As a country of do-it-yourselfers, we are constantly looking for ways to get what we want faster and cheaper than just buying it from a store. While there are plenty of cheap and effective DIY projects we are capable of doing on our own, there are some things that simply should be left to the professionals. Here are four DIY projects that you should never try.
Contact Solution
Yes, contact solution is quite expensive, especially when you add up the cost year after year. You may be tempted to mix a batch of your own. However, putting anything into your eye that isn’t absolutely sterile is a major risk. You would be opening yourself up to the chance of an irritation or a nasty eye infection. At worst, you might even compromise your sight, which will cost you a lot more in the long run than you would save by making your own contact solution.
Hair Dye
The problem with making your own hair dye is you will never know the result until its already too late. You could end up with an awful color that will cost you hundreds of dollars to fix. Or the irritants in the dye could lead to some serious scalp irritation or burns. Stick to store bought solutions or visit a hair salon just to be safe.
Gap Banding
Strapping cheap rubber bands around the gap in your front teeth is a dangerous trend making its way around the internet. At first glance, this seems like an easy way to save a few thousand dollars on braces—they even use rubber bands in braces sometimes! However, according to the dentists at Schererville Family Dentistry, PC, the way that teeth are shaped guides rubber bands into the gum, severing their connections to the roots and gum. The longer the band is left on, the higher the risk that it moves up into the gum, damaging it and likely extracting the tooth rather than moving it. A high and painful price to pay just to close up a gap.
Sunscreen
With millions of people being diagnosed with skin cancer each year, this is not a product to mess with. Other than staying out of the sun, sunscreen is the most effective form of protection against damaging your skin and developing skin cancer. Even if you were able to get titanium oxide and zinc to mix together, you have no way of determining what level of SPF you have, so there is no way to know if you are protected. Sunscreen is cheap enough, and difficult enough to make, that buying it at a store is your best, safest option.
Do not waste time and money or risk your health taking on DYI projects that common sense already tells you are not a good idea. These projects may look easy at first glance but could end up being dangerous and have long-lasting consequences.