“When I come home, I try to soothe my skin by cleansing my make-up with olive oil and then applying moisturiser,” says Abeer.
For fashion models, beauty may be just skin-deep, but maintaining that benchmark can be one tough job. Come any fashion week, models have to contend with umpteen layers of make-up, repetitive hairstyling and a range of high, high ill-fitting shoes that may look great on the catwalk, but can’t possibly be comfortable. While the glossy veneer they exude may be all that a bystander sees, beyond it, a three or four-day long fashion week spells out aching feet, damaged hair and breakouts for most models.
“We are perpetually on the go,” recounts model Fayezah Ansari. “We reach home by midnight and we’re back at work by noon the next day. There’s hardly any time to eat, rest or give your skin and hair a break from the multiple products being slathered on to it daily. It results in hair fall and occasionally, breakouts.”
Of course, beauty is extremely important for a model and the after-effects of fashion week, or even a rigorous fashion shoot, have to be dealt with promptly. Having just experienced the three-day-long Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW), here’s what some of modelling’s most prominent highfliers had to say:
Fouzia Aman
Scratched, aching feet are just one of the after-effects, says Fouzia Aman. Apparently, life on the catwalk can boil down to quite a bloodbath. “The hairstyles for a show are created in such a hurry that pins are thrust into the hair, sometimes leaving scars on the scalp. I have been part of bridal fashion shows where I have hurriedly changed from one heavily embellished outfit to another, with the embroidery scratching my skin badly. There’s not much can one do because there’s no time. These are just inevitable consequences.”
Post-fashion week then, Fouzia gets a pedicure, foot massages and oils her nails. “I get my hair massaged with oil regularly, drink lots of water and make sure I have a protein-rich diet,” she explains. “For my skin, I make sure that I carry my own beauty-box to shows, with my personal range of sponges and make-up brushes. Sharing make-up tools with other models is a sure-fire way of contracting skin and eye infections!”
Abeer
Relative newcomer Abeer feels that the skin underneath her eyes gets rough and wrinkled by the application of make-up. “When I come home, I try to soothe my skin by cleansing my make-up with olive oil and then applying moisturiser,” she says. “My feet get swollen by the end of the day, so I soak them in heated salt water every night during fashion week. I drink a lot of water, take supplements for my hair and skin, and have my hair slathered in oil as soon as fashion week ends!”
Ayaan
Of course, your skin and hair look fresher if you’re 21 — that’s the age model Ayaan professes to be. “I started modelling when I was just 15 and now, I am so used to walking in heels that I don’t find them uncomfortable at all. My skin doesn’t break out easily and fashion weeks are so exhausting that sometimes, all I can do is wash my face and go to sleep. I do believe in eating proper, healthy food and using shampoos and conditioners that suit my hair. For me, though, these are daily concerns rather than just steps taken during fashion weeks. My work continues constantly and I have to cleanse and watch my diet throughout.”
Iraj
A rule of thumb, according to veteran model Iraj, is to try not to wash hair consistently during fashion week. “Of course, hair gets dirty because of all the gels and sprays that are applied to it, but shampooing daily can be damaging also. Shampoo, if used too often, contains chemicals that can dry up the hair. Most of us prefer to wait out fashion week with dirty hair before we wash it thoroughly. Besides, hairstyles on the catwalk usually involve a lot of pulling, tugging and backcombing, which works better with slightly greasy hair. When I do wash my hair, I opt for deep conditioning.”
“For my facial skin, there’s not much that I do except clean it properly every night. I usually clean my face with mild baby oil and then apply moisturiser. More than anything else, though, the one beauty regime that never fails is eating right. If you eat nutritiously, then your skin and hair will naturally become healthier.”
Fayezah Ansari
Similarly, Fayezah Ansari proposes drinking and eating healthy; cucumber juice and lots of water figure prominently in her diet. “I don’t believe in commercial cosmetic products and prefer natural remedies. I create my own soap through natural ingredients and following fashion week, my hair is slathered in mixtures of oil, egg and yoghurt for three or four days. It’s my homemade protein treatment and it works wonders!”
“I am also a great fan of foot massages. This time, right in the middle of fashion week rehearsals, I popped out for an hour and had my feet massaged. They were sore because I had literally been standing and walking for hours!” says Fayezah.
Nadia Hussain
Oiling the hair, in fact, is a beauty regime that should be followed regularly anyway, advocates Nadia Hussain. “Even if I don’t have to go on to the catwalk, I oil my hair weekly. I also believe in cleaning my face very thoroughly to prevent pimples. My biggest concern during fashion weeks is to avoid stomach cramps. We don’t get to eat properly for hours and it can lead to low salt and water content in the body. As a result, every night during fashion week, I drink three to four glasses of salt water.”
Maliha Rehman is a fashion and lifestyle journalist with an obsessive, compulsive need to write. Log on for more updates on Twitter @maliharehman.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2014.
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I wann'a say Abeer Adeel is a kinky Super Model of Pakistan.She's sooooo beautiful.My best wishezzzzzzz for Abeer Adeel.