# Ladies, tell me about your standard hair and beauty routine and how long it takes. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368 "2011-03-03T16:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/21 "2011-03-03T19:26:37Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > From start to finish-- wash to finish flat ironing/teasing- my hair probably takes It probably takes 25 minutes, is what I was trying to say. It takes forever to blow dry my hair, because it is a sponge naturally. Makeup takes me 5 minutes. Though if I’m in a play with makeup mood, I can spend an hour-- though that’s wearing a lot more war paint than my day to day (contouring, heavy, difficult eyes, etc). > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > At least you’re no **Diosa**. 😉 Rude! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/22 "2011-03-03T20:10:27Z")
Don’t mind me, I’m having a bad hair day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/23 "2011-03-03T20:13:55Z")
It’s hard for me to gauge how long my beauty routine actually takes, because I’m always half-awake in the morning when I do it. I spend many wasted minutes just staring into space. It takes me about 30 minutes to do it all, but I bet it would take 15-20 if I were more alert and didn’t dawdle. Hair: This is the most annoying part. I often curl my hair overnight (yeah, in curlers – I’m single so I’ve got no one to impress at night :)), so brushing it out in the morning, clipping it up, taking it out, deciding it looks better clipped up, etc. can take about 10 minutes. On the days when I don’t curl it, I just comb it and clip what used to be my bangs to one side. I dye it once a month to cover greys. I get it cut maybe every 3 months or so. I wash it every other night. Setting my hair in curls can take 15 minutes to over an hour, depending on how I set it and if I do pincurls (which I hardly ever do because it takes so damn long). Makeup: Moisturizer, foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner, curl eyelashes, mascara, lip balm. Takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how bad my undereye circles are, if there are any blemishes I need to conceal, how many times I drop my eyeliner in sleep-deprived clumsiness, etc. Beauty: I wash my face every night, shave legs every 2 to 90 days :p, file my nails a couple of times a week, clip and paint toenails every weekend or so… None of this feels like a burden or inconvenience (well, except curling my hair, but I do that because I’m concealing a haircut I don’t like). Otherwise, it’s just part of the normal daily grooming routine. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/24 "2011-03-03T20:25:42Z")
One more thing, because I’ve been thinking about this and this seems like the best place to put it – It drives me nuts when people on this board laugh at women who use makeup and then use the following story to illustrate why women shouldn’t wear makeup – “I have a coworker who wears tons of makeup! Once in a while, she’ll come to work without any on and everyone will ask her if she’s sick! HA HA HA” I don’t understand this thinking at all. 1. If you see someone who usually wears makeup without any on, you’re probably now seeing blotchy skin and dark circles that are usually concealed. Hence the appearance of sickness. 2. If you see someone who usually wears makeup without any on, you probably subconsciously assume something must have happened to cause her to forgo her usual grooming that morning. Maybe she overslept…or maybe she’s sick. 3. (Hold onto your butts – this one might be a surprise) If she looks sick without makeup, _is it any wonder she wears makeup?_ ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/25 "2011-03-03T20:26:39Z")
My friends can spend, depending on how quickly they want to move, 30-60 minutes blow drying and straightening their hair. It only bothers me if I’ve slept over and I’m ready to go go go for the day while they’re primping (quite often, because of distance, there’s 3 or 4 of us in staying over in one place, so multiply the time). Oh well, I usually grab another hour or two of sleep. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/26 "2011-03-03T20:43:31Z")
> [@Daerlyn](#): > > Your hair sounds pretty much like mine, aside from length (I got it chopped to shoulder length a few months back). If you’re at all interested in working with the almost-curl instead of trying to iron it out, can I recommend [Herbal Essence’s Tousle Me Softly](http://www.herbalessences.com/en-US/hair-products/wavy-hair) line? I wash my hair with it, and then use the spray gel and I end up with a nice bouncy shiny curl, rather than the poofy-wave-fro that’s my standard issue. No blow drying required, either! YMMV on that last bit due to length, but it worked really well for my previously unmanageable hair. > . I’m willing to try it - but under the sink is a product graveyard, filled with all the products that have not turned my coarse frizzy ugly curly hair into soft curls. I have spent a lot of time/money trying to embrace the curl! I’ve used all the special shampoos/conditioners/frizz serums. I’ve gone without shampooing, I’ve air dried, I’ve diffused. My hair is a hot mess in its natural state. I basically have poofy frizzy triangle hair like that [chick](http://www.dilbert.com/strips/2011-02-18/)from the Dilbert cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![DeepLiquid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deepliquid/32/14893_2.png) [@DeepLiquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepLiquid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/27 "2011-03-03T20:50:44Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > One more thing, because I’ve been thinking about this and this seems like the best place to put it – > > It drives me nuts when people on this board laugh at women who use makeup and then use the following story to illustrate why women shouldn’t wear makeup – “I have a coworker who wears tons of makeup! Once in a while, she’ll come to work without any on and everyone will ask her if she’s sick! HA HA HA” > > I don’t understand this thinking at all. > > 1. If you see someone who usually wears makeup without any on, you’re probably now seeing blotchy skin and dark circles that are usually concealed. Hence the appearance of sickness. > > 2. If you see someone who usually wears makeup without any on, you probably subconsciously assume something must have happened to cause her to forgo her usual grooming that morning. Maybe she overslept…or maybe she’s sick. > > 3. (Hold onto your butts – this one might be a surprise) If she looks sick without makeup, _is it any wonder she wears makeup?