pampering yourself--QUESTION

[BarbaraRose]

Soos, I also checked on using baby wipes for the face, and you're good to go there! Apparently, they are just as good as the regular facial cleansing cloths, only lots cheaper. Good to know! I may try that myself!

[dpf]

Okay, while we're on "pampering" ourselves I have to ask a question. How much does everyone pay in different areas of the country for haircuts? My sister just moved back from southern CA and she was paying $45 for a haircut. I have to admit I went for many years not paying for haircuts because my neighbor was a beautician and her shop was in her house. We worked on the barter/happy hour system! My haircuts were never during shop hours and she'd cut my hair and then we'd have a happy hour(s) and I would do her family's mending and altering and we'd baby sit their dog when they were gone....or if her husband got involved it was a batch of carmel rolls! That arrangement went to hell in a hand basket when they moved. I have found a beautician in the town where I work and I love her haircuts too...and it's $15 for a cut and a facial wax or $40 for a perm and the same...which is dirt cheap I know. I color my own hair (I'm basically cheap) and use a semi-permanent product because it washes out gradually and I don't get so much of a root line...actually I use a couple shades lighter than my natural color so it pretty much just colors the gray (white wiry devils) to a medium blonde and peope think that I've had my hair frosted.

I've never had a manicure or pedicure either Soos. I can give myself a fairly decent manicure but hate doing a pedicure! I just looked now at my feet and I think maybe I'd break down before sandal season!

[BarbaraRose]

Great Clips here charges $14 for cuts (shampoo extra). Where I currently work, we charge $20 (shampoo extra). Personally, I would never pay more than $20 for a haircut (unless you really love your stylist and can't find anyone else who cuts it right). You can get just as good of a cut (depending on the stylist of course) for $14 as you can for $60. It basically, depends on how pampered you want to be. Some places include a shampoo, scalp massage, parafin hand treatment, etc with the cost of the haircut (so you will actually be paying more for the extras anyways). With places like Great Clips, Cost Cutters, etc, you get the basics; quick haircut, in and out the door in 20 minutes or less.

A good pedicure is to die for! You feel like you are walking on air when you get done! The foot soak and massage is wonderful. You have a lot of nerves on the bottom of your feet which affect other areas on your body so when your feet feel good, the rest of you feels good too!

[bikerchic777]

Just say yes to pedicures! I usually do my own, but my niece and I trade them when we get together. I think we're going to splurge this time and get a professional one...and a massage! I have my own kit to take with me. Think it's safer that way...and no offense to anyone...but I don't go to the Asian shops. I'm allergic to their products! Barbie...isn't parafin a petrolium product? I was going to advise against Vaseline and other petrolium based products so I'm glad you did! No likey!!!

[AlmostThere]

Love a massage, love a pedicure (only had 2 and they didn't massaged my feet, which I love), manicure I can pass on, and after paying through the nose for haircuts I now go to a newly opened shop that charges $8 a cut, $6 for seniors. It's an in and out type salon, but that's what I like and my cuts have been just as good as the high priced places I've been trying out.

[BarbaraRose]

Barbie...isn't parafin a petrolium product?

It is different because it is a thick wax and does not penetrate the skin. It creates a hard layer over the skin to hold in the moisture (and moisturizers) in the skin. The heat opens the pores to allow that moisture to penetrate better. The liquid form of parafin is mineral oil which is not good for the skin when used in products as a moisturizer.
Here is an explanation I found on line..."The paraffin itself does not enter the skin because the molecules are too large. It is my understanding that the paraffin heat causes increased circulation and opened pores and the paraffin itself creates a barrier and encourages the body's own moisture to be re-absorbed by the superficial layers of the skin, and enhances absorption of any lotions or creams applied to the skin before the paraffin application."

Sadly, some Asian nail salons (but certainly not all) are operated illegally without the proper licenses (or fake ones) and they don't always take sanitation very seriously, so I have heard of people getting nail infections from some shops. There are very few state inspectors to check on all the shops that are out there so they don't get caught very often, unfortunately. That is not to say that non-Asian shops are exempt from the same unethical and unsanitary practices. You just need to get recommendations from people you know who have been to a good shop.

[Acadianmom]

I pay $22 for a shampoo, cut and style but I only go about every 3 months. Between that I have one of those hair cut things that you attach to a vacuum cleaner. When my hair gets too long to manage I will trim it with that but it doesn't shape my hair very well. I don't remember what my DH paid for a hair cut at Wal-Mart but after seeing his I'm not going. I started doing my own hair and making my own clothes in junior high. My dad cut my brothers hair and he would have had a fit if Mother had taken me to a beauty shop. I had 2 Aunts that got their hair fixed once a week come hell or high water and would wrap their head in toilet paper the rest of the week to protect their hair.

