Pandemic

People Share Their Beauty Routines Before The Pandemic vs. Now

By Keisha P. Crabtree 1 month ago

With so many of us spending more time at home than ever, and businesses like salons and spas closed or operating with adjusted safety protocols, our wardrobes and beauty routines have inevitably changed.

Some people are using this time of quarantine and social distancing to take a break from wearing makeup every day and focusing on skin care. Others are letting their hair (both on their head and the rest of their body) do its thing. Above all, people are re-evaluating their relationship with beauty, questioning how much they do for themselves and how much they do because of what others or society expects of them.

Below, people break down their pre- and post-pandemic beauty routines.

Patrice Grell Yursik, writer and creator of Afrobella in Chicago

“I was raised to think of makeup as a daily necessity. I didn’t go to the supermarket without at least a

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How I’m Using Beauty to Get Through the Pandemic

By Keisha P. Crabtree 7 months ago

It can be difficult to convey how important appearance can be as a queer person. There’s nothing wrong with vanity, especially when a good manicure, makeup, fillers, or the right haircut helps you feel like who you truly are. Aesthetic can go a long way for anyone when it comes to signaling your identity and honoring who you are, including queer people.

As a high-femme bisexual woman, while staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been missing all the people who help me keep up my beauty routine. I miss my nail salon, the plastic surgeon who does my injectables, and my quality wigs hairdresser. However, I have found my own ways to express myself through beauty, and I’m not alone. In fact, a lot of other queer folks use their beauty and personal care routines to express — and explore — their identities.

“In terms of

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