At-home DIY beauty trends of laser and microblading on the rise with young Aussies

Martha Kalifatidis and other beauty industry insiders have warned against being duped by influencers selling dangerous DIY treatments.

Risky beauty trends are on the rise as tens of thousands of young Australians turn online tutorials and influencer recommendations.

Dangerous at-home versions of specialist treatments including laser, microblading and brow lamination that once required a trained expert have boomed in past 12 months.

The rise in popularity comes as new Australian research from BEAUTY/crew revealed 43 per cent of Australian Gen Zs admit online tutorials shape their beauty choices when it comes to trends and products.

Martha Kalifatidis is one of Australia’s most followed beauty influencers. Picture: Instagram

However when done at-home without a trained expert risks from these seemingly harmless trends can include prolonged swelling and redness of the skin, infection, hyperpigmentation, sensitivity, and even burns and scarring.

But some of Australia’s biggest names in beauty say the rise of this unregulated DIY is concerning, particularly when influencers are swayed by profit over product quality.

“I have turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars because I refuse to promote things I don’t believe in,” former MAFS participant turned influencer Martha Kalifatidis says.

“You’ll never see me plugging at home microdermabrasion or laser hair removal because I think some treatments are best done in salon,” the Sydney-based star said.

Kalifatidis boasts close to 600,000 Instagram followers and is considered to be one of Australia’s most trusted and prominent voices in the Australian beauty scene.

She says the key to knowing which trends to try and which to steer clear of comes down to trust.

Blogger and influencer Ashira Paraskevas says some trends are more dangerous than others. Picture: Instagram

“I’ll never recommend them anything I wouldn’t recommend to my best friends or my family. They [her followers] trust me. Kalifatidis also encourages people to ask themselves important questions. “What’s their background, have they worked in the industry, are they posting it consistently, without swipe up links? Or is it once a month when their paid content is due? What else do they endorse?”

Blogger and Beauty Crew coverstar Ash Paraskevas agrees, saying, “There are some who use filters on their skincare recommendations, and it’s like, ‘okay that’s not an adequate representation of that product and what it does for you’.”

The Melbourne-based creative adds, “trust influencers like you would your friends.”

24-year-old Paraskevas, whose TikTok showing her at-home brow lamination went viral last year, says, “It’s hard with fads because they’re so in and out. I try to steer away from them now.”

Phoebe Simmonds of The Blow Australia says it’s important to know which trends to follow and which to steer clear of. Picture: supplied

The 24-year-old says many of the trends can be potentially dangerous in more ways than one.

“It’s really easy to fall down a rabbit hole. For me, especially when I didn’t like the way I looked, I kept on seeing all of these beauty transformations that showed how acceptable the promotion of injectables were, and all these very racist trends like ‘fox eye’ and videos of ‘How I contour my nose to look more white’, that are really problematic.” She adds, “I now actively block those out.”

Tutorials on hairstyling and cutting also boomed during 2020 thanks to lockdowns across the world.

“There’s a lot of DIY gone wrong, most notably during Covid lockdowns which saw a ton of amateurs pick up the tools and try their hand at cutting, colouring or styling their own hair,” The Blow’s founder, Phoebe Simmonds, says.

“You can absolutely pick up techniques, but be wary about cutting bangs just because they look good on an influencer.”

Influencer and beauty expert Elle Ferguson. Picture: supplied

Beauty influencer and entrepreneur Elle Ferguson, who has 680,000 Instagram followers, agrees, saying that while some treatments lend themselves to an at-home environment, others are best left to the experts.

“It depends on the area but anything that involves a hot substance going on your skin should be done by a trained professional.”

ELLE FERGUSON’S TOP TREATMENTS GUIDE:

At home:

– Tanning: Self-tan products are made for at home application.

– Eyebrow tweezing: If you stay within your natural shape and don’t get too excited then definitely at home.

– Mani pedis: You can get all the salon formulas for home so its super easy.

– Hair treatments and masks: Easy to do at home and not a lot of room for mistakes.

In salon:

– Hair colouring: You need an expert.

– Laser hair removal: That just sounds wrong to do at home.

– Waxing: It depends on the area, but anything that involves a hot substance going on your skin should be done by a trained professional.

– Haircuts: We’ve all tried to cut our bangs at home … it never works out.

Originally published as At-home DIY beauty trends of laser and microblading on the rise with young Aussies