Make Any Beauty Treatment Last

Haircut

A typical layered style keeps its shape and looks healthy for about six weeks, but it's easy to fake a fresh cut. "Smoothing frayed ends mimics the look of a trim," says Janet St. Paul, senior stylist at Butterfly Salon in New York City and Palm Beach. Use a strengthening shampoo and conditioner that contains wheat or silk proteins to help repair damage (try John Frieda Frizz-Ease Rehydrate Moisture-Binding Deep Conditioner, $5.99, drugstores). After blow-drying, smooth splits with a leave-in conditioner that contains glycerin or silicone.

Pro Eyebrow Shaping

"Tweeze the unruly hairs above your brows to keep the shape of your arches clean past the average three weeks," says Anastasia Soare, eyebrow artist and owner of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Salon. Use slant-tip tweezers, like RED by Kiss Mini Size Slant Tip Tweezer with Travel Pouch, $3.79, walgreens.com, to prevent pinching your skin, and pluck carefully along your top brow lines and between brows. If you're trying to grow your brows in, conceal regrowth under arches with a light-diffusing highlighter (try ModelCo Luminosity Highlighting Serum, $26, sephora.com).

Hair Color

"You can keep your hue vibrant longer than six weeks," says Rita Hazan, who dyes the tresses of Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez. Enhance dull color with a clear shine treatment like Clairol Natural Instincts Shine Happy, $7.99, drugstores. "Shiny strands create the illusion that hair is freshly dyed," says Hazan. Conceal grays with a paint-on tint that matches your shade and rinses out (try ColorMark, $19.95, colormarkpro.com).

Pedicure

Let your nails dry for at least an hour before putting on shoes; it's crucial to let the polish set so you're not in need of a pedicure every two weeks. After the first day, exfoliate rough calluses and cracked heels with a foot scrub every time you shower (Freeman Bare Foot Creamy Pumice Foot Scrub, $3.99, drugstores). Before bed, smooth on a rich foot cream that contains glycerin and alpha hydroxy acids to keep skin soft (try Curel Targeted Therapy Deep-Penetrating Foot Cream, $4.99, drugstores).

Facial

"The day after a facial, your skin is plump and dewy because it's superhydrated," explains Michelle Copeland, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York City and creator of the Dr. Michelle Copeland Skin Care line. To maintain that glow all week, use your fingertips to lightly massage your skin while cleansing. "This increases blood flow at the skin's surface," says Dr. Copeland. Maintain smooth skin with a weekly gentle exfoliating treatment like Pond's Purely Polished Micro-Dermabrasion Anti-Aging Kit, $13.99, drugstores. Keep your skin moisturized with a nightly repairing serum that contains vitamin C or hyaluronic acid (this molecule holds 100 times its weight in water), such as EmerginC Topical Vitamin C Serum, $70, emerginc.com.

Bikini Wax

A few days post-waxing, the best thing you can do to stay soft and stubble-free is to exfoliate. Buff away dry skin with a salt scrub two to three times a week. Tweeze hairs that sprout midcycle. This removes them from the root, just like waxing, explains Aldona Roth, an aesthetician at the Paul Labrecque Salon in New York City. If you've got a lot of stubble, Roth suggests using a precut cold-wax strip to remove hairs that are at least a quarter inch long (try Parissa Quick & Easy Wax Strips for Legs & Body, $10.99, Whole Foods stores).

Spray Tan

No matter how flawless your airbrush application, the uneven, Dalmatian-like spots that can give away your secret can start in just 24 hours. Be sure to shave before you get a fake tan, and after, skip exfoliating completely. "Both peel off your color along with hair and dry surface skin cells," says Fiona Locke, senior spray technician with California Tan. Instead, rely on a hair-growth-minimizing cream applied every other day (try Aveeno Positively Smooth Moisturizing Lotion, $7.99, drugstores, or prescription-strength Vaniqa). On alternate days, apply a lotion that contains a small dose of the "tanning" agent dihydroxy-acetone (DHA) to prevent alligator-like scales while boosting and evening out color (try Shiseido Daily Bronze Moisturizing Emulsion, $35, nordstrom.com, available in March).

Manicure

"You can have new, shiny polish for more than a week by applying a thin layer of topcoat every other day," says Deborah Lippmann, a celebrity manicurist and founder of Lippmann nail care (try Nailene Sun Shield UV Non-Yellowing Topcoat, $3.99, drugstores). Heal hangnails with a highly moisturizing cuticle cream that contains almond oil or vitamin E (try OPI Avoplex High-Intensity Hand & Nail Cream, $7.50, opi.com for locations). "Rub the treatment directly to the nail bed to prevent cracks, not just all over your hands," suggests Lippmann.

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, February 2007.