I’m a gypsy – the six low maintenance tricks we use to look glam, including a £5 item to get perfect brows
TRAVELLER women are often seen dressed to the nines – and it turns out they may have some inexpensive beauty hacks to achieve their look.
Heidi McClee, who posts under @h.mccc, shared how she manages to look “high maintenance” without breaking the bank thanks to some “low maintenance” tricks.
Speaking to Fabulous, Heidi said: “I think traveller and Gypsy women take pride in their appearance, but it’s the same with most women.
“TikTok is full of the ‘how to be high maintenance but doing low maintenance things’ it’s more of a trend.
“We do take care with our hair, so oiling is a traditional thing we’ve always done.
“Again with the heatless curlers and the silk scrunchies they have become a trend, but it’s something we’ve always done, just to protect our hair from heat damage.”
Here are her top tips…
OIL YOUR HAIR WEEKLY
The glam traveller shared how you need to add oiling your hair to your weekly beauty routine.
Heidi shared: “Amla oil is the best, it helps with breakage, growth and makes hair so strong and shiny costs about £5, and the bottle lasts so long.
“It’s better than any expensive hair treatments.”
You can currently pick up a bottle for £4.49 from Superdrug.
BEARD DYE FOR BROWS
In order to achieve perfect brows, the traveller swears by using Just For Men moustache and beard dye.
She simply applies to her brows, waits for the allotted time, and then washes it off.
Heidi said: “This is the best dye for eyebrows, hands down.
“This whole bottle will cost £5 and will last for ages.”
DIY LASH EXTENSIONS
Instead of paying for pricey lashes, Heidi said she loves at home eyelashes, and called them a “game-changer”.
The brand she loves best is Tatti Lashes, which cost around £8.95 for a set.
She added: “There’s no damage to the natural eyelashes, plus never have the problem where you have gappy lashes waiting for an appointment for an in-fill.”
USE SILK SCRUNCHIES
In order to prevent hair breakage, Heidi only uses scrunchies to tie her hair back and claims silk ones are the best.
Another thing she uses is a claw clip.
She explained: “Travellers/Gypsy’s have always used claw clips (before they were back in fashion) it will protect your hair from breaking.”
BLOW DRY AT HOME
Another thing Heidi does without fail is a weekly blow dry.
She shared: “I’ve been using the babyliss hot air styler for about 10 years.
“The perfect salon blow dry every time at home.
“To keep hair in style the rest of the week, use heatless curlers.
“Find one that works for you, I use the small three for my hair because it’s shorter.”
Facts on gypsy and traveller communities
Typically, gypsies is a term used to describe Romani people who migrated to Europe from India while traveller refers to a person with either Irish, Scottish or English heritage.
Around 300,000 Gypsy, Roma and Irish travellers are thought to live in the UK.
All three groups come from nomadic ways of life, however, as it is increasingly difficult to find land to live on, many are moving into permanent housing.
They place high value on family life and often live close together even after reaching adult years and getting married.
Often the men are the breadwinners of the family while the women stay home.
While many English gypsy girls are allowed to drink alcohol and go on holiday with their friends before they get married, their Irish counterparts are not.