How the pandemic has greatly affected normal hair and beauty regimens
For many women, myself included, the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected their normal hair and beauty regimens. Barber Shops, Salons and Spas in many parts of the world have suffered the full brunt of it with governments deciding on their indefinite and temporal closures to further safeguard the masses from infection. When you find yourself stuck at home with a lockdown in place coupled with the uncertainty that a pandemic situation cultivates, it’s very easy to let yourself go in terms of not paying extra care and attention to your hair, face and body.
Melika Boateng, knows this all too well as a beautypreneur and fitness enthusiast who has seen her previously normal routine greatly disrupted. To get a better understanding of how it has been for her, I got in touch and the following is a transcript of our conversation.
Welcome to ABOC Directory’s Covid-19 African Stories Series. It’s great to have you! Could you kindly introduce yourself? Who is Melika Boateng?
Hi! I am a graduate in Marketing from the University of Leicester. Last year, I permanently relocated to Ghana which I must say, has been very exciting. Here in Ghana, I work as a Sales, Marketing and Communications Manager.
I co-own a brand called Boda Organics which provides organic-authentic skincare products. I have so much joy from being a part of the Boda family as not only do we invest in those who produce our products over here in Ghana, we also make people feel beautiful by looking after their skin (our hair care range is coming soon)!
Being a lifestyle blogger, I also have a growing YouTube channel where I discuss on what it has been like as a diasporian, to move from a country like the UK to the motherland Ghana. From this channel, I give tips and advice to individuals and families who are considering making the move themselves! Be sure to check out my channel y’all!
I’m also an aspiring presenter/DJ but let us not talk about my dreams too much!
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, how was your normal schedule like?
Before COVID-19, I was in a very strict routine on weekdays. Waking up at 0600h, I would go to the gym for an hour. Be home by 0715h. I would then have my daily smoothie, get ready and make my way to the office. Depending on my mood, I’d treat myself to lunch on the bad days at a few of my favorite Ghanaian local food selling restaurants (Papaye, Mangoes, Living Room). My work day would end around 1700h. From here my plans would vary, at times I’d go home and have a yoga session, at other times I would meet a friend or go to the beach for a drink and to be with my thoughts.
I co-own a brand called Boda Organics which provides organic-authentic skincare products. I have so much joy from being a part of the Boda family as not only do we invest in those who produce our products over here in Ghana, we also make people feel beautiful by looking after their skin (our hair care range is coming soon)!
How has the Covid-19 pandemic altered your schedule?
COVID-19 has completely altered and ruined my schedule. I’m completely out of a routine living day by day. I can no longer go to the gym and I’m not a fan of home-workouts so my fitness level has dropped drastically. As you all know, restaurants, beaches are all closed so I find it very difficult to have ‘down time’. Due to COVID-19, I spent weeks working from home which is almost impossible for me as a large part of my job needs me in the office or meeting with clients so I was barely working which of course has caused a massive back-log. Luckily, Ghana’s lockdown has been lifted. However, due to my fear of COVID-19, I’ve still been unable to go back to my original routine but at least I’m back in the office!
How are you staying motivated at this time? Have you devised ways to do things differently with social distancing measures and any lockdowns in place?
It has been extremely difficult for me to stay motivated at this period in time, I’ll be honest with you! Something that I started which helped was making a list of all the things I hadn’t been able to do due to my busy schedule and I began ticking things off! This made me make the most out of my days which I wasn’t doing at first (I slept through the early days of lockdown). I also began telling my friends and family that I wanted to exercise and practice DJ’ing for an hour a day which helped me stick to it as I knew they would hold me accountable (and not in the nicest of ways)! Due to social distancing, I live on FaceTime to ensure that I don’t feel disconnected from my loved ones.
Since you are in the beauty industry, what are you doing currently to stay beautiful and what would you advice fellow women to do, while staying and working from home just to feel beautiful when sometimes it doesn’t even feel necessary given the situation?
I have been putting extra time into my skin and hair care. As I suffer from traction alopecia, being in lockdown has given me more time to research into home-made hair masks and treatments to help my growth and I’m impressed with the results!
You’d be surprised how many people think being stuck indoors means they can let go of their beauty habits as ‘no one can see them’, but this will only make you feel worse about yourself which we don’t want! Don’t think because you’re at home you don’t need to look and feel beautiful! Get out of bed, have a shower, do a face/hair mask, put on a bit of lipstick on a down day! Don’t be afraid to do what it takes to feel beautiful.
If you aren’t a fan of working out at home like me, skip with a rope around the house, or do some flexibility yoga. This will help you still feel in touch with your body and not feel like a couch potato.
I have been putting extra time into my skin and hair care. As I suffer from traction alopecia, being in lockdown has given me more time to research into home-made hair masks and treatments to help my growth and I’m impressed with the results!
Ghana has been praised in some African circles on its response to the Covid-19 Crisis. Have you felt this positive response as a Ghanaian and does it make you proud of your country?
I have been extremely proud of Ghana on its response to the crisis. The government has gone the extra mile to ensure its citizens feel safe by constantly updating through online conferences. It makes such a difference to hear your president tell you that things will be okay. However, I do not support his latest decision to lift the lockdown and I feel this may be something he will regret in the weeks to come.
What plans have you post Covid-19?
Post COVID-19, I need to get myself to the gym! I also had a few holidays lined up which have been cancelled so I plan to get the ball rolling on those again. In general, COVID-19 has made me more grateful to be alive considering the amount of people who have passed away to this virus and I plan to let this show in my daily life and attitude.
To keep up with Melika’s You Tube Channel, purchase Boda Organics products or just to stay connected, follow her on:
