What is “above average grooming and hygiene “?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take a shower once a day, brush and floss my teeth twice a day.
I also tweeze my eyebrows and trim the hairs as needed.
I wear my hair in natural waves and don’t style it. I don’t usually wear makeup.

What should I do to be above average?

What a weird question. What goal do you have in mind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you spend 1.5 hours a day on grooming for your entire adult life, you will spend about 10% of all your waking time on this planet on grooming. Over 50 years of adulthood, that is 5 whole YEARS of your life.

I would personally rather spend that time on other areas of self improvement, accomplishment, and having fun. But, that is a choice each person has to make for themselves. Note, though, that to the extent we expect this of women (and not of men), we are placing a major burden on the lifetime accomplishments of women as a group.

People spend more than 1.5 hours daily on doing things that has no value. Video games, watching TV, being on DCUM, eating junk food, watching porn, smoking, gambling, lazing, being on social media. Looking good brings forth many societal and personal rewards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obsessively scrubbing one's shins, according to this board.

I still don't understand how you are in the shower but don't wash whole parts/sections of your body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take a shower once a day, brush and floss my teeth twice a day.
I also tweeze my eyebrows and trim the hairs as needed.
I wear my hair in natural waves and don’t style it. I don’t usually wear makeup.

What should I do to be above average?

How old are you? What is the condition of your skin, teeth, hair? What is your goal?

Younger women with flawless youthful skin, thick well styled no-gray hair, white gleaming teeth and youthful trim figures can get away with doing very little. Of course you have to make sure that you are not smelly or are hairy.

Are you in shape? Do you have dandruff, dry and lusterless hair, thinning hair, gray hair or bald patches? Is your hair out of control and you do not have a good hair style? Do you have acne or acne scars and discoloration? Do you have throat stones, yellowing teeth, coated tongue? Are your nails brittle or chewed up?

Do you smoke, drink, don't get enough sleep, do yo-yo dieting, don't exercise, don't protect yourself from sun?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you spend 1.5 hours a day on grooming for your entire adult life, you will spend about 10% of all your waking time on this planet on grooming. Over 50 years of adulthood, that is 5 whole YEARS of your life.

I would personally rather spend that time on other areas of self improvement, accomplishment, and having fun. But, that is a choice each person has to make for themselves. Note, though, that to the extent we expect this of women (and not of men), we are placing a major burden on the lifetime accomplishments of women as a group.

People spend more than 1.5 hours daily on doing things that has no value. Video games, watching TV, being on DCUM, eating junk food, watching porn, smoking, gambling, lazing, being on social media. Looking good brings forth many societal and personal rewards.

PP here. I agree that people choose to spend their time on all sorts of things. As I said, it is a personal choice, and each person has to make it for themselves. I choose to spend my time on other things, but others can make different choices, and that is absolutely their right. If 1.5 hours of grooming a day gives you joy/satisfaction/whatever, then that's great But, I do think it is important to think about how the time we spend on all these daily things--grooming and other things--adds up and whether that is really how we want to spend our time. And, to the extent their are societal expectations placed on one group and not another (you mention the societal rewards people can get from lots of grooming, and I do not disagree, but I do think it is gendered), then we, as a society, should think about whether that is fair/advisable/etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obsessively scrubbing one's shins, according to this board.

I still don't understand how you are in the shower but don't wash whole parts/sections of your body.

+ 1

Clean behind your ears.

At least do a baby foot peel FFS if you have green colored foot fungus or cracked heels.

And do something about the gross dandruff that is falling like snowflakes on your shoulder!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you spend 1.5 hours a day on grooming for your entire adult life, you will spend about 10% of all your waking time on this planet on grooming. Over 50 years of adulthood, that is 5 whole YEARS of your life.

I would personally rather spend that time on other areas of self improvement, accomplishment, and having fun. But, that is a choice each person has to make for themselves. Note, though, that to the extent we expect this of women (and not of men), we are placing a major burden on the lifetime accomplishments of women as a group.

People spend more than 1.5 hours daily on doing things that has no value. Video games, watching TV, being on DCUM, eating junk food, watching porn, smoking, gambling, lazing, being on social media. Looking good brings forth many societal and personal rewards.

PP here. I agree that people choose to spend their time on all sorts of things. As I said, it is a personal choice, and each person has to make it for themselves. I choose to spend my time on other things, but others can make different choices, and that is absolutely their right. If 1.5 hours of grooming a day gives you joy/satisfaction/whatever, then that's great But, I do think it is important to think about how the time we spend on all these daily things--grooming and other things--adds up and whether that is really how we want to spend our time. And, to the extent their are societal expectations placed on one group and not another (you mention the societal rewards people can get from lots of grooming, and I do not disagree, but I do think it is gendered), then we, as a society, should think about whether that is fair/advisable/etc.

I think 1.5 hours a day sounds a lot but lets break it down on what it would entail. I can easily spend 45 minutes each day on dental hygine, shower, hair wash, drying, lotion. People also spend time in styling their hair, putting makeup, applying fake lashes etc. And then removing all of that at night and cleaning their skin. 1.5 hours does not sound much at all for such people and 45 minutes does not sound extreme for normal amount of grooming. The truth is that you may need more or less help in looking good based on your age and genetics.

[Anonymous]

Above average grooming and hygiene

[Anonymous]

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/05/the-pseudoscience-of-beauty-products/392201/

Thinks like weekly micro abrasion certainly might maintain a polished look to your skin, and some products do reduce the appearance of fine lines and reduce surface wrinkling. But I think the PP would has the extensive routine likely benefits from genetics and minimizing sun exposure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you spend 1.5 hours a day on grooming for your entire adult life, you will spend about 10% of all your waking time on this planet on grooming. Over 50 years of adulthood, that is 5 whole YEARS of your life.

I would personally rather spend that time on other areas of self improvement, accomplishment, and having fun. But, that is a choice each person has to make for themselves. Note, though, that to the extent we expect this of women (and not of men), we are placing a major burden on the lifetime accomplishments of women as a group.

People spend more than 1.5 hours daily on doing things that has no value. Video games, watching TV, being on DCUM, eating junk food, watching porn, smoking, gambling, lazing, being on social media. Looking good brings forth many societal and personal rewards.

PP here. I agree that people choose to spend their time on all sorts of things. As I said, it is a personal choice, and each person has to make it for themselves. I choose to spend my time on other things, but others can make different choices, and that is absolutely their right. If 1.5 hours of grooming a day gives you joy/satisfaction/whatever, then that's great But, I do think it is important to think about how the time we spend on all these daily things--grooming and other things--adds up and whether that is really how we want to spend our time. And, to the extent their are societal expectations placed on one group and not another (you mention the societal rewards people can get from lots of grooming, and I do not disagree, but I do think it is gendered), then we, as a society, should think about whether that is fair/advisable/etc.

The "above average groomer" said she spends 1-2 hours per week on grooming. Not 1.5 hours per day. As far as I know, noone in this thread has mentioned spending such a large amount of time each day on grooming. So, I'm not sure where this comment is coming from.

[Anonymous]

I just had my teeth professionally whitened for the first time. I usually brush my teeth 4 or 5 times per day, so my teeth were already very white. But I see a subtle difference.

I already have above average dental hygiene. Of course I bathe once daily, sometimes twice, and moisturize my skin.

Areas of Improvement:

Coloring hair on a regular basis to hide grays.

Getting more frequent trims. I wear a short natural which requires frequent trimming to look neat.

Manicures and Pedicures on a more regular basis. I tend to slack off during the colder months.

Updating my skincare routine. I have recently added Retin-A micro to my evening routine to prevent fine line and wrinkle formation, even skin tone.

I'm in my 40s and refuse to become frumpy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I have above average grooming and hygiene.

Oil massage and shower every day. Lotion and skin treatments daily. Organic home made body scrub once a week.
Hair color and highlight every three weeks. Gloss and hair mask or treatment every week. Haircut every three week. Hair styled every day.
Microdermabrasion - once a week
Full body sugaring as needed. - once in two weeks
Pedicure once a week. Hot wax treatment for hands, feet, elbow and knees - every week
Facial and manicure - once a week. I do not keep long nails or fake nails. My nails are cut short and my nail polish is a very light nude polish. I give myself hot wax treatment.
Dental - Cleaning twice a year. Brush, water pik, gargle - twice a day. Oil pulling - once daily.

