Hi beauties! For today's #makeupmonday, I wanted to discuss the physical toll of being a makeup artist and how I care for myself!
First of all, I want to mention that this blog post is intended to be as subjective as possible. There is no bias, and no ill intentions behind this. My goal was to keep this as informative as possible and to take you behind the scenes!
Now that I have mentioned that, let's jump in!
First, I'd like to discuss the physical toll of makeup artists. Now beauties, you know how much I love my job! However, I'll admit that at the end of the day, my back and feet ache! In fact, they are throbbing! There are days when they are throbbing so much, it feels like shooting pain and then it goes numb. I am rather top-heavy in the chest, so my muscles have a lot of work to do by holding me up, which is where the back pain resides. For my feet: sometimes I am working 12+ hour days and standing for that long is painful for my feet.
My feet are usually swollen after 5 hours, and can even have a burning sensation. I really just depends on the situation I am in. Then there are my hands. Both of my hands have mild forms of carpal tunnel. On my left hand, it's in the thumb. On the right, it's in the pointer finger. Pretty random, right!
So for me beauties, those are my pain points. These issues have risen from lugging my kit, repeated brush movements, etc. I learned early on how to take good care of myself and made it a priority! I make sure to schedule time each night to caring for myself.
So how do I take care of my pain points?
First of all, I make sure to do a full body stretch once per day. I usually take about 5 minutes every morning or night and loosen up. It's such a great preventative measure! I also try to schedule gym time 3-4 days per week. I usually spend up to 30 minutes in the gym doing strengthening exercises or cardio. I also try to swim once per week. I've found that swimming eases pressure on my joints and muscles, which has prevented me from a lot of injuries on the job! These measures have helped me physically and mentally.
Another preventative action is to use my ice pack every night. I spend about 10 minutes each night icing my hands to prevent further damage from carpal tunnel. It has really helped slow down my carpal tunnel. This is huge because I have so far been able to avoid wearing a brace on either hand.
What do I do for my back and feet? I generally elevate my feet for 30 minutes at the end of a long work day. I usually multi-task this option by also resting my back on the fluffiest pillow I can find. I try to elevate my feet on top of 3-4 fluffy pillows. I also use this time to ice my hands as well. I know it sounds like a lot at one time, but all three of these tasks are completed within 30 minutes, freeing up my night to finish cleaning my brushes and kit. Once per year, I also invest in a full body massage to relieve any tension. I usually do this after my last wedding of the season.
So beauties, that's it. This is how I take care of myself so that I am always fresh and ready for your special event! I want to make sure that I am always my absolute healthiest in order to provide you with beautiful makeup!
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask during your free phone consultation!
Later! <3 Carla