Hindsight is 20/20 vision and looking back I’m able to see that some of my choices made in the quest for beauty weren’t the best.
Here are a few that I won’t be repeating anytime soon…
5 Mistakes I Have Made In The Quest For Beauty
#1 Tanning.
I was the manager of a tanning salon for a few years and tanned in tanning beds religiously for 45 minutes a day. It must be noted that at that time I was such a hedonist I didn’t think I’d live beyond thirty. I didn’t think it would matter how old and wrinkly my corpse was. Needless to say, I was an idiot!
I also laid in the sun by the pool on tinfoil and rubbed baby oil over my body when I was maybe fourteen. I burnt to a crisp. In fact I burnt often and never seemed to learn my lesson. I have very light sensitive skin. Once, when I was in Acapulco, it was so bad I felt like I might need medical intervention for my burn. Instead, I took it upon myself to ease the pain with Tequila slammers. In Mexico at the bars they had helmets they’d bring out onto the dance floor and pour out shots of Tequila mixed with 7-up. You’d slam it upside down on your head/helmet, it’d fizz like a volcano and you’d throw it back. After a couple of those I felt no pain.
This was of course all in pursuit of that “golden glow” which, in reality, actually made me look radioactive.
I’m paying for all that sun exposure now with age spots and wrinkles everywhere.
#2 Getting A Tattoo
It wasn’t a typical tattoo. It was my lash line on my eyelids so I could try to avoid using eyeliner. You can read all about the drama here. While I did like the look of this initially, the tattoo shrank by 80% and the pain just isn’t worth it. Also, did I mention? It has to be redone every 4-5 years.
#3 Not Learning How To Apply Eye Makeup
I didn’t learn how to apply eye makeup till I was in my mid 40’s.
Learning the right way to apply my eye makeup has made a huge difference for my photos. My eyes are small and hooded so learning how to make them appear larger is helpful.
This was self-taught through experimentation.
Full makeup me.
No makeup me.
It must be noted that I’m not a huge fan of makeup. On a regular day the only thing I normally wear is lip balm. If I go out to the post office I might smear on some lipstick.
If I’m heading out to meet people then I will take the time to apply makeup.
I have very sensitive eyes and skin (sometimes makeup exacerbates my Fibromyalgia) so I feel better when I’m not wearing makeup.
#4 Bad Spas
I tried out this nightmare of a Spa. My face needed weeks to repair the damage.
#5 IPL (Intense Pulsed Light Laser)
*Warning: Graphic Photos*
If the insane, torturous pain of IPL wasn’t enough (it felt like a fully heated iron was being placed directly on my face) the crazy swollen and excruciating Mr. Puffy face certainly was.
I did not think I’d get through the extreme pain and came very close to telling her to stop. Then I would have had only half a puffy face.
Cabbage Patch Kid
Cabbage Patch Suzanne
BTW…this photo was taken over 36 hours after the treatment.
It took a week for the swelling to go down.
Did it make a difference? Who the hell knows?
Do you have any regrets about choices you’ve made in the quest for beauty?
Linking up with Patti for Visible Monday, Turning Heads Tuesday and Fancy Friday
I regret ever getting a facial. The last time, I booked one at a very fancy spa in Santa Fe, NM. I arrived and was chastised for still having my makeup on (no instructions had been given, in my defense) and then she removed it with makeup remover which meant I spent the rest of the afternoon half blind, as my eyes only like me to use Aquaphor to take my makeup off. Then I was treated to a very long lecture about my blackheads, all the while blearily lying there with puffy eyes and a zillion products. While that didn’t spur my rosacea at that time, I’ve since learned: My face is sensitive. I don’t need any of that stuff. I need mild soap, Rhofade and SUNSCREEN. Far cheaper, I can still see, and I don’t drop $250 on a critique of my face.
Nope, no regrets whatsoever.
Yes, I have used tan beds from when I was 22 (never been in the sun before that age, not even as a child). But not 45 minutes every day. I do it for 15 minutes every week for March and April and then 15 minutes every fortnight. I do not sunbathe more than 3 times in spring and only for 2 hours in the late afternoon. Perhaps also two morning hours in the summer.
I burned badly once when I was 22, but I did learn. Never ever have I been burnt after that. Always stayed out of the sun after 12 or 1 p.m. (before and after daylight saving time table was introduced. Yes I am that old).
Did some surgery on eyelids, waist and lower face and never regretted it.
I suppose I was lucky and you were unlucky as it could easily have gone wrong with me as well.
Greetje
Well I guess you saved yourself by not tanning when you were younger. They say that’s when the most damage is done.
Yes, you have been consistently lucky and I have been consistently unlucky when it comes to anything remotely medical. I guess that’s why I fear it and you don’t.
Ahhh… you do reply on my comments!!! I used to get your replies in my mail. Not any longer. And neither do my readers get my reply. I am searching for a new comment plug-in.
Greetje
You look “Better skin” in all your photos and Beautiful. My only regret is tanning at the beach with baby oil back in the day. Now I have the dark marks on my face to prove it. Like you, I also do not like makeup and only wear it on special occasions, which are very few these days. Enjoy every minute. . . . .
http://www.madamtoomuch.com
I agree, every minute is precious.
I’m glad I’m not the only loser that tanned with baby oil!
Letting my mom give me perms was probably the worst beauty mistake I made over the years. God bless her, she was just trying to help. The perms smelled up the house and, in the end, destroyed my hair. I didn’t feel any more beautiful for all the smell and destruction either. Even beyond the perms I’ve had some bad hairstyles along the way, some of which were self-inflicted. Now I leave my hair to thoroughly vetted professionals and no perms! (I hear they’re making a comeback, though!)