At 55, I have flawless skin and great hair. I take around 1-2 hours on a weekend night to take care of hair, wax, facial, mani-pedi, microdermabrasion and hot wax treatment. I have been doing this since my 20s. I do all my treatments at home and I also make many of my lotions, treatments and my wax at home. I also have been cutting my short pixie cut hair at home since the pandemic.

I don't have a problem when women get professional treatments like Botox or fillers etc. I have never tried it mainly because of cost and time. The one time slot that works for me is when the household has winded down at night and I can do everything that I need to do for myself in 1-2 hours. I cannot imagine doing everything that I need to get done at a commercial salon in the middle of the day without inconveniencing my family. It helps that I have experience and some training to do all of these treatments on my own.

#Goals

I'm striving to get to your level.

This! Please share more. How? What machine? Help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I have above average grooming and hygiene.

Oil massage and shower every day. Lotion and skin treatments daily. Organic home made body scrub once a week.
Hair color and highlight every three weeks. Gloss and hair mask or treatment every week. Haircut every three week. Hair styled every day.
Microdermabrasion - once a week
Full body sugaring as needed. - once in two weeks
Pedicure once a week. Hot wax treatment for hands, feet, elbow and knees - every week
Facial and manicure - once a week. I do not keep long nails or fake nails. My nails are cut short and my nail polish is a very light nude polish. I give myself hot wax treatment.
Dental - Cleaning twice a year. Brush, water pik, gargle - twice a day. Oil pulling - once daily.

At 55, I have flawless skin and great hair. I take around 1-2 hours on a weekend night to take care of hair, wax, facial, mani-pedi, microdermabrasion and hot wax treatment. I have been doing this since my 20s. I do all my treatments at home and I also make many of my lotions, treatments and my wax at home. I also have been cutting my short pixie cut hair at home since the pandemic.


You rock, please share more. Can those of us without training use the machine? Way to take care of self and others.

I don't have a problem when women get professional treatments like Botox or fillers etc. I have never tried it mainly because of cost and time. The one time slot that works for me is when the household has winded down at night and I can do everything that I need to do for myself in 1-2 hours. I cannot imagine doing everything that I need to get done at a commercial salon in the middle of the day without inconveniencing my family. It helps that I have experience and some training to do all of these treatments on my own.

That's...a lot. I also don't understand how you don't have time for a 20 minute Botox appointment every few months but you have time for homemade body scrubs, weekly hot wax treatment, manis/pedis, and microdermabraision, and hair appointments every three weeks. You spend a LOT of time on your appearance. I'm guessing there isn't much else going on?

It did ask about "above average" grooming, right? I think attractive women want to remain attractive even as they age?

Hmm...lets see. I am a working woman, two kids in HS doing DL, 1 elderly IL that needs some care, 1 DH who has a long workday, 3 meals a day for 5 people, (no cleaning lady because COVID), cleaning the house, tending to the yard, grocery shopping, laundry, volunteer work and several hobbies..so I guess I am as average as any other woman here in terms of busy-ness.

I am able to get a lot done for myself because I took aesthetician training as a teen. It was my mom's idea to keep me busy during pne summer. I have been giving all the treatments to myself and my teen DD at home. I have a nice set up at home and I have a process that I have honed over years. I am not going for any appointments anywhere. No driving to a place, no waiting, no nothing. My weekly nighttime routine takes 1-2 hours and it does not interfere with anything that my family needs. I haven't needed botox yet. Not one wrinkle or frown. But, who knows if I will ever want to get it done? The fear of putting something toxic in my body, the cost and the inconvenience all of these things will make me think twice. Besides, I am used to my inexpensive full-salon home treatments.

I am curious as to why you were being so bitchy? What triggered you?

