Party-Season Beauty Warning: Everyday Products Sabotaging Your Hair and Skin

As salons prepare for their busiest December on record, beauty professionals on Fresha, the world’s leading beauty and wellness booking platform, are warning partygoers that some of winter’s most common glam habits are quietly causing major damage.

From spritzing perfume directly into freshly styled hair to overusing setting spray on lash extensions, experts say a few festive shortcuts are leaving people with dryness, breakage, fading colour – and avoidable repair bills.

Below, Danielle Louise, former salon owner and beauty expert on the Fresha app, breaks down the top hidden slip-ups this season, and how to avoid them.

Stop Spraying Perfume Into Your Hair – It’s One of the Fastest Routes to Dryness and Breakage
According to Danielle, the alcohol content in most fragrances is simply too drying for colour-treated or heat-styled hair, especially during winter when moisture levels are already low.

Danielle Louise says:

“Your favourite perfume might smell incredible, but it’s one of the worst things you can apply to your hair. Alcohol pulls moisture from the cuticle instantly, which leaves hair brittle, frizzy and prone to snapping after styling. If you’re wearing your hair down for a party, this is the quickest way to ruin a blow-dry.”

The safer swap: hair perfume.

Hair perfumes use lighter fragrance molecules and often include conditioning ingredients such as oils or hydrating polymers. “They’re designed to sit on the surface of the hair, not disrupt it,” Danielle adds.

Your Setting Spray Might Be Wrecking Your Lash Extensions
A high-hold setting spray can create a glue-like layer on the lash line – especially problematic for Christmas party makeup.

Danielle says:

“Setting sprays are brilliant for foundation longevity, but most of them aren’t extension-friendly. Alcohol and film-formers can cause the lash fan to clump, weaken the adhesive bond, and make lashes shed faster. I see it every December.”

Quick fix:

Spray setting product onto a sponge and press it into the skin – avoiding the lashes.

Use an oil-free setting spray if you have lash extensions.

Clean the lash line gently after events to avoid build-up.

Your Spa Day Could Be Fading Your Colour or Irritating Your Skin – Here’s How to Avoid It
Thermal pools, saunas, steam rooms, and exfoliating body treatments are hugely popular in winter, but they come with beauty side-effects.

Hair:

“Heat, chlorine and minerals in spa water can all lift colour molecules from the hair, especially blondes and balayage clients,” Danielle explains.

To avoid dullness or brassiness:

Tie hair up and keep it out of chlorinated water.

Use a colour-protecting mask before your visit to create a barrier.

Rinse hair with cool water immediately afterwards.

Skin:

Steam rooms and saunas can sensitise freshly exfoliated or retinoid-treated skin.

Danielle Louise, former salon owner and beauty expert on the Fresha app says:

“If you’ve had a peel, micro-needling or even a strong at-home exfoliant within 48 hours, spa heat can cause redness, flare-ups and even increase pigmentation risks. Always give the skin time to recover.”