_ I’ve always liked “you would be so much prettier if you’d just wear makeup”. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/28 "2011-03-03T20:51:35Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > I’m willing to try it - but under the sink is a product graveyard, filled with all the products that have not turned my coarse frizzy ugly curly hair into soft curls. I have spent a lot of time/money trying to embrace the curl! I’ve used all the special shampoos/conditioners/frizz serums. I’ve gone without shampooing, I’ve air dried, I’ve diffused. > > My hair is a hot mess in its natural state. I basically have poofy frizzy triangle hair like that [chick](http://www.dilbert.com/strips/2011-02-18/)from the Dilbert cartoons. Yup, sounds more and more like my hair every time. I had a giant fluffy waist-length mane. With the shorter cut, if I don’t use this stuff I still get triangle-head. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/29 "2011-03-03T20:57:04Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Hair: Very long & thick (below my waist currently, time to get 4 or 5 inches lopped off.) I also have very thick hair and I gotta ask - does having it so long affect you? When mine gets longer than mid-back, I get these head and neck aches from the weight (my hair’s not currently layered). ---
**Author:** ![amijane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@amijane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amijane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/30 "2011-03-03T21:19:22Z")
Hair: Short and sassy. Cut every 6 weeks to keep it short and sassy. It’s washed every morning as I get oily psoriasis on my scalp so it needs to be kept clean. I apply a small amount of product and blast it with the drier for a minute or two max. Then it’s on with a knitted cap for five minutes as it cools and while I get dressed, because my hair’s default state is 80s Big Bouffy Hair and a five-minute hat session successfully squishes it down for the day. Skin/cosmetics: Problems with psoriasis and eczema mean I have to moisturise heavily, which clogs my pores but I’d rather be bumpy than flaky. I dust over the top with a mineral powder foundation to cut down redness (regular cosmetics make the eczema worse), apply brown non-lengthening mascara to disguise blonde eyelashes so they’ll match my eyebrows, and slap on some lip balm if my lips are dry. It all takes maybe two minutes? Beauty: Nails are kept clipped short and are polish-free. I wax and dye my eyebrows once a month or whenever I notice that they’re taking over my forehead. Body hair is usually left to its own devices, although I do trim back the Growler every month or so when it’s threatening to swamp my knees. My husband couldn’t give a crap if I wax/shave/whatever, and I like it natural. I’ve discovered that the older I get, the sexier I feel if I butch it up a little. It’s seriously cut down on my beauty routine, which used to take at least half an hour most mornings for my face alone. I’m pretty much a permanent cross-dresser these days and everyone agrees it suits me much more than pretending to be a girlie girl ever did. I do keep my toenails bright screaming fuck-me scarlet, though. I like to have pretty feet. I have no idea why that’s the one thing I can’t/won’t give up. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/31 "2011-03-03T21:36:37Z")
> [@Queen](#): > > I’ve always liked “you would be so much prettier if you’d just wear makeup”. Well, that’s dumb, too. No one should be mocking anyone for wearing or not wearing cosmetics. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/32 "2011-03-03T21:41:32Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > One more thing, because I’ve been thinking about this and this seems like the best place to put it – > > It drives me nuts when people on this board laugh at women who use makeup and then use the following story to illustrate why women shouldn’t wear makeup – “I have a coworker who wears tons of makeup! Once in a while, she’ll come to work without any on and everyone will ask her if she’s sick! HA HA HA” > > I don’t understand this thinking at all. Why is this a way of thinking that women _shouldn’t_ wear makeup? Isn’t it basically saying that women look better with it? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/33 "2011-03-03T21:45:55Z")
After I shower, I put a moisturizer on my face. And I comb my hair. So, 2 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/34 "2011-03-03T21:49:27Z")
I’m nearly no-maintenance. My hair is shoulder length, layered. I gave up coloring it a couple of years ago; now it’s steadily graying. I “wash” it with baking soda and water once or twice a week. It’s semi-curly, so I only brush it right before I wash it, otherwise I just run my fingers through it to get the tangles out and fluff it up. On special occasions, I put some scrunchy spray in it, otherwise I just wash and go. I cut it myself or get my daughter to do it or occasionally go to Walmart’s salon when I can’t stand it anymore. I take what my husband calls a “ho bath” every day (wash my face and underarms and hoohoo), and scrub all over in the shower the aforementioned couple times a week. I shave my legs/underarms once a week in shorts weather (9 months a year here in the south) and not at all in the winter. I keep my fingernails short and unpolished, but I do paint my toenails in the summer. I don’t wear makeup at all, haven’t in years. Good thing I’m already married, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/35 "2011-03-03T21:52:55Z")