One of my sons has been allergic to perfumes and dyes in things since he was a baby. It is really hard to find things he can use. Petroleum products break him out big time. We recently found some work boots that were made out of something other than leather and he was so happy. He travels a lot and even carries a sheet to wrap in so he doesn't have to touch the hotel sheets. Now it's easier to find things that are scent free but it was hard when he was little.

Barb, I have an ex-sister-in-law that started out as a beautician but because of a car wreck could no longer stand all day. She started dong nails and it wasn't long before she opened a small shop at her house. She has supported herself for 30 years doing that. I wouldn't want to smell the chemicals all day but her customers are about their nails like my Aunts were about their hair.

Martha

[BarbaraRose]

I tried doing nails but I couldn't handle the smells from the chemicals, so that took care of that! The one issue that keeps coming up when I look for esthetician jobs is that they also want estheticians to do waxing. I don't have a problem with that, except for the brazilian waxing (the nether regions) and that seems to be a requirement for most spa/salons. I won't do it. (...and what does waxing that region have to do with skin care anyways???)

[Redetotry]

Martha, I understand your sons allergy to perfumed products. I too travel with my pillow and a sheet for overnights. I stayed with a friend once and whatever laundry products she used made me look like a lobster and I had to go home the next day. I didn't tell her what had happened but I should have as she frequently complained about having many problems with dry irritated skin. When I first became allergic to scents probably 12 years ago, no one understood and it was hard to get unscented products. Now they are available but there are more scented products everywhere! I have noticed a lot more attention is being brought to the problem and I hear other people complain about perfumes. The sad thing is, the fragrance industry is totally unregulated and many of the ingredients are unknown.

If I ever got a pedicure or manicure I would for sure take my own kit! I do love my massages and go every other week, he also does reflexology on my feet. He can tell if I have problems any place in my body, he actually saved a guys life one time by encouraging him to make a doctors appointment for a problem he felt in his feet. He didn't tell me that but the person's daughter it happened to, told me. He also pinpointed a problem I had that my doctor confirmed. Besides especially for those who live alone it is important to have human touch!

[AlmostThere]

For about a year I was getting regular pedicures and the salon sold little boxes that held just our equipment in which we bought new from them. That way no one elses feet touched our stuff.

[BarbaraRose]

I have studied a little bit about reflexology and all those nerves in the feet do correlate with different areas and organs in the body. Your massage therapist must be very in tune with his touch to be able to "feel" problems in those areas. I have also studied Reiki, which is healing (energy) touch, but haven't used it on anyone other than my pets. It did seem to help my former cat with his constipation issues!

[bikerchic777]

All this chat has me hankerin' for a good foot rub

[Nasoosie]

PAH??????

And that would be what? I say PAH to that!

My skin is as dry as a bone, and I don't have money enough to spend on any fancy-schmancy facial stuff, so I will stick with my dollar-store petrolatum stuff for now. If you notice my face turning into something uglier than it already is, please just let me know! I also use the same stuff for my hands. In the meantime, what I use is absorbed, and doesn't clog any pores I may have left, and helps my skin to look alive instead of dead as a doornail! I have an aloe plant with humongous leaves, but, when I try to put that on my face, it is icky! (I do use aloe on wounds and burns and scrapes.) I have considered using olive oil, but that costs more than cosmetics!

I still have a bunch of barely-used bottles of expensive face stuff in my bathroom, with fancy names and brands, and they are all covered with dust on the tops. I never found one that made a difference or that I felt comfortable with. Some just plain smell like a 3-dollar 'ho', and some do nothing for my skin whatsoever. I suppose if I were about 50 years younger, I would go for the high-priced spreads!

Interesting thread, especially since we have at least one professional cosmetologist in our midst! (NAH----it ain't me, if you were wondering! )

[Pooker]

My grandmother swore by Noxema - the old fashioned, cream in the blue jar kind. She used it to wash her face, put on burns, blemishes or cuts (it's medicated) and was her go-to "stuff" for just about anything. I started using it as a face cleanser when I was a teenager and pretty much off and on all my life. It's cheap, easy, and readily available everywhere. Smear it on, wash it off with a facecloth and then you're ready to moisturize and go to bed!

Pooker

[BarbaraRose]

[color=#800000]PAH?????? And that would be what? I say PAH to that!

[b]"Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH's) are organic compounds produced when materials containing carbon and hydrogen are burned. PAHs are most commonly non-volatile, but are very harmful because of their carcinogenic/mutagenic content."

There are other inexpensive products out there, even generic Oil Of Olay (Oil Of Beauty) products. The petroleum has been proven to cause breast cancer. Just wanted you to know...because I care!