Lip and Eyebrow Wax

I had my eyebrows and upper lip waxed the other day. I've had my eyebrows waxed many times, but this was a first for my upper lip. my initial thought was that my upper lip did not need to be waxed, but then i thought of the times i have seen someone that does in fact need to wax their lip, and so i thought "maybe i need to and i don't know it". i did have peach fuzz on my upper lip after all.
Kael put the wax on my upper lip on one side, laid the strip of paper over it, pressed it on then ripped it off. it wasn't too painful. then she went right to the other side of my mouth. she repeated the same thing. it appears as tho nothing was removed. my lip looks the same and there is still peach fuzz. i am not sure if the peach fuzz was supposed to come off or maybe waxing doesn't remove it because it's so short. initially my lip was swollen and my lip felt numb for about a week. i definitely did not like that feeling. i also broke out with pimples on my upper lip the following day. lovely. every day i woke up to a couple more pimples. at one point i think i had about 12 small pimples over my lip. i never even had that bad of breakouts during high school. all in all i realize i was right, that i do not need to wax my lip.
the eyebrow waxing went well. i have waxed them enough times that they don't grow back as full as i wish they would, so i asked Kael not to remove any of the brows, just to wax the baby peach fuzz above and below my brows. she applied the wax and strips and removed them just like she did on my lip. virtually no pain involved. i love how it just cleaned up the little baby blond hairs. my eyeshadow always looks smoother once i wax the lids.

Follow-up on Hair Color

Well it has been a couple weeks since i had my hair colored. the color was gorgeous to start, but as the weeks have passed, the semi permanent color has faded off my honey-colored highlights, and they now look kinda yellow/blonde. with my skin being fair and pinkish, my hair looks kinda brassy. the roots are dark, and the ends are much lighter. it looks to me like i put sun-in on it and let it lighten up in the sun. when i first went in to have my hair colored, i wanted to be a lighter shade over-all, but after talking to the girls, we decided that if i went lighter, it would require more maintenance than i am up to. but now looking back, i realize that if i want the color to be lighter, and more of a honey/caramel color, then i am going to have to bite the bullet and get permanent color and i am also going to have to step it up and maintain the color. as much as i'd love to wake up to beautiful me, and put as little effort as possible into my looks, the fact is staring me in the face. i am going to have to do more than i usually do, to achieve the look i want.
i think i'll call Keah and ask her what she thinks.

Full Leg Wax $60

After weeks of growing out the hair on my legs (ewww, i know...tmi) i finally went in for my leg waxing appointment. it's not uncommon for me to not shave my thighs, but to not shave the bottom half of my legs, for 4 weeks, is unheard of. even if i am not going to be in shorts, i just feel prettier when my legs are smooth. for this reason, having my legs waxed seemed like a good fit for me. the hair on my legs is blond, so even though you couldn't really see it, i felt like a monster, and missed wearing my skirts.
the first thing Kael did before waxing was wipe my legs down with an antiseptic (at least that's what i think it was), then she powdered my legs. she said that helped her see the hair better. she had this handy tool that looked like a deodorant stick, and she rolled the warm wax on my leg, the same way you would apply deodorant, a section at a time. the process was quick; roll, roll, roll...cover the waxed area with a strip of thin cloth, press it against my leg then RIIIIIP! OUCH!
now, i have a high pain tolerance, i know that. and even with that knowledge, i thought i'd take some sort of pain killer; ibuprofen, aceteminophen, one or the other...but i couldn't remember which one you take for pain, so i didn't take any. i figured it couldn't be all that bad anyhow, a quick rip of the strip and it would be done. right? well, it hurt. especially on the shin area and around my ankle area. not a lot of meat there! once she pulled the strip off, she would go back over the area, getting the hairs that didn't pull out. she started with the shin of my left leg, then moved to the right leg. it was stinging a lot, but i was trying to be strong. i sat up to video tape the right leg and we both noticed that the leg she just finished was welting up. all the pores were red and raised like little blisters. i know that redheads and fair skinned people have more sensitive skin, so i mentioned that to her. she said she had waxed people with fair skin/red hair before, but had never seen this kind of reaction. just to be on the safe side, Kael had Megan come in take a look. Megan explained that the bulb on the bottom of the hair is larger on redheads, and when you pull the hair out of the follicle, it really irritates the follicles. hence the swollen looking little blisters. my follicles were just really upset. Kael finished the front/top/bottom of my legs, then put several ointments that had calming properties on my legs. then i flipped over onto my tummy so she could wax the back side of my legs. the back side was not painful at all and it went quickly. Kael explained that there might be some wax residue still on my legs, but that it would come off in the shower. she also gave me some calming ointment to take home and put on my legs after the shower for the next couple days. it was also to help prevent ingrown hair, which is a common result of having legs waxed.
My results: the swelling in my legs was gone within two hours, and there was no stinging left either. there is still quite a bit of hair on my legs, but when i spoke to one of the girls at the salon about it, she explained that hair grows in cycles, and that in order to get all the hair, and all the cycles waxed, you really need to have it done several times. a little dissapointing to me because it was just painful enough that i don't believe i will ever go have it done again, and i was pretty excited about not having to shave for a couple weeks. but with so much hair still there, i really do need to shave in order to wear skirts.
shaving may be a time consuming pain, but it's painless, and for that reason i will continue shave my legs, use Nair once in a while and just live with it.

