I like to groom. Perhaps that's because I associate it with female life and was forbidden from doing almost any of it when I was younger. In the past, taking care of your body was considered effeminate. It's why cosmetic companies have tried and repeatedly failed to get men interested in grooming products. (Yes, there are a few rare men who do groom, but they're ridiculed as "metrosexual" or mocked as effeminate.)
In the last decade, I've given myself permission to play with all sorts of grooming. Shaving everywhere, moisturizing and using lotion, tweezing and plucking, etc. And I enjoy it. There's a zen-like state one can enter when focusing on our corporeal physicality. And repetitive tasks, while boring to some, can open one's mind to potent pondering. (The closest I came to that in my youth was joyous philosophizing which emerged, without effort, when mowing lawns.)
It's also fun and creative to play with new grooming products. The selection of female beauty products seems infinite compared to the handful available to men. My friend Emma gave me a Birchbox subscription for Christmas which I'm enjoying immensely.
Do you feel good about grooming?
When it's for a special event, or a special night, there is an enjoyment for me. But those are rare moments. Most days, like this morning, it's just one more thing that I have to do, and do quickly, or else I'll be late and really, what boss is going to accept; "I'm sorry I'm late, I was shaving my nether regions" as a legitimate excuse.
ReplyDeletei don't have a problem with the little grooming stuff like tweezing, trimming nails, etc. but showering/shaving?? huge chore. don't get me wrong, i love the feeling of being clean and groomed, and i'm even slightly obsessed about certain things, but i just feel like it takes so. much. time. i'm reminded of a cartoon i saw once (maybe the jetsons) where they pushed a button and was all clean! that would be awesome, lol!!
ReplyDeletebut, i had a conversation with a friend once...it was late, he was off to bed and asked if i was going to do the same, and i said, "no, i STILL have to shower." and then he let me vent about how i dreaded the whole showering process..shampoo, rinse, condition, tie hair up, wash body, rinse, wash face (several steps depending on products/system i'm using at the time), shave, rinse conditioner out of hair...then you have the whole tone/moisturize after the shower, flossing and brushing your teeth...oy vey! that whole process right there is exhausting, and this is all usually happening around midnight for me, after dinner/homework/getting kids showered and to bed/running on the treadmill/blogging. if i had the time to do it leisurely, i'm sure i would feel differently. i'm glad you enjoy it because it can be nice and therapeutic. i do enjoy trying new grooming products, tho...i'd be excited to receive those birchboxes!
Sometimes, if I'm taking a nice long bath, I can enjoy the leg shaving part. Until I cut myself :) Mostly, though, its all a big annoyance.
ReplyDeleteI view it all as a chore and a bore and a time-suck.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter (age 13) takes hour-long showers, and also spends more than an hour shaving every other day. It's lovely to read about your experience of grooming, Ally. I hope my girl is enjoying it in the ways you do.
I love to soak in a bubble bath. I enjoy grooming but I do wish thee was much less hair to worry about. I don't have to do much to my eyebrows except pull out one grey hair that loves to pop up. My legs are another story!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Shawna. I enjoy your feedback.
DeleteI am not terribly tech savvy or perhaps I should say internet savvy, so with some of the blogs I visit I can only lurk because they don't give me the option to respond just using my name. I don't know how to make any of those accounts I'm supposed to have in order to respond. I am also stuck being shadow woman. Just imagine a 46 year old woman with short hair, glasses and a goofy grin, buried under piles and piles of books and you'll have an image of me. :-)
DeleteI understand that, Shawna. When I started following blogs, I didn't have one of my own and faced the same situation. I vowed to always give readers an option of commenting the way you do.
DeleteAnd the image you present is a nice one! Books and goofy grins are very attractive features. :-)
I have actually had a blog twice. Two different blogs that is. I am not cut out to be a blogger. So I probably have an account from blogspot and one from wordpress only I cannot remember what the passwords might be and the one with blogspot was using an email address with my married name and now I'm divorced I no longer have that e-mail. I'm a complicated woman! LOL Complicated shadow woman! And since I can actually talk to you, look out!
