The Changing Face of Lockdown...How Do We See Ourselves?

For many of us, the lockdown has seemed to go in three phases: the summer 2020 period (the first lockdown), the winter lockdown over Christmas (the second lockdown), and the 2021 lockdown (the third – and hopefully final lockdown). And, now, we are emerging where we can see up to six people again (in a garden or outdoor space). Let's explore what lockdown has done to our appearance and our mindset!

Lockdown 1

In the first lockdown, people felt hopeful that Covid-19 would be gone in a few months. The weather was lovely. Many people were furloughed and got to soak up the sun. Some people went on a fitness routine, nature recovered, fewer people were on the roads, everyone banded together to beat pots and pans to thank the NHS, and people spent more time with their families. Appearance mattered less as people got used to the idea that they couldn't get beauty treatments, enjoy a haircut, go for a swim at the gym, and go out to eat.

Lockdown 2

Some people began to feel more disillusioned as the weather got dark and people had to stay away from their families around the winter holidays (Eid, Christmas, Hannukah, and so forth). Some of those summer fitness routines fell by the wayside and people wondered if lockdown would come to an end. We couldn't go out to eat, enjoy haircuts, beauty treatments, or go Christmas shopping. We had cold weather, darkness, and even quite a bit of snow. Many people still worked from home, some people still were furloughed, and those in the service sector were still hit hard with businesses having been closed for months with no end in sight.

Lockdown 3

The third lockdown seemed to go more like the first but with a glimmer of hope from the UK government's promise that things would begin to reopen again in the spring. We had ups and downs with the weather with some sunny days to temper the grey ones. Now, people looked forward to seeing people again, getting their beauty appointments booked in, and trying to return to a semi-normal life.

But throughout all these changing faces of lockdown, how have we viewed ourselves, our mental state, our bodies?

Appearance and mindset

For many of us, our appearance has fallen by the wayside with an over-a-year-long pandemic. #identitycrisis Even if we kept up with our fitness routines and got more muscular, got stronger, gained or lost weight (whatever our goals), many of us (who didn't have to go out to work) have lived in workout clothes, sweat pants, dressing gowns, and pyjamas. Our beauty routines – we all vary – either got more attention (hello, new skincare routine) or less attention (um, who needs to shave anyway? I'm not going anywhere!).

We found that we didn't need even a quarter of our wardrobes and our houses had never been cleaner (unless we homeschooled our children, that is – a tough job for hero parents everywhere) and our appearance mattered less.

But, we are about to be released on the world again as beauty businesses reopen, gyms reopen, we can meet people outdoors, and as we can do all sorts that we have been denied for months, like going out to eat. Now, we're suddenly left looking in the mirror at our eyebrows, leg hair, maskne, badly cut hair, a few extra pounds, and wondering how we will shape up for the summer.

Never fear! NU-U Laser and Aesthetics is here to help you look and feel your best as you re-emerge, like a butterfly from a cocoon, into the world again – hopefully, a post-Covid-19 world.

We hope lockdown has helped people re-frame their mental state and realise they are enough and beautiful as they are but if you want to be hair free this year, have whiter teeth, lose fat permanently, pamper yourself with a facial, or just generally feel better, get in touch. We're here to help. Check out our social media pages for special discounts.