Appearance

[ailbhe]

I've shaved my hair off again. I got tired of spending 15 minutes subjugating it every day, and really, really didn't want to resort to Product.

And I've been thinking about stretchmarks. I'm not sure what they look like. When I was heavily pregnant I had lots of purple lines, but I really can't tell whether my skin has any remaining signs of them. My skin changes so much from place to place on my body that it all just looks kind of normal to me, and I can't really tell if some of it is supposed to be the shameful frightening stretchmarks of women's-magazine fame.

I'm going to have another go at lipstick soon. And perhaps henna. I think I need to get my hair sunbleached first though.

It was really nice to feel water on my scalp again. My hair is too thick, usually, unless I wave my head around a lot underwater.

Comments

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

I think stretchmarks fade to silver? I have a purple one on one of my boobs though, no sign of fading yet.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

For me, the main thing about the stretchmarks is that I can feel them - my fingers sink into them as if there's a gap in the tissue under the skin.

[ailbhe]

Interesting! I certainly have lots of *textural* changes, on the saggity baggity that is my post-baby tum. I can't tell about my bum because I've been wearing jeans so am all over seam marks. Hmm.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

mine started out purple but later faded to silverywhitishskincolored. i agree with cangetmad; they feel almost like there is a gap underneath.

[jexia]

Agree with that.


I can post a picture of mine if you'd like?

[juliet]

Ooh, I hadn't noticed that before. I have a handful on my hips, from puberty (never been pregnant). More on the right than the left, go figure. They look a bit like scars (in being white-on-skincolour), but in reverse - go in rather than out.

I quite like mine.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I have stretch marks on my hips from puberty, and they are silvery against my skin. So, I guess I'll get them when I get pregnant too.

N.

[ailbhe]

I haven't seen the skin on your hips, but extrapolating from the patterns my own hips made during pregnancy, and the colour of your skin on your hands and face, I bet they look *gorgeous*. I've seen a photo of one woman with an absolute sunburst on her pregnant belly - initially I thought it was body art, but it wasn't; it looked like the most life-affirming symbology EVER. I'd have been tempted to get it tattooed over to make it permanent.

Silvery marks on fishbelly white probably won't show up that much. I wonder if trying to get a suntan in summer would make them more visible? The ones I had were basically under my bump, rising up like flames. There were some behind me too but I couldn't see those.

I've thought about black women's haircare every morning lately, when I was trying to make my own hair do what I wanted it to (trivially easy and still more effort than I was willing to put in), and I was wondering what you were doing with yours these days - I think you stopped having dreds?

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I stopped for a while, but went back to them. They are the lowest time-imput style I know of, aside from clipping it. And clipping it ends up being a bit more time as I have to do it often.

Some women twist their dreads up and put a lot of effort into them. I go for about 3-6 months between twisting the roots up because I'm lazy, and I think it looks nicer the way I wear them. More... relaxed and mellow :)

They are quite long right now - they have just started reaching to my back bra strap!

N.

[gmh.livejournal.com]

I've got 'em on my knees, as a result of growing a considerable amount in a fairly short time in about 1986; you are welcome to examine my knees at some point if you'd like a point of reference.

[ailbhe]

*snort* What an offer!

If I can't work it out before I next see your knees, I will look closely :)

[pauamma]

Shaved completely, or cut very short, the way it was in July last year?

[ailbhe]

1cm approx.

[pauamma]

*nod*

[thereyougothen.livejournal.com]

how funny, that you are shaving your head, just as I'm so thrilled to see my hair growing back in again.

i thought i had a lot of stretch marks, both from puberty, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and they are mostly silvery now. (gosh, i suppose pseudo breast will still have them too, interesting thought that it still shows its history). but the surgeon was so pleased becasue he thought i had very few stretch marks, and therefore a "great tummy" for surgery. so there you go.

[(Anonymous)]

Just out of interest, I went and looked in the mirror to see if I still have the remains of stretch marks - well, at my age you don't normally look at yourself in the mirror much any more ;-) And yes, they are still there, but very, very faint and silvery and there's hardly any difference in skin texture now. That's after having had 5 (large-ish) babies, but 23 years after the birth of the youngest.

Elaine xx

[(Anonymous)]

spooky, I was going to ask if you wanted me to clipper your hair... L won't let me near his at the mo so I'm getting rusty!

There is a group on flickr dedicated to stretch marks with some quite fantastic ones pictured - trying to reclaim women's bodies, I think

apologies, that was me, that was

[velcro-kitten.livejournal.com]

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