I take a shower every morning before work, brush my teeth, put on deodorant and a light misting of body spray. Comb wet hair, put in a ponytail, and go. About every other night I put lotion on my feet right before I go to bed. I get haircuts once or twice a year. I might shave my pits once every couple weeks. I don’t shave my legs except for job interviews and I’ve had the same job for 2.5 years now, so… I am blessed with eyebrows that don’t need plucking. And I don’t wear makeup. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/36 "2011-03-03T21:55:24Z")
**Hair:** I wash my hair only twice a week now (from what recently used to be every two days) because it’s so dry/damaged. I color it every four weeks (roots). It’s really thick and just past my shoulders, and it takes me about one minute to wash/condition and maybe two minutes to rinse in the shower. It takes about 5 minutes to blow dry and about three minutes to smooth using a flatiron. On an average day when I don’t wash it, I might spend 5 minutes at the most on my hair, usually less time than that. **Makeup:** I use concealer, eye liner, and mascara. It takes about 5 minutes, tops, to put on my makeup. I also wear lipstick, but I just put that on when I’m driving and so on. I wash my face with water only most of the time, but I do moisturize twice a day, and at night fairly heavily. **Other:** Hmmm. I give myself a pedicure about every two weeks. I shave my legs etc. usually every other day. The most time I spend on my appearance is when I exercise, which I do religiously for about an hour most days. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/37 "2011-03-03T22:00:02Z")
Age 45 (which means some grey) Professional (i.e. I can get by without makeup, but its better if I wear it) Hair short. Cut every eight weeks or so - a few times a year at an expensive salon, cost cutters for the in between trips. Foiled (highlights and lowlights) on a every 4-5 months schedule. Wash every other day - wet down and blowdry - five minutes for the blowdry. Somedays its another 2 minutes with a straightening iron to get rid of weird waves. Makeup - five minutes on workdays. Mineral base, blush, eyeshadow, liner, mascara, lips (sometimes gloss, sometimes stick). Goes fast. Good moisterizer down morning and evening. Nails. Keep emery board at my desk. Painted sometimes. (not now). I love getting regular manicures, but it isn’t something I’m making time for right now. Shave. Mostly in summer Have eyebrows threaded every six weeks and touch up with a tweezer when I do moisterizer at bedtime. Perfume (Chanel no 5), Jewelry and clothes. More high maintenance than many of you - I wasn’t that high maintenance in my twenties and didn’t start regularly wearing makeup or establishing a real hair routine until sometime after 40 when I got a promotion at work and it started to look like I should pay attention. Plus my kids got older around then, and I didn’t have the excuse of “toddlers at home.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/38 "2011-03-03T22:07:24Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > It drives me nuts when people on this board laugh at women who use makeup and then use the following story to illustrate why women shouldn’t wear makeup – “I have a coworker who wears tons of makeup! Once in a while, she’ll come to work without any on and everyone will ask her if she’s sick! HA HA HA” Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way. ‘‘You look so pale… are you okay? Do you need to lie down?’’ Jeez. I’ve become a little more high-maintenance with time, but I still think I’m relatively low key. Hair cut every three months (long layers.) Sometimes I do highlights, but lately I’ve been feeling the natural vibe. Shower daily, shampoo and conditioner. Brush teeth and floss. Apply face lotion to avoid dry skin. Apply deodorant. Spray wet hair with heat-protectant, blow-dry using diffuser. Foundation, powder, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick. That’s it. Takes about 30 minutes start to finish. I think most people would describe me as having the natural look. I tend to use mattes and neutrals for lipstick and eye-shadow. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/39 "2011-03-03T22:09:03Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why is this a way of thinking that women _shouldn’t_ wear makeup? Isn’t it basically saying that women look better with it? I know! I mean…I don’t know! Except that I’ve seen people post things like that whenever we get to talking about makeup, and it boggles my mind. I guess the thinking is, “The poor dear…she’s so dependent on cosmetics that she’s assumed to be ill without them” or something. Next time I see a post like that, I’ll ask the poster to explain themselves. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368/40 "2011-03-03T22:34:25Z")
Wash and air dry and/or blow dry (a little longer than shoulder-length layered) hair, using a little gel or spray for root lift - every 2 or 3 days. One day a week I go to the pool, so that’s one of the days. Root touch-up at home every 3 or 4 weeks. Normally no makeup, but for a dress-up occasion, eye liner, mascara, maybe lipstick. Eye makeup is kind of a pain because of poor close-up vision without my glasses, so I rarely bother. Eyebrows don’t need tweezing. Haircut every two or three months. So normally, I get up, brush my hair if I remember, and I’m done. Hmm - this thread started making me feel self-conscious about the no makeup thing, so I just went and put on a little eyeliner. I glanced in the mirror as I walked past it, and I looked about 10 years older. Sheesh. So I took it off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-tell-me-about-your-standard-hair-and-beauty-routine-and-how-long-it-takes/573368.md?page=3)