Vanity, vanity, all is-- ouch!

[klwilliams]

Today, my big outing for the day was to the beauty shop, to get a haircut, get my fake nails filled, and get my eyebrows and lip "done". Most of you know that I've never really been the sort of woman who pays that much attention to those sorts of details, but since I've lost a lot of weight I'm endeavoring to look a little nicer. Also, I'm tired of biting my nails. What I've discovered is a whole new world of pain.

The way to get nice, new fake nails is to have someone run a drill bit that's made out of metal sandpaper (I don't know what the real name is) on your bare nails to rough them up. The nice Vietnamese lady (they're usually nice Vietnamese ladies) will usually miss running over your skin, though today she had come in on her day off and dug a hole in my right ring finger. Next she paints wet glop on your nails that will harden up in a moment to become the nice new fake nails, which she will run over with metal sandpaper a few times until it's nice and smooth. Then she gets out the emory board to shape the nails, which involves digging into the edges of your fingers again. When done, I look nice, and my fingers hurt.

Waxing also hurts. Waxing the tenderest part of your face, such as your upper lip or the area right under your eyebrow, hurts a whole effing lot. First, nice warm wax falling softly on your face, then-- riiippp! Comforting warm wax-- riippp! But at least no one has called me "sir" for the last month or so.

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

What is microdermabrasion? Does it do anything useful?

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

It's essentially sandblasting the skin, getting the top level of old skin off. For those of us with sun damage or older skin, it helps get a fresher look, fewer age marks, etc. They can do it on the "decolatage," too, for those places you always forget to put sunscreen on. And hands, for age marks.

It can also help (and the reason I did it) get rid of large pores, stubborn blackheads, and other blemishes (not pimples). I had blackheads that I think have been since 10th grade, just sitting there getting older and deeper, and on my jaw line, at the corners of my mouth, and on my nose have pores the size moon craters.

It worked well; it takes 4-6 treatments to be most effective, and you have to continue having regular facials every 3-4 weeks afterward to keep the effect up. I liked the way my skin looked, but I can no longer afford to keep the ritual going. I liked it. I know, I'm vain, but... There are a lot of women up here in the High Country that look like their skin is turning into aligator leather. I don't intend to be one of them.