Welcome to Shelf Life, where Olympians are breaking down the beauty routines carrying them through the 2024 Paris Games. Today, Paralympian—and licensed esthetician—Brittni Mason reveals her go-to lip gloss, her skin care routine for combating oiliness, and her secret to airbrush-finish makeup on and off the track.
If Brittni Mason weren’t a world-class Paralympian, she’d probably be a beautician. Well, actually, she already is. The 25-year-old (who was born with Erb’s Palsy affecting her left shoulder and arm) has medaled twice (one gold, one silver) in track and field, but running isn’t her only talent. Despite a packed athletic schedule, Mason found the time to become a licensed esthetician last December. “I’ve always loved beauty. I have an obsession with skin, lashes, hair, and nails,” Mason tells Allure. “I figured if I learn these things, I don’t have to pay somebody else to do them for me, I can just do them whenever I want to.”
Mason now offers her esthetician services to teammates, sometimes in return for what she hasn’t yet mastered: hairstyling and nail treatments. “I have two girls who do my nails and hair every few weeks, so I do their lashes. It’s a trade of services,” Mason says.
This level of beauty upkeep is time-consuming, and even more so for a full-time athlete. “Usually, I have a set schedule with my training but I give myself at least one day a week for self-care which is usually Wednesdays since we don’t practice that day,” Mason explains. “I prioritize my hair, lash, and nail days because that is essential and I refuse to not make time.” The exception, of course, is when she’s competing. While knee-deep in the 2024 Olympics, the Paralympian doesn’t have access to her hair and nail girls, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less glammed up—the answer is all in the prep.
Hair
I get my hair done at least once a month. I’ve just become a braids girly, which was not the case before. I’ve always liked wigs and sew-ins, but when you live in Florida and the humidity is what it is, you learn to like braids. I do wear my hair out natural sometimes, but with training every day it’s very hard not to slick it back in a bun or a ponytail, and I get tired of slicking my hair back into the same ponytail style. Wash days are really long also, which is why I like to keep my hair braided or in some sort of [protective] style. I like braids because they’re just very convenient, [but] I don’t like taking them out, and I don’t like the process of getting them in. It’s a love-hate feeling.
I start my wash days by using a clarifying shampoo to cleanse deeply. Then I use either a deep conditioner or a regular conditioner, then I let it dry a bit in a towel wrap before I blow dry. My hair is thick and it takes a long time to blow dry, so I avoid wash days as much as possible. I use the Hair Essentials Kit from Forever Fine Collection. It’s owned by a cosmetologist I found on Instagram; she’s local to the Detroit area.
Skin
I have oily skin, and I’ve found that less is more in my routine. I got my esthetician license last year, and since then I have cared about my skin a lot more—especially in the limelight of sports on TV, social media, and things like that. I always double cleanse my face in the evenings. I love La Roche-Posay and use their stuff faithfully. I start with the Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Cleansing Oil followed by the Toleriane Purifying Foaming Face Wash for Oily Skin. In the mornings I’ll follow my cleanse with the Vichy Mineral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum or the Vichy Vitamin C Serum. I first discovered the brand in Paris last July while shopping at a pharmacy. I finish off my morning routine with the La Roche-Posay Toleraine Double Repair Face Moisturizer UV SPF 30. It’s just chef’s kiss; so good. I use that every single day.
I do have a separate little post-practice routine, though. I use the Yours Cloud Factory Cleanser. It smells super good, and I have no idea why but it makes my skin feel so clean. All I do is wash my face with this after practice and I put on a face moisturizer and there’s nothing else on my face.