– Sherry
http://www.petiteover40.com
I regret almost every hairstyle I had in the 80’s, particularly the perm when I was sixteen, what I was thinking!?. And I regret every minute I spent trying to tan (in the 80’s too!) but I’m also glad that I didn’t try it hard, so sunburns were not really bad. And I’ve avoided sun since then.
I regret not taking care of my skin when I was in my twenties, not taking care of myself in general!.
I think it’s ok to be older and wiser! ;DD
besos
Cabbage Patch Suzanne!
Candidly, we all make beauty mistakes. The push women receive to beautify themselves, combined with iffy and even dangerous choices, make mistakes inevitable. I don’t view them as mistakes; I consider them experiments in self-improvement that sometimes go wrong. Like Frankenstein’s monster-wrong. 🙂
I am super grateful for a mom who was a wee bit overprotective of her fair-skinned kids and always used sunscreen or had us swim in long-sleeved rashguards for sun protection. Going to beauty school and learning so much about skin and what damages it was plenty to put me off of excessive sun exposure as an adult, either! I think being in beauty school and learning what can go wrong and seeing some pretty bad horror stories play out…has made me extra wary of chemical treatments, etc. I obviously color my hair but I wouldn’t trust it to just anyone. 😉
My worst mistakes have probably been more in the fashion choices. I really dressed like a boy as a teenager, jeans and baggy t-shirts all the time, and was mistaken for a boy on a number of occasions…I’ve since learned my lesson. 😛
Thank you for making these mistakes so we don’t have to. 😉
When I was 14 and fed up with having slightly wavy hair, I had a friend use a chemical straightener to change it. It didn’t make a difference except giving me a chemical haircut (shortly after I noticed I had bangs when I didn’t have them before… ) A couple years later, my hair really sprang up with curls at age 16 and I chose to embrace them from then on.
I’ve also done a lot of DIY bleach jobs. The first time I did it at age 18 (with very little research) resulted in a teeeerrible scalp burn. It was so sensitive that I couldn’t dye over it for a couple months so that’s how I spent a summer as a blonde. I’ve since become quite an expert with DIY hair color! 🙂
Any skin mistakes have been minimal and non-important. But I don’t think I’ll ever learn with my hair. LOL
Hannah | The Outfit Repeater
So far the only measure I’ve taken is to buy fairly expensive skin care. I’ve been using a brand from a dermatologist in New York City who sells her stuff on QVC. I’m happy with the results and have been using it for about 8 years.
I quit tanning when I was about 30 and I think wearing foundation (from about age 16) gave me some barrior protection from the UV rays. I’m pretty happy with my 66 year old skin. I’m less thrilled with my neck…
OMG.
you are a real beauty by nature – hiking photo <3 – no need to torture you with questionable practices!!!!
thank goodness i´m fearing pain to much and was always to poor to try. except the baby oil sunburn – with 14 – early 80s – but once was enough for me and i opted for new wave paleness…..
@hooded eyes – i have too. me no care. to disguise it it needs to much painting for my taste. the perfect makeup looks good in photos – but IRL i feel like a transvestite with it.
be kind to yourself – best beauty care ever.
xxxxx
You are naturally beautiful without make-up, so that’s good you don’t like to wear it. I would say for me it’s wasting money on expensive treatments for acne and none of it worked!
Raindrops of Sapphire
I’d never in a million years have recognized you in the tanning salon, Suzanne! That’s one mistake I did make as well – apart from managing a salon, that is – although I didn’t use sunbeds every day. And I still don’t know how to apply eye make-up properly, so I guess I’ll never learn. I am never leaving the house when I’m not wearing make-up, even if it’s just some basics. I often end up using too much blusher and I have a fear of looking too pale. Otherwise, I’m fine. I think … And after seeing the Cabbage Patch photo, that certainly is one treatment I will be giving a wide berth. Ouch! xxx PS I agree with Beate that you are a natural beauty! xxx
Hehe,I’m another so called loser! Iused baby oil to tan as a teen or early 20 something. When you turn red and can’t take a shower due to the burn, it’s not a good idea!
Jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Oh, what we do for vanity. I am very much like you in that I am quite sensitive to make up. I do not use foundation at all. Sometimes I will use a BB cream that is tinted and has SPF.
Outside of two years in high school, I have been good about avoiding the sun and I think that has really helped my skin as I age. I am also not good with eye make up but recently I’ve been getting eyelash extensions and that really helps. I am so sorry about your terrible spa experience. I do not go to spas or anything like that as I am also quite reactive.
You look beautiful now so I would not worry about mistakes in the past.
❤️❤️❤️
Elle
https://theellediaries.com/
I’ve always sunbathed and still do, so I’ve learnt to live with the pigmentation. Apart from that, no real mistakes or anything painful. A few awful facials and massages but nothing approaching the torture you experienced!
I read your post about your facial. What a nightmare! My worst thing was a perm when I was about 19. They put in tons of rollers then clamped all these electrode things onto them. Each clamp had a wire leading to a big machine, which I guess it was like a mini power station. And then they fried my hair. Yes. My hair clearly responded to the voltage and became a fluffy, super-damaged mass of split ends. I’m lucky my hair didn’t all fall out. I got my hair “done” because I was going to Florida the next day. Hahaha!! I laugh now but… Great post, Suzanne.
The only regret I have is the hours I spent laying in the sun as a teenager (covered in baby oil, like you). I didn’t burn then as I do now, but the damage it did to my skin is irreparable. Oh, and maybe that perm I got when I was in Grade 13, right around the time I got my graduation photo taken….
I hope you complained about the facial! I’m super sensitive, I could never have fillers or botox and I have to be so careful of ingredients in skincare.
I think the therapist must have had that machine on the wrong setting! xx
The reality is that I have had issues before with any kind of medical procedure. My entire body seems to reject any kind of treatment for anything.