me, in years to come...i hope.

Jakob & Grandma Billie



i went to see my grandma Billie today. Since I've started this blog about MeMisbehaven i have been thinking about how my skin will age and wondering how taking care of my skin will affect my aging process. i noticed that my grandma has really pretty skin. i wish i would have asked her what her facial regimen over the years has been. i'll ask her next time i see her. i took a picture of her today and i thought it would be fun to do a side by side of both her and i. i'd like to think that the photo of her is my "after" photo when i am her age, 89. my grandma has Glaucoma and has lost most of her sight. i told her how pretty she looked today and she said she wished she could have seen the photo.
in July of 2006 i sat down with her and we started filling out the book "Grandma Remembers". we finished it today. my grandma is a lady of few words, so the information that i got out of her is a treasure. a lot of the questions she didn't have an answer for and several times she said "you'll have to ask your mother about that one". so Mom, if your reading this...it looks like i am going to have to sit down with you now, and fill out YouR book. (:

Before & During (2nd Series)

if you'd like to see the first 5 "Before & During" photos, scroll through my previous blogs.

Microdermabrasion ($525 for 6 treatments) & LED #3 ($395 for 6)

My skin has been feeling great lately. definitely more hydrated. i have been using my masque in the steam room at least twice a week, drinking more water (still not enough), and using the Eminence Guava & Bamboo Age-Defying Moisturizer. Today i had my 3rd LED treatment, but we started it off with my 1st Microdermabrasion.
the first step was the pre-cleanse with Dermalogica the second step was the Stone Crop Gel Wash and the Clairsonic brush. then she used the AHA Paprika (professional, not purchasable) exfoliant. it smells wonderful and has a bit of a sting. the fourth step was the Microdermabrasion with an 8.9 intensity. the highest intensity is 15. Megan went over my entire face slowly with the little crystals scrubbing away. it kinda stung in certain spots, like around my temples and eye area, but otherwise it just had a gritty scrubbing feeling. i had goggles on so that the flying crystals wouldn't get into my eyes. after wiping all the crystals off my face the fifth step was putting Eight Greens Youth Serum (for lifting and hormonally-imbalanced skin types) (WHAT?..hormonally-imbalanced??? ugh), Green Tea & Guava Serum (firming and lifting) and Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum with Licorice Lightening Booster & Acai Booster, all mixed into one. yummy. you really can't imagine how good it all smells. the sixth step was my 3rd LED treatment. it consisted of 30 minutes going over my entire face, and 10 minutes focusing around the eye area. once that was finished, the seventh step was the Calm Skin Arnica Masque layered with the Firm Skin Acai Masque. while the masque was absorbing into my skin, she gave me a mini massage of my chest, upper arms and shoulders. the last step, the eighth step was the Apricot Calendula Nourishing Cream. the Calendula has healing and soothing properties, and after all my face went through, it felt wonderful. How am i ever going to go on in my life without having a weekly facial? maybe i should go from salon to salon, rating them? ha.
here are some photos from the treatment. as i have said in former blogs, i am taking the photos myself, sometimes with my eyes closed, so i really have no idea if i am in focus or even aimed properly. i also included a before and after shot. i think the very first before shot i ever took and then the very last shot will be more dramatic than posting the "during" before and after, but i am going to post them anyhow.
my next blog will be about having my legs waxed. ouch? tune in to see!