Crucial Beauty Tips and Hacks from the Middle Eastern Region That I Regret Not Knowing Earlier

I found a lot of these out the hard way, but you don't have to.

1. Invest in an electric razor if you choose to shave your legs or other parts of your body. Trust me...it's worth it.

If you have thick body hair like a ~lot~ of us do, disposable razors just don't do the job. You end up going through multiple of them for just one shaving session, and they irritate your skin and even cause ingrowns because of how many times you need to run them over your skin to get an even shave. Electric razors eliminate all of that, saving you money, keeping your skin healthy, and most importantly, saving you SO MUCH TIME. I'll never forget the first time I used an electric razor and couldn't BELIEVE how many hours I'd wasted with shitty disposable razors when I could've been getting the job done in minutes with an electric one.

If you're looking for an electric razor to get started, I love my Meridian electric razor. It works on dry or wet skin, has a smooth head so it won't knick ya, and leaves a little stubble to prevent ingrown hairs.

2. And for removing facial hair, spend a little extra for high quality tweezers, because yeah, not all tweezers are made equal.

When you gotta shape your brows, remove your unibrow hair, get rid of a mustache, etc. etc., you need good tools. If you can afford it, spend a few extra bucks to get a pair that'll hold up longer than a week.

I'm a Tweezerman tweezers stan *personally*, but if you have any better recs, PLEASE let me know, LOL.

3. Use rosewater ~liberally~ to refresh, tone, and moisturize skin and hair. It's a staple in Middle Eastern households for helping balance oil, reduce redness and irritation, and hydrate. It's made by steeping rose petals in water — how cool is that?

For rosewater beginners, I recommend the Heritage Rosewater Spray, Carol's Daughter's Wash Day Delight Shampoo, Garnier's Micellar Water, and Fat and the Moon's All Cream rosewater moisturizer (which I love so much, I have it on automatic order). 

Get them from Amazon: the Heritage Rosewater Spray for $4.99+ (available in four sizes), the Carol's Daughter's Wash Day Delight Shampoo for $11.98, and Garnier's Micellar Water for $8.97.

Get the All Cream rosewater moisturizer from Zero Waste Store, from ban.do, or from Fat and the Moon for $18+ (available in two sizes).

BTW, Fat and the Moon is a small biz that handcrafts natural body care products. 

4. Get yourself some turmeric!! It's a potent anti-inflammatory and brightening antioxidant, so it'll make you glow while helping to protect your skin, hair, and scalp from free radicals.

It also may help promote hair growth!

If you're just starting out, I recommend Assyrian-owned Bounce Curl's turmeric hair detox mask, Armenian-owned Zatik turmeric soap, and Cocokind's turmeric mask stick.

Get them from Amazon: the Zatik turmeric soap for $10 and Cocokind's turmeric mask stick for $8.99.

Get the turmeric hair detox mask from Bounce Curl for $11.

FYI, all three of these are small businesses! Zatik is a family-owned biz based in California that makes all-natural body, skin, and haircare products. Cocokind is a San Francisco-based, Asian woman-founded company that creates earth-friendly skincare, and Bounce Curl is a small biz that specializes in cruelty-free curly hair products, inspired by traditional Assyrian hair care remedies.

5. If you have dark circles, focus your concealer in the inner area of your under-eye for a brightening effect. A lot of us have hereditary under-eye pigmentation, and spreading concealer all over your under-eye will actually highlight your bags more.

That said, under-eye circles are beautiful! I think they're pretty and grunge.

For brightening under-eye coverage, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer has been my holy grail for years.

Get the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer from Sephora for $15+ (available in two sizes and in 30 shades).

6. Pack on the mascara! Many of us have strong features, so we can "carry" a full-faced makeup look without looking unnatural or overpowering — so don't hold back!

I will forever swear by Maybelline Colossal Mascara for lashes so voluminous they look like falsies.

7. BTW, to maximize volume, wiggle your mascara brush back and forth from bottom to top, like you're brushing your teeth. It works wonders.

8. Plus, don't forget to line your eyes to make your eyes pop. Kajal is super popular for pigmented, intense lining (and was originally used to help protect eyes from intense sun)!

