Anonymous wrote:Google was my parents

Anonymous wrote:Middle school girls telling me what I was doing wrong. You can imagine how enjoyable that was.

Anonymous wrote:I picked things up here and there, sometimes from weird places. I remember my older brother telling me about using shaving cream on my legs (I thought it was just for the face) and moisturizer on them afterwards. He found out from his girlfriend.

I learned from Oprah that you don't wear a WHITE bra under a white shirt, but a NUDE colored bra instead. Okay, that's fashion rather than hygiene. My father told me I would know my hair was clean when I was in the shower and it squeaked.

I went to our next door neighbor's house for something and she had a friend over. The friend told me to use leave-in conditioner in my hair. She was right. I never flossed as a kid - I learned how from watching my dentist teach my daughter how to do it. I can't remember how I learned about waxing.

Probably learned most other stuff from friends or reading. My mom wore such bad makeup that kids at school made fun of me for how she looked. She had outdated views (tampons cause TSS), wearing black or red is slutty, and a lot of misinformation (brush your curly hair harder to tame it and make it less pouffy). She also has easily not showered or taken a bath in decades at this point. So she would get angry at me for taking too-long showers or too frequent showers even though I would take one every other day and be in and out of the bathroom in 20 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:

Didn't bathe for decades? What was that about? Did she have a mental illness?

I tried shaving my legs in 7th grade, and cut myself about 5 times up my shin. I was embarrased and said I tripped on the steps. I think I tried and succeeded later. This is why I totally disagree with moms who say to let your daughter come to you when she's ready, or that mentioning her hairy armpits will make her feel bad. I desperately wanted my mom to say "It's time to shave now." But she never did, and I was just way too awkward to go to her. So I was just ashamed of my hairy legs and pits until I did it myself.

I think she hasn't showered (or stepped into a bathtub) since the 80's. I think she stands in front of the sink with a washcloth and washes herself that way, once a week or so. Her hair only gets washed every few months when she goes to a salon to get it dyed. She is a uh, large lady and I think she was scared of slipping and falling getting into/out of the shower. In her late 60's she lost a significant amount of weight but she's had back/foot/knee problems for over a decade and I think would still worry about slipping. When my parents moved about a decade ago and my dad was having a bathroom torn out and re-built I pulled him aside and told him to make the shower handicapped accessible - sturdy bench and hand rails. Sadly I don't think that helped.

When my DD wanted to shave she asked me. And I asked if she'd been using my razor. When she said yes we had a big talk about why one doesn't do that. I took her to Target and we picked out her very own razor for her, and shaving cream (these days she uses coconut oil I think). I explained that you NEVER want to buy the cheapest razor and you should change the blade after each period (once a month). Some kids can talk to their parents about these things. Some can't. You have to know your kid, you know?

Didn't bathe for decades? What was that about? Did she have a mental illness?

I tried shaving my legs in 7th grade, and cut myself about 5 times up my shin. I was embarrased and said I tripped on the steps. I think I tried and succeeded later. This is why I totally disagree with moms who say to let your daughter come to you when she's ready, or that mentioning her hairy armpits will make her feel bad. I desperately wanted my mom to say "It's time to shave now." But she never did, and I was just way too awkward to go to her. So I was just ashamed of my hairy legs and pits until I did it myself.

Anonymous wrote:I picked things up here and there, sometimes from weird places. I remember my older brother telling me about using shaving cream on my legs (I thought it was just for the face) and moisturizer on them afterwards. He found out from his girlfriend.

I learned from Oprah that you don't wear a WHITE bra under a white shirt, but a NUDE colored bra instead. Okay, that's fashion rather than hygiene. My father told me I would know my hair was clean when I was in the shower and it squeaked.

I went to our next door neighbor's house for something and she had a friend over. The friend told me to use leave-in conditioner in my hair. She was right. I never flossed as a kid - I learned how from watching my dentist teach my daughter how to do it. I can't remember how I learned about waxing.

Probably learned most other stuff from friends or reading. My mom wore such bad makeup that kids at school made fun of me for how she looked. She had outdated views (tampons cause TSS), wearing black or red is slutty, and a lot of misinformation (brush your curly hair harder to tame it and make it less pouffy). She also has easily not showered or taken a bath in decades at this point. So she would get angry at me for taking too-long showers or too frequent showers even though I would take one every other day and be in and out of the bathroom in 20 minutes.