Bodily Maintenance
It’s no secret -- I don’t much like the personal upkeep of things like shaving my legs, washing and blow drying my hair, or putting on makeup. I find dealing with all those lotions and creams a bother.
Last night as I realized my hair needed a shampoo, I wondered how often I would be doing these things if I lived all alone on a desert island. I quickly concluded probably not with any great frequency.
Although I’ve always maintained adequate standards of personal hygiene, I have gone through long stretches of not shaving and not wearing makeup. Most people probably never noticed.
So today I’ll lather up my head and do my usual bad job of blow drying my hair. I’ll probably even shave my legs. As for the makeup, it may end with a little tinted moisturizer and lipstick. Who really needs mascara and eyeliner to practice yoga? (my only outing du jour)
What about you? Would your priorities change if you were all by yourself?
posted by Barbara at 9:16 AM
11 Comments:
Makeup? What makeup? I don't really own any, and my hair dryer dates to the 90s. I do, however, shave religiously. I'm not sure how much more low maintenance I could be.
Kristin -- You have great skin and hair that would make people think you spent a lot of time and money to maintain! I, on the other hand, have naturally blond (now graying) hair that allows me to go unshaved for longer than I should.
I've always had different priorities for my time than tending to my face and hair... I need to learn to wash them both and then let nature do the rest, much as I might on a desert island.
Always a great question -- would I still do such-and-such if no one else would ever know? I'd still wash my hair as often as I reasonably could if I lived alone on a desert island, because I love feeling clean all over my body. However, my daily make-up application (quite light but important to my feeling "dressed" and "attractive"), would end if there were no one but me to see it. Ditto shaving.
F.
Anon -- I"m with you completely. CLEAN would be my only requirement and that doesn't take much effort!
I rarely shave my legs anymore - just sometimes in the summer when I'm wearing shorts and I notice it - but I do shave under my arms. I'd definitely let that go if I were on a desert island! I'd keep moisturizing though - my skin gets itchy without it. I don't wear makeup and I don't blow dry my hair, so nothing to give up there. I guess I'm pretty minimal already!
You are so right. There is always something that needs tending to isn't there? Nowadays for men it is called manscaping and that business can take some time. One things leads to another...
Bozoette -- I would say you are already a minimalist. You go, girl!
Gary -- I confess to having to Google "manscaping". All hair removal sounds painful to me! I can't imagine subjecting myself to this torture or its female counterpart, especially knowing that the hair is going to grow back and I would just have to do it again. Ouch!
I used to wear black tights with dresses in the winter time so that I wouldn't have to shave my legs. But then one day I looked down and saw hundreds of half inch long blonde hairs poking through. I wore jeans for the rest of the winter.
Later on I discovered waxing, and after twenty years of that my legs are practically bald. I have about 2 hairs per inch of leg. When they get to be about a half inch long I sometimes shave them but most of the time it just seems silly.
On a desert island, I'd probably spend a lot of extra time in the water, especially if there was no soap or towels. That would probably be the extent of my routine.
I don'y do makeup but would do skincare...these days its bodily maitenance of a different sort for moi.
I wish you a healthy year ahead
I love these posts where you pose a problem of your own and then ask who else has it. Shampoo? daily. Shave? When I'm going out amongst 'em barelegged. Shower? daily. Makeup? Never. I'm blonde, too, or was till I started going silver at the edges. I DO live alone, just not on a deserted island. Yet.
Cyndy -- I love the description of "two hairs per inch of leg". Those must be bold hairs to have survived 20 years of waxing!
E -- Unfortunately my bodily maintenance too extends well beyond these optional activities to the required daily workout that keeps me moving. That is, the exercises I should be doing right now instead of sitting here Blogging!
Pauline -- Sounds like you subscribe to the CLEAN path the Bozoette and I also follow!
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