1. if you keep getting yeast infections, stop eating mushrooms. seriously. i used to get them all the time, and then i read something about how mushrooms are a fungus and yeast is a fungus, so i stopped eating mushrooms over a year ago and haven't had a yeast infection since.

2. make sure you have a great pair of mid-calf black boots. i just got myself a pair (after years of feeling like a cow because most that i tried on couldn't zip up over my legs, which are not humungo at all) and i believe my life has changed.

Every time you wash & dry your hands, use the damp towel to push your cuticles back. Nothing major or involved- just a quick push for the cuticles. It's gentler than an orange stick.

Edited because in this case, it's not "everytime". Also, for the love of Bob, DO NOT CUT your cuticles!

I have a fair amount of dark hairs on my chin, jaw and neck. Not enough to grow a beard, but more than a few. I pluck them fairly regularly and haven't had too much of a problem with ingrown hairs, but over the last week I've gotten three or four and the resulting bumps are rather unattractive to me.

Just to reiterate, know and love your body. It is a beautiful, wondreful, complex thing, and you should know and love every square inch. that doesn't mean you should stop doing sit-ups if you're stressed out about your gut or whatever, but it does mean that you should accept how your body was built, and come to love it. You also need to know it. Get in tune with your cycle and your moods and the freaky things that your body does, so you know when something's wrong, and can do something about it before it gets worse.

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Originally posted by loraxc:
In fact, I have to pee all the DAMN time. And I've been told that it's got soemthing to do with the fact that I used to "hold it" so much. (I didn't even have to think about at the time, by the way.) It's not good for you, from what I hear. You should pee regularly and drink enough water so that you NEED to pee regularly. You shouldn't hold it, consciously or no.

Back-up, anybody? Back-up? Please?

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Cloonez to the back-up rescue!!! Urine is made up of all the stuff that your body wants to get rid of because it is either bad or useless. When you hold it for a long time, the toxins in your urine rot away at your bladder. It does not bode well for the future.

Ooooh. I thought of another girly tip! Has peeing in the woods been covered yet? I'm a camp counsellor, so I have taught countless girls how to pee in the wilderness.

1. Unbutton/zip/whatever your pants and pull them down to just below the knees.

2. Get a good, healthy squat going. You want to get as close to a 90 degree angle as you possibly can.

3. Take your pants, the back and front, hold them together and pull them as far forward as they will go.

4. Do your business. If you've got a good enough squat going, and pulled the pants far enough forward you should have a no-mess pee.

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Originally posted by twinmom:
Anyway, I have discovered a great new product. It's those wet wipes by Cottonelle. Basically a baby wipe for grownups. In fact, used baby wipes after I had babies. Try them. You'll feel very clean.

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Originally posted by cloonez:
This whole thread sounds like a Baz Luhrman song

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*swoon* Strictly Ballroom. Moulin Rouge. */swoon*

Back to your regularly scheduled squishiness.

-Loiosh

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I don't have any tips (haven't lived long enough I guess , but I would like to thank Pamie for teaching me how to put on a bra like a normal woman, instead of a 14-year-old girl...yes, I do the twisty thing...but not anymore! Thank you Pamie!

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Oh, and word on the floss... I'm a dental assistant, and you probably have no idea the good you can do your oral health by flossing. Flossing breaks up colonies of bacteria that develop along the gumline, and by moving the floss underneath the gums a slight bit around all of your teeth, you reduce your risk of developing periodontal disease. You also cut down the amount of in-between-the-teeth cavities you may have to endure. If you don't floss because "it hurts," that's because you're not flossing enough and your gums are weak. It will stop hurting if you do it often enough.

Also: learn to not require self-affirmation and self-worth from other people.. I used to have a problem with "needing" to be told I was wanted, valuable, etc. from those around me.. I eventually woke up and realized it was really stupid to expect them to hold me up like that. You are valuable regardless of what anyone thinks.. and that includes yourself.

Seriously, the way you carry yourself (as my mum would say) has so much to day with how people perceive you. People have aften commented on my "upright posture" and "graceful walk". One of the nicest compliments I ever got was when someone told me that I "walk like a princess". And sometimes when I'm just walking along, I remind myself to "walk like a princess" and I just feel a little better about myself.

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Originally posted by aveiceae:
Do not try to cut your own hair.

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Word on this. And also, if you decide to trim your bangs and you wet your bangs and kind of plaster them down on your forehead to see how long they are, then cut them just a little below your eyebrows, when they dry they will lose what seems like a full inch of length and end up tiny little pathetic things just sticking up off your head, so GIVE YOURSELF SOME EXTRA LENGTH or just trim your bangs when they're dry.

Not that I know this from experience.

(edited because the quote thing went weird)

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Originally posted by wendyb:
Finally, any advice on deodorant. I recently gave up using antiperspirant because it contains aluminum, which can lead to Alzheimer's.

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Another crampbuster:

Get one of those big rubber exercise balls, and lay on top of it, stomachdown, also, you can do the arch, which is the same thing, only backdown. It feels great when you're all crampy inside. Moreover the ball is great for balance and yoga moves as well as abwork. I just got mine a few weeks ago and it's so my new best friend. You can get them I think at Sports Authority and the like, and online (that's where i got mine). Oh, and be sure to get the correct size, it depends on your height.