[Anonymous]

Pre-Pandemic

Mani/pedi every 2-3 weeks
Bi weekly blowout
Monthly brow threading
I’m not a waxer (my hair grows fast so it only really lasted like 10-14 days), so I did shaving every Monday.
1-2x per year I work with a personal stylist to do a wardrobe refresh. I love shopping, but don’t have time, so I pay someone $200 to do the curating for me.
3-5 years I do a makeup refresh at a counter like Nars, Chanel

Really need to throw in bi-annual teeth whitening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I have above average grooming and hygiene.

Oil massage and shower every day. Lotion and skin treatments daily. Organic home made body scrub once a week.
Hair color and highlight every three weeks. Gloss and hair mask or treatment every week. Haircut every three week. Hair styled every day.
Microdermabrasion - once a week
Full body sugaring as needed. - once in two weeks
Pedicure once a week. Hot wax treatment for hands, feet, elbow and knees - every week
Facial and manicure - once a week. I do not keep long nails or fake nails. My nails are cut short and my nail polish is a very light nude polish. I give myself hot wax treatment.
Dental - Cleaning twice a year. Brush, water pik, gargle - twice a day. Oil pulling - once daily.

At 55, I have flawless skin and great hair. I take around 1-2 hours on a weekend night to take care of hair, wax, facial, mani-pedi, microdermabrasion and hot wax treatment. I have been doing this since my 20s. I do all my treatments at home and I also make many of my lotions, treatments and my wax at home. I also have been cutting my short pixie cut hair at home since the pandemic.

I don't have a problem when women get professional treatments like Botox or fillers etc. I have never tried it mainly because of cost and time. The one time slot that works for me is when the household has winded down at night and I can do everything that I need to do for myself in 1-2 hours. I cannot imagine doing everything that I need to get done at a commercial salon in the middle of the day without inconveniencing my family. It helps that I have experience and some training to do all of these treatments on my own.

#Goals

I'm striving to get to your level.

This! Please share more. How? What machine? Help.

Sure.


Hair products -
-NaturTint hair dye. If I want highlights or lowlights, I use different colors and paint on the streaks a day before or after the full head dye job. Doing full dye and highlights/lowlights take too long to do it on the same day. .
- John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Luminous Glaze. I use it for shine so I use it after I shampoo and conditioner. . Many people use it on dry hair and then wash off to actually blends in their salt and pepper hair. I LOVE this product. My teen also uses it when she wants her hair to look glossy without a more chemically treatment. Makes hair a bit darker though for me.
- Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Moroccan Sleek Oil Treatment - just a drop rubbed in wet hair before I use cool air to blow dry.

My tools and gadgets.
1) Revlon volumizer for styling hair every day. It takes me less than 2-3 minutes. I use it on cool setting mostly.
2) Gigi Hot Wax Warmer and Hard Wax for bikini area and underarms. I sugar off the body hair by using a homemade Arabic sugaring wax or cold wax and cloth strips (I also warm the cold wax so it spreads easily) I have tried waxing at salons and the lack of care and expertise while waxing meant that I am usually fighting ingrown hair after that. . Lots of youtube videos on how to use and how to make the wax. Note - it takes time to melt all the wax in the warmer so normally I set all of these warmers and baths on much before I start my home spa treatments.
3) HomeMedics bubble foot spa - there are others on the market too. I got this as a gift and it does a good enough job. I use some shampoo and hydrogen peroxide in it. If you don't want tp do this you can just immerse your feet in a small tub filled with hot water and shampoo. No biggie
4) Therabath Professional Thermotherapy Paraffin Bath - I like this. Before this I was microwaving the paraffin in a pyrex dish at a low power. That worked too. Lots of time my family will search these kinds of gadgets and gift it to me, But, you can certainly do without. This is a large enough size and you can immerse your knees and elbows too. I also use a silicone spatula to use it on my legs if I am wearing a nice dress and want my legs to look smooth and shiny.
5) Diamond Microdermabrasion Machine. I really like it because it makes people comment on how glowy my skin is. Don't use it near eyes. Works well on hands too. Do one area a week. I rotate between my face, chest and neck. It soaks up any beauty product after that. This is my first microdermabrasion machine so I am not an expert.

I concoct my own lotions/potions too at home.

Hope it helps.