confessions full of jack 20

I do not go to the hair dressers that often and I get my nails done only once in a while. Don't get me wrong; I do comb my hair every day, and care about being presentable. I do cut and file my nails regularly and put on nail polish if I feel like it. I just do not go to a place of business to get these things done to me. People think it is because I think badly of women who visit those places often. More than a few people have commented "Yes, you are not vain," to me after I told them I do not have such an habit; thinking they are actually paying me a compliment. I do not connect all hairdresser visits with being vain. Maybe I might connect it with conformity; conforming to the society's standards of how a woman should look like. But I am aware how hard it is to ignore those standards while trying to survive in this system. Women are expected to look nice. Well, no, not just expected; it is demanded of us. And it takes time to look nice. It takes even longer if you try to do it all on your own. I work from home, I am not raising children. I can make the time to bleach my arm hair, pluck my eyebrows, cut and file my nails, cut the cuticles, put on nail polish, wax my mustache, shave my legs, cut the split ends from my hair, scrub out the dead skin, exfoliate and moisturize. Most working women do not, most stay-at-home moms do not. I am not ignoring the existence of women who spend most of their time and money on such things, everything has its fanatics; and yes, there are some places and things that are ridiculously expensive, any desire and need can be exploited. But for most women going to those places is worth the money, and there are places that will serve you for fairly reasonable prices.

If I had to commute for 3 hours everyday, if I was raising a family, I don't think I would give up my(?!) idea of looking presentable; I would just visit the hairdressers and nail salons a bit more frequently. And I would be ready for the comments about my vanity.