DeleteI'm enjoying our conversation. :-)
DeleteI love grooming. Shaving is one of my #1 priorities. I shave my legs everyday. I can't stand fuzzy legs!
ReplyDeleteOoh! Birchbox! That's an amazing gift. I just signed up for Ipsy. It's $10 a month and you get 5 full size products. I'm in love with cosmetics and beauty products, so I'm super excited to get my first bag. You should check it out! Here's the link to the site: http://www.ipsy.com/r/5ntu. You might like that too. :)
Ugh I hate the term "metrosexual" and it sounds like you do too Ally. Why do men who want to smell clean and fragrant, colour-coordinate their clothes, add little touches to their outfits to make them look different from everyone else and make them feel special, get lumbered with an ignorant name? Today I did all my nails and plucked my eyebrows - so relaxing! x
ReplyDeleteI enjoy grooming too! But that's because I never do it if I don't want to, I go out looking like a mess if I don't feel like getting groomed ;D
ReplyDeleteGrooming is a huge waste of time but a necessary evil. When I was younger I would take very long baths and enjoy the process, but after 25 years it is simply boring for me. If I could avoid it I would spend time doing something else I enjoy.
ReplyDeletebisous
Suzanne
By and large, I really don't mind it at all. It's a bit like housekeeping, which is another day-to-day chore that I don't typically dislike. Having your body (and home) looking freshly polished and highly presentable is always a very satisfying feeling to me.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
I'm glad you said this, I get immense pleasure from plucking my eyebrows. It's a little luxury to me to just go into the bathroom by myself and spend as much time as I want getting them just right. There's also nothing better than a fresh shaved pair of legs!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy what grooming I do prescribe to. I never really got on with make-up like most girls. I don't ALWAYS shave. But I do moisturize religiously and care for my brows and tattoos.
ReplyDeleteMy tattoos have certainly become the most fascinating part of body modification for me. They do require care as much as any accessory like jewelry or make up.
I also like caring for my skin. Since I was a teen, I struggled with acne. It's become a bit of a thing for me to pamper my skin with natural oils and moisturizers. I no longer strip my skin of its natural oils in attempt to "dry out" my acne, and my skin has never been better!
I think my favorite has to be putting on lotion after a hot shower. I just bought a giant bottle of Jergens cherry almond lotion, and I am in love with the subtle scent of it.
ReplyDeleteI love to play with fancy lotions and scrubs and creams, but I find myself just plain forgetting about them and sticking to the old routine of soap and water.
ReplyDeleteHmm...I enjoy grooming...I shave my arm pits everyday, and my legs most days...it's a texture thing for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm also not one to stand in a hot bath for very long, I usually can get in and out within 10 minutes with a leg shave- I don't waste my time...because I have more grooming rituals to get through before I head out for the day...
hairy as i´m it´s a chore. nothing to enjoy but very necessary like a clean kitchen.
ReplyDeleteIt's in my to do list... but the fact that its time consuming makes me lay it off.
ReplyDeleteIt's not something I enjoy particularly. I usually try to get it done as quickly as possible. ha
ReplyDeleteFor the past couple of years or so my husband is been a member and moderator of a wet shaving forum. He discovered this online world of shaving and enjoys his brushes, soaps, razors, colognes, etc. It's become quite a pleasurable hobby for him. I believe he enjoys the process of his shaving ritual itself too. He collects various products and razors and also resells some as well. While he's not necessarily a GQ kind of guy (prefers to be extremely minimal in wardrobe pieces), he does own more than a lifetime's supply of shaving soaps and creams, etc.
My pleasure/hobby is thrifting my wardrobe and he encourages it....that's why my closets are overflowing. ha
I think your husband's hobby is interesting. I once considered learning more about it myself.
DeleteAhh, I haven't shaved my legs yet in 2014. Oops? It's such a pain in my butt...or legs, as it were. But I get where you're coming from on the ritualistic/meditative side of it. I get that way sometimes when I do my nails :)
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