Can olive oil be used as a facial skin care treatment? Does anybody know? Also wondering if it can be used as a hair conditioning treatment. Seems I read this somewhere, but now I can't remember.

Does anyone have any beauty secrets for skin that can be done with natural products? I have heard that many herbs, etc. can be used.

TIA

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000

Answers

As a former woman, honey, let me tell you olive oil works wonders! The key is to use only cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. Work it into your skin slowly using long strokes. Start at your hairline & work your way down - as far down as you desire.

Careful! Olive oil is an aphrodisiac. You may find yourself in a compromising situation rather quickly. Best have that someone special perform the olive oil massage.

And don't forget to follow-up 'afterwards' with the red-wine vinegar. Serves as an astringent.

Careful! The combination of olive oil, red-wine vinegar & 'exercise' may cause an intense craving for an Italian Submarine Sandwich. Best to have some capicola, provolone, Italian bread, and a wafer thin slice or two of proscuitto nearby prior to this undertaking.

Kiss, Kiss

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 16, 2000.

Speaking as a former woman you can trust me dahling, olive oil is very very gooood for you. It is sooo gooood I can't believe it's not butter. Rub it all over you and den come over to my house.

-- Fabio (you taste good enough @ to. eat), May 16, 2000.

Maya,

You should have known better than to title a topic "For Women Only" on this board! Especially after all that ridiculous bulls*^t and emoting on the recent feminist thread.

Seriously, though, I don't see what harm it would do to try. Olive oil is good for your insides and eating it regularly probably helps your skin from the inside. Vitamin E is also good for the skin if you don't use too much and aren't sensitive to it. Flax oil is also good for your diet and will undoubtedly help the skin from within.

-- Observer (lots@to.observe), May 16, 2000.

Maya, treating hair with olive oil is effective in killing adult lice and in the removal of nits. It can be used repeatedly without harm to the child or to the hair itself and is easy to shampoo out.

-- helen (lost@in.space), May 16, 2000.

As a semi-woman I found that olive oil is an outstanding lubricant, but remember the rubber sheets dearie.

Hugs and kisses,

Dick

-- Richard Simmons (prance@dance.fatties), May 16, 2000.

Maya:

This site has some ideas for using food, herbs, etc. in beauty treatments.

Helen:

When I told my mom my kids had lice, she said, "Don't people know how to keep their kids clean?" Um...no, mom. I just hose 'em down once a week. I discussed lice with the school nurse who said that clean hair was just the right environment for lice. The nits can't stick to dirty hair. She added that cultures who put oil on their hair also weren't affected by lice for the same reason...the nits can't stick.

Observer:

That was a feminist thread?

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

Maya,

This brings up another OT thread topic idea:

'What is your favorite catch phrase from a commercial?'

{"A little dab'll do ya"?}

Anita,

I think it's actually a matter of the lil' critters getting enough oxygen. I've heard of folks using mayonnaise & vaseline, too. Your hair might be in great in great condition afterwards, but can you imagine washing all that grease out?!

-- flora (***@__._), May 16, 2000.

flora, DO NOT USE VASELINE IN A CHILD'S HAIR! Vaseline is highly flammable. ( If you have a safe place to do this, try putting some vaseline on a piece of paper and light it. The fire burns hot and fast and is difficult to put out. Don't do this to a child!) Olive oil and mayonnaise work well. In our experience, the olive oil was a better treatment.

-- helen (lost@in.space), May 16, 2000.

Anita,

Thanks a lot for the link, I appreciate it. It was just what I was looking for!

******

Ya Observer, I guess I set myself up here. I have to admit, I expected it to be worse! LOL As a former man, I wanted to enhance my femininity. :D Just kidding!!!!!!

I am getting tired of using products with a lot of chemicals in them and I want to try some natural beauty aids.

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

helen,

Thanks for the tip, but I really wasn't trying to recommend either treatment. If this situation cropped up, I think I'd be most inclined to take advantage of modern medicine.

