanted to feel good so that the confidence would flow and I’d be comfortable to live my best life in very little clothing. I embarked on a little pre-trip grooming and now that I’m back, I can assess how well my grooming efforts fared against the elements.
1) Hair
For this trip, I decided to get braids because they are much easier to manage around water than my natural hair. I couldn’t have made a better decision. Firstly, these are the neatest braids I’ve encountered in a while. They’re lightweight and were relatively pain-free, this says a lot coming from someone who hasn’t let anyone else touch their hair in almost 5 years. The braids are mid-thigh length and they didn’t inconvenience me in the slightest.
The salon responsible for these wonderful braids is Be.liev_it (@be.liev_it on Instagram, +266 59878251) and the hair stylist’s name is Thato Tanki. She’s professional and her prices are reasonable, especially considering how talented she is. The braids took just a little over 3 hours to complete and I was absolutely shocked at her proficiency. They really came in handy while I was on my trip because not only do they require no manipulation, they also kept me cool. They still look very fresh and I’m tempted to throw some of my beloved usual protective styles on the bench in order to keep doing braids for some time.
2) Nails
Anyone who’s been following my instagram for a while will remember when my handle was still “Nanonailsandnature”, those were good times. Nails are a creative outlet for me, an effective way of managing anxiety from a control perspective and a small reminder that the smallest things can uplift your mood. I found my nail soulmate in ‘Me Nthatisi Nteso (@nthatisinteso on IG, +266 57539272/+266 62200040) who is the best nail technician I’ve ever had. She is unparalleled. I think of the nail technicians I had in Cape Town and Johannesburg and I can’t believe how much slack I used to cut them. Needless to say, I was very happy with the mani-pedi I got from ‘Me Ntha’s salon, D’vine Nails.
She focuses on the health of your nails and I’m so glad she does because I’ve never needed to use tips in order to achieve the length I usually have. She’s a Biosculpture die hard and this makes me happy because my nails respond really well to it. While the nails are still solid and strong, unfortunately spending all that time in water led to me losing a soldier. My thumb came back from the trip with peeled-off gel and I know its the chlorine and salt water. Luckily the nail faux pas came on the tail end of the trip so I didn’t look like a criminal for too long. The remaining nails still looked good for the most part and I’m so glad I did my nails for this trip, they added a glamour that balanced the natural ‘seaside-chilling’ look out.
3) Eyelashes
This was my first experience with eyelashes and I can safely say I don’t regret it. I went to the Glow Beauty Spa Lesotho (+266 58820036/+266 58870036) and the beautician who owns it, Olivia, gave such premium service. She could tell I was nervous but her personality and knowledge unnerved me pretty quickly. Getting eyelash extensions is an interesting experience. It doesn’t hurt and for the hour that I was sitting there, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. It just feels… foreign. The entire procedure gives an almost medical illusion, especially because of the equipment used.
Needless to say, I loved having the lashes on vacation. The gave me that “I woke up like this” feeling, an inherent glamour if you will. I found that I needed to do way less to feel fabulous and I suppose therein lies the power of eyelash extensions. The slight inconvenience is that you need to be careful around getting the eyelashes too wet, unfortunately I lost this battle a few times especially when the waves came crashing in. I don’t regret a thing, I came back with decent looking eyelashes.
Preparing for the trip was a fun way of getting myself into holiday mode. I took a few days off before I left to do all my grooming and this helped me get out of stress mode so that I wouldn’t need to spend the first few days of my actual vacation shaking off day-to-day anxieties. I would absolutely recommend doing braids, nails and lashes before a trip, I had a fantastic time and I felt fabulous the entire time.
