1. Haircut

Beauty treatments you should not attempt at home include cutting your own hair. And I do mean NEVER. Unless it’s a simple bang trim (your stylist can show you how), you really risk messing up your hair. No matter how tiny of a snip or how careful you think you are being, if you’re not trained then JUST DON’T.

2. Hair Coloring

Now I know that lots of women probably used boxed hair dye to color their own hair. While it may work for some, the honest truth is that you are doing damage to your hair. Boxed hair dye has harmful chemicals in it and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can mess up your hair pretty badly. And while you may think you look great, on average only about 30% of women who dye their own hair actually come away looking natural and fabulous. And don’t even get me started on highlights. This is one thing that you should NOT EVER attempt yourself.

3. Brow Waxing

A little tweezing in between sessions to keep those stray hairs out of sight certainly won’t hurt, but you should leave the shaping up to a pro. Brow waxing isn’t too expensive and it’s actually not that painful. Brows are very easy to mess up, and not only that but if you over-pluck or over-wax, then you run the risk of having bald spots for a long time since brows don’t grow as fast as regular hair does.

4. Spray on Tan

Blotches and splotches don’t look good on anyone, and spray on tans can often leave you looking very splotchy if you don’t know what you’re doing. Some self tanners can be harmless to use at home, but if you want a professional, smooth, airbrushed spray-on tan then my advice is to go to a professional who can help you get it right.

5. Chemical Hair Treatments

Are you looking to chemically relax or straighten your hair? How about a perm? Any type of hair treatment that requires chemicals is better left to a trained stylist who knows what she is doing. Even though they make at-home kits for just about any treatment you can think of, you’re more likely to badly damage your hair, or come away looking more like Medusa and less like a beauty queen!

6. Chemical Peel

Lots of people like to have a chemical peel done before a big event, such as a wedding, a graduation, or something similar. Chemical peels can remove age spots, sun damage, and acne scarring, as well as reduce the appearance of fine lines, tighten your skin, and brighten your complexion! Just DON’T attempt one at home! You don’t want to risk a burn or an allergic reaction on your face that looks worse than your original skin ever dreamed of looking!

7. Acrylic Nail Removal

I’m not talking about the little press-on nails you can buy from drugstores, but rather, professionally applied acrylic nails. These can seem so easy and tempting to just pop off, but you may end up damaging your nails, stunting their growth, and causing yourself a lot of pain in the process! It’s better to just pay the extra $20 to have them professionally removed!

I’ve fallen into the trap of trying one or two of these items on my list at home in an attempt to save money. I always ended up spending MORE money to have my attempts at “beauty” fixed, and had to go around looking not so great for a few days until I could make it to the salon! Have you ever attempted anything on this list at home? Please share your experience and advice below!