Kulfi's kajal eyeliner is beautiful, long-wearing, and waterproof. BTW, I personally prefer using brown eyeliner for a softer look behind my black mascara!

Get Kulfi's kohl eyeliner from Sephora or Kulfi for $20 (available in up to seven shades).

Kulfi Beauty is a South Asian woman-owned small business created to celebrate culture and beauty. "Kulfi" is a colorful South Asian ice cream!

9. Learn some color theory! Ever notice that blue-based lipsticks wash you out? It might be because you have olive-toned skin. Plums, burgundies, and other earth tones tend to look better than neons that wash us out.

If you're unsure whether you have olive skin, if you've ever noticed your skin looking kind of green sometimes (literally), that's a tell-tale sign. BTW: Olive skin can come in all shades, so you can have dark, light, or medium skin and still have olive undertones.

For more info, check out Mented's guide to foundation for olive skin and guide to lipstick for olive skin. Mented (which is a small business created by two Black women, BTW!) creates makeup specifically formulated for olive-toned skin, and I'm obsessed with their semi-matte lipsticks!

10. Take advantage of color correcting, which is a godsend for the many of us prone to under-eye hyperpigmentation and post-acne scarring.

Peach, orange, and red tones combat dark circles and spots (choose between the three depending on your skin tone); green fights more intense redness; yellow is great for mild redness; and purple brightens.

Nyx makes a color-correcting palette with six universal, blendable shades, and Maybelline has color-correcting pens if you want extra product for a specific concern.

11. Highlight your cheekbones with blush. Many of us have high cheekbones, and it makes them pop in a beautiful way, like you've been kissed by the sun. "Blush on the apples of your cheek" could never!

For a perfectly pigmented, buildable blush, I'm obsessed with Tower 28's cream blushes. You won't need a highlighter — they'll make you glow all on their own. I'm wearing the shade Office Hours in this picture!

12. Use black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed oil — run, don't walk. It's a nutrient-rich antibacterial, anti-inflammatory oil that's popular throughout the Middle Eastern region. It helps fade pigmentation and moisturizes gently enough to calm even eczema. It also helps combat brittleness and boost shine in hair!

I looove Blume's Meltdown Acne Oil for my face, which is rich in black cumin seed oil. For hair, I recommend Zatik's shampoo with black cumin seed oil.

13. Try henna on your hair to strengthen locks, boost shine, and add texture — while giving your mane beautiful, all-natural auburn highlights.

While henna won't cause permanent damage to your hair, it can be drying, so you should follow up with a moisturizing hair mask after washing out your henna.

14. For moisturizing in a pinch, check your kitchen for sweet almond oil, which is a staple in Middle Eastern households for food and for beauty. It's loaded with vitamins E and A to make your skin glow, plus it's non-comedogenic so it won't clog pores.

15. Lightly coat dry curls in argan or apricot oils to make sure your strands are getting enough hydration AND protein. Without enough hydration, curls can become brittle, and lack of protein can make your hair quickly lose its shape or become prone to stringiness.

You can also use oils as a scalp treatment. BTW, a little goes a long way!

16. Use a mineral sunscreen, not a chemical sunscreen. Many folks with Middle Eastern heritage are prone to melasma (~myself included~), and chemical sunscreens can actually aggravate the condition.

For my melasma, I love Supergoop Mineral SPF 40 Sunscreen. It's oil-free, pore-blurring, and applies matte. It's full of antioxidants to help prevent free radical damage, plus protects your skin from the blue light emitted by tech devices.

Holifrog's SPF 30 mineral sunscreen is another great option. It's a lightweight formulation that applies slightly tinted and rubs in sheer, so it wears wonderfully on all skin tones. It's also hydrating and rich in antioxidants and skin barrier-supporting ingredients. (BTW, Holifrog is a small biz that makes responsible, thoughtful skincare.)

17. If your skin is too sensitive for vitamin C, try using saffron, a powerhouse ingredient native to the Middle Eastern region that many call "liquid gold." It'll help brighten dull skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and dark spots, and balance uneven skin tone.

Plus, it'll likely last longer on your shelf than the notoriously unstable vitamin C.

Get Ranavat's saffron serum from Sephora for $35+ (available in two sizes).

Ranavat is a South Asian-owned small biz that creates healing Ayurvedic skincare.