Clean Yourself Up!

Personal hygiene… do I really want to talk about it? Is it too personal? Should I not poke and prod into the personal lives of people? Is it too private?

Who cares… let’s give it a go!

Personal hygiene is everything from washing to brushing to combing to plucking to shaving to waxing to (fill in the blank). Personal hygiene is the basic concept of cleaning, grooming and caring for our bodies. Most of it is common sense but depending on your background and upbringing, people have a wide range of what is enough and what is too much.

Let’s start off with the easiest.

Washing hands. How often do you wash your hands?  Before a meal? After you’ve been shopping? After the bathroom I hope. As a man I can’t tell you how many times I have been in a public bathroom and seen guys come out of the stall or from the urinal and just walk out the door. Some guys rinse their hands in water and call that clean. Others soap up… then grab onto the door handle and walk out. I’m grossed out seeing this. I’m kind of a germaphobe I guess but my ritual is after I’ve done my “business” I turn on the tap, wash with soap, grab a paper towel, dry off, use the towel to turn off the sink and open the door on the way out. Is that too extreme? How about pushing a shopping cart? I’ve seen so many people pushing a cart then grabbing food samples and eating them with those filthy hands… GROSS!

Brushing teeth. I brush in the morning 1st thing and at night before bed. That’s probably the norm. I know there are people out there that brush after every meal but I think that’s a bit extreme. Unless there is some food in my teeth.

Grooming hair. I shave my head for 2 reasons… 1 ~ I’m going bald so nothing looks cool for a balding guy with hair. It just looks like your trying to cover the balding. 2 ~ I’m lazy. I don’t want to have to worry about hair. I do think that when people go out they should make their hair presentable. Some people spend hours at it and that’s fine if you want to.

Shaving. I don’t work in an office. Never have. I hate shaving. I shave once or twice a week. I time it so if I need to dress up or go somewhere special I will be clean shaven but otherwise… no. Some people have a routine of shaving every morning, women included. Go crazy!

Finger nails, toe nails… they should be kept up. Nothing grosser than seeing someone with long, unkept nails. Nails bitten down to the nub are gross too.

Showering. I shower once a day. Some people like to shower 1st thing in the morning and before bed. That’s OK too. I know someone who showers after #2 no matter if he showered in the morning. I hate baths! Your just lying in your own filth. All the bum crumbs are floating around… not for me!

Deodorant. Gotta wear that guys and gals. Don’t want to stink! There are lots of deodorants that are bad for you but you can find natural ones that don’t clog your pours and have aluminum etc. in them. Personally I make my own… half baking soda, half corn or potato starch and ground cloves. Works great.

People like to pluck hairs and wax, use creams and make up, gels and spray… Go for it if it makes you happy.

I am obsessed with washing my hands but I don’t dress up fancy just to please other people. I shave when I want and keep my body clean.

Everyone has their ritual… what’s yours?

I’m sure if we could see the bacteria on everything we would wash more. If we could see the plaque and tarter we would brush more and if we could see the mites on our skin we would scrub until we were down a few layers.

Keep clean and look presentable. And don’t go overboard (including me). And never eat the peanuts at the bar!

See ya! Gotta go wash my hands…

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