Girl Talk Thursday: Bathroom Routine

I can’t not shower.  I’d go crazy.  I remember once the water got cut off when one of the mains burst down the road.  Everyone else had been through the shower already and I was the last to go.  I never did get a shower than morning, and I felt disgusting for the whole day.  It’s just the way I roll.  That said, I’ll happily spend a good half a day in my PJs without showering.  I just won’t voluntarily put on clothes and leave the house if I’ve not showered.  Ho baths just won’t cut it; it has to be a shower.

There is an order to these things as well.  I’ll never step in the shower without first brushing my teeth.  I guess it runs back to childhood when I’d be known to step out of the house with toothpast foam around my mouth or down the front of my shirt.

Then the shower.  Kick the collection of dinosaurs, transformers and happy meal toys to the end of the shower and shampoo first.  Usually whatever happens to be on offer.  I favour L’oreal or Herbal Essences, sometimes Tre’semme, Fructis  or Sunsilk.  Never ever present me with a bottle of Pantene or Dove.  Once upon a time I used Trevor Sorbie’s Straightening Addict duo, but aside from smelling nice, it didn’t really do much that cheaper stuff wouldn’t.

Then whilst that shampoo’s working I’ll blow my nose.  Yes.  In the shower.  Because why bother wasting tissue when you don’t have to.  More seriously, because I have a very dry nose which tends to bleed if I don’t use get my friends to bring it back from Brasil nose drops before I go near it with a tissue.  An ENT gave me that answer when we were out in Brasil.  That an Beconase or some other hayfever combating nose spray.  I doubt I can keep using the spray now I’m pregnant, but discovered that it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference anyway.  Seeing as I don’t exactly have easy access to the drops, completely soaking my nose once I’m in the shower seems to have just about the same effect.  But enough about that.

So rinse the shampoo.  It’s very rare that I go back and repeat.  I wash my hair every day anyways.  If I don’t, it might look fine when I leave the house, but you can guarantee that an hour later it’ll look like I’ve not washed it in a week.  Hell, I can’t even wash my hair every evening because while it might look ok in the morning, it certainly won’t after lunch.

Face wash next.  A quick once-over with whatever showergel happens to be on offer.  (Yeah, there’s a pattern here).  Then conditioner.  Usually whatever matches the shampoo that happened to be on offer.  Whilst that’s working cover up in face scrub; Avon’s Clearskin Professional Deep Pore Cleansing Scrub, complete with salicylic and glycolic acids.  It’s nasty stuff that should not, under any circumstances, be put near your eyes, mouth, or even up your nostrils like I did this morning.  It doesn’t sting, it doesn’t burn.  Instead it freezes and makes your eyes water even though the closest it gets to them is your cheekbones.  It is, however, the best thing I’ve found to combat my spotty, blackhead prone mess that I call skin. 

Leave the scrub to work whilst the rest of me gets washed and then face scrub off, conditioner off and persuade myself to leave that lovely warm water.

Of course it doesn’t stop there; that would be too easy.  A quick swipe from an Avon Clearskin Professional Clarifying Toner Pad and then all the potions and lotions that soothe my various ailments. 

Deoderant, and moisturiser.  Nivea’s Intensive Moisturing Cream on my lips and eyes, Avon’s Clearskin Professional Daily Correcting Lotion on the rest of my face and neck.  Simple’s Intensive Relief Lotion on my legs because without spending a fortune on Eucerin, it’s the best thing for stopping my eczema flaring up.  Then Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion on the bump.  Last time round I used a really nice cocoa butter stick from the Body Shop but they don’t make it anymore.  I picked this up and figured I’d give it a try but will never do so again.  It’s only there until the bottle’s finished cos it’s like slathering chemicals over your skin.  It absolutely stinks, and I’m not sure it’s doing any good anyways.

I don’t tend to bother drying my hair but will often just throw my head upside down and blast the roots for a few seconds.  If I’m going to do a proper job on it’s I’ll use Boots Expert Heat Protection Taming Serum which actually does what it says on the bottle.

That’s me.  I’m done.