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Originally posted by Staryiz105:
Here's a great tip that I'm still learning:

You should always be the most important person in your life.

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Originally posted by spygirl:
Waaaaaaay back in this thread, some folks mentioned Dr. Bronner's hemp soaps, which I've used for a few years now, ever since I had my navel pierced.
If you get anything pierced, USE THIS SOAP to clean it. I used it on my belly, my new earrings, and gave some to my co-worker whose navel ring was still not healed after almost a year.

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Interesting. I'll definitely have to try this. I'm totally fed up with my half-healed navel.

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Originally posted by aveiceae:
Oh, and word on the floss... I'm a dental assistant, and you probably have no idea the good you can do your oral health by flossing. Flossing breaks up colonies of bacteria that develop along the gumline, and by moving the floss underneath the gums a slight bit around all of your teeth, you reduce your risk of developing periodontal disease. You also cut down the amount of in-between-the-teeth cavities you may have to endure. If you don't floss because "it hurts," that's because you're not flossing enough and your gums are weak. It will stop hurting if you do it often enough.

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One of my best friend's is a dental assistant. At first she cracked me up with her mania for flossing.

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Originally posted by wendyb:
Any advice on good deodorant only products or natural antiperspirants?

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I like the J/A/S/O/N brand. For me the "herbs & spice" one works the best for dryness. My reasons for using this brand are different -- I try to avoid products that are tested on animals, and J/A/S/O/N fits the bill and it works. I don't think brands like Tom's of Main work all that well. (HATE their toothpaste too.)

My boyfriend uses the Aloe version. But you know what else? He stopped eating red meat, almost completely -- eats it very rarely now -- and he almost doesn't need deodorant at all. He also avoids foods with preservatives as much as possible.

Yes, your loofah secretly wants to be a nasty , bacteria-filled petri dish. However, you don't need to go along with its evil plan. Put the wet loofah in the microwave a couple times a week, for a minute or so, on high. This is difficult to remember at first, but once you get the hang of it it's a breeze. You can also wash & dry it when you do the laundry -- just toss it in with a light-colored load. These two techniques have kept my loofah happy and clean.

Loofahs are wonderful, scratchy, scrubby things. I love mine. I don't want people throwing them away just because their loofah isn't getting the cleansing it needs.

Incidentally, the microwave thing works wonders on nasty kitchen sponges. I realize that's not exactly a girl tip, but I'm a girl who hates to throw away a perfectly good sponge, yet also cannot stand a gross one.

Know how to at least perform simple things on your car... checking fluids (washer, oil), putting oil in.. etc. Simple things like this can save you mad cash. Check your fluids weekly. And any mechanic would be good enough to show you the location of and how to check these fluids. Know how to use jumper cables if you are so inclined. Carry extra oil, washer fluid, rags and a gallon of water in your trunk. You never know when you are going to need a random emergency kit with this stuff, even if you never use it.

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Originally posted by Anneish:
Okay, does anyone have any tips on de-hairing legs? I have dark, coarse hair on my legs from the knee down and when I shave or use a depilatory my legs feel smooth, but look nasty because you can totally see the pores where the root of the hair is. Does anyone else have this problem? Has anyone found a way to deal with it?

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This was discussed here.

(Edited to add punctuation.)

Boy oh boy, do I know exactly what you're talking about. The only semi-progress I've ever made in this area was by getting my legs waxed. Even then, it only looked marginally better. The devil dots remained, and the growing out period until the next waxing was not a lovely sight. I used to do the suntan thing, and that made it look a bit better, but now the sun and I have broken it off for good and I am little miss pale dotty legs. I suppose some kind of self-tanning thing might be of use, but I am far too lazy. Electrolysis seems too dramatic, too expensive, and too painful.

Alas, it seems I have no wisdom to impart. I do, however, feel your pain. I have friends with dark hair -- like mine -- who have beautiful, creamy legs. I want some of that. Damn bitches.

CaseK

(Edited to add that I think this issue is slightly different from the one taken up in the thread link referenced above [except for Jessa33's point]. The particular point here is the subcutaneous, Satan-possessed hair that won't go. And it won't go with waxing, either -- at least mine didn't. Waxing would only do the job if every single hair got yanked every time you got your legs waxed, and tragically this isn't how it works. Not shaving would be OK -- I don't shave anything but my legs -- except that I like to be able to tell my legs apart from my boyfriend's, and stockings with hairy legs make me want to hurl. The whole business is just sad and bogus. I've resigned myself to dotty legs.)

CaseK again. Nihilisa's post on that referenced thread, about getting her hair lasered, made me curious, so I've been off doing some research. It looks like it would eventually take care of the dot business, but it ain't gonna be cheap -- we're talking like $800 not cheap (maybe more, depending on where you go to have it done). Plus, it would take several treatments, since all the hairs aren't in their lively growth phase at once (just like waxing). I didn't get the impression that it would cost $800 each time -- it fucking better not, anyhow. But you can get your bikini line done for a lot less (around $200); man, would I love not to have a dotty/fluffy bikini line. Hmmm . . . no money until fall, though.