Gad, speaking of flammability, do folks still use kerosene as a lice cure?

-- flora (***@__._), May 16, 2000.

Oh, BTW, thanks for the tip Helen!

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

Hey Maya, I hope I didn't offend you. I read your post, got a case of the giggles, my fingers started pecking & the next thing you know I hit the 'enter' key.

Best,

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 16, 2000.

Bingo,

I can't speak for Maya, but I may never recover from the trauma.

-- flora (***@__._), May 16, 2000.

I,ve seen theLIGHT.I,m heading now for the cupboards toSMITEany labeled'EXTRA VIRGINS'or'BASALMICS'.

-- floral-d (***@__._), May 16, 2000.

wOOf, WoOf, wOoF... Woof, WOOF, woof... woof,woof, WOOF (snicker)

WAtChIn' tHe nEiGHbOr...

DD-d

-- Dieter Dog-d (dogdesert@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

Hi Maya,

I would have jumped in to help ya, but I've never used much in the way of skin care products (not that I didn't need 'em at all); I was always more of an "au naturel" type, in that sense. My skin's a little on the dry side, but I've never gone further than a little Nivea once in a while and Neutrogena soap.

And I'm familiar with herbs, but only from an edible (and general botanical) perspective. So if you end up using an herb and tire of it, let me know and we'll see if you can ingest it. :)

Observer,

I invite you over to our "feminist" (whatever you mean by that) thread. Could you explain and defend your position over there?

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

Bingo,

Not a problem . . . I have the best sense of humor in Texas, and I don't even live in Texas! LOL Besides, I have thrown around a few zingers, in case you haven't seen them lately, on one of the threads. Laughter is the best medicine IMHO. :)

Hey there eve, thanks a million!

Nice folks in this forum . . . even some of the ball busters are nice underneath, I bet. ;)

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

Flora, I'll have you know I've ruined many a fair maiden by callously inflicting my...wit...upon her.

It appears you will be sizzlin' along with me while al-d rides a cloud through the gates of saint pedro the lower case.

BTW, the name is Bongo to you.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 16, 2000.

Eve:

"but I've never used much in the way of skin care products (not that I didn't need 'em at all); I was always more of an "au naturel" type, in that sense."

Did you ever realize how UNcommon this is? Two years ago, I wanted a new lipstick that wouldn't come off on for instance a glass of water. I had a job interview. The selection is so massive that I decided to ask one of the cosmetic clerks that one sees in nicer stores in the mall. I suggested that SHE select a color that would be appropriate for my skin-color, etc. [They're supposed to know this stuff, right?] Her first question was what color blush I used. Blush? I'm supposed to USE blush? We got over that little hurdle, and I ended up purchasing a lipstick for $15.00! [It never occurred to me that lipstick could cost more than $5.00, so I never asked the price before saying, "I'll take this one."]

For me, the entire morning ritual took 10 minutes: Shower, washing the face with the same liquid antibiotic soap as the rest of my body, dry, apply deoderant, followed by makeup. Makeup was a thin line of liquid eye-liner, mascara, and lipstick. Lately, however, I've noticed that I can't see well enough to find my eyelids without a magnifying mirror, and I can't find the eye-liner I always used. In addition, my eyebrows are disappearing. Don't ask me where they went. I don't know. However, I stopped again at a mall recently and asked another young clerk what she would recommend to emphasize my eyebrows. I suggested that I didn't want unnatural looking eyebrows, yet wanted SOMETHING over my eyes. She used a combination of products, pencil followed by powder or something and the end result was a phoney-looking eyebrow over each eye. I said, "This is as good as it gets?" She said, "Well, you've plucked all your eyebrows out." I DID? WHEN? WAS I AWAKE AT THE TIME? I didn't purchase these products, and felt self-conscious all the way home.

SO's daughter-in-law sells Mary Kay products. Her sister sells them as well. These two always look BEAUTIFUL. Personally, I think they just have good genes. Of course they have youth on their side as well.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

I think the best thing that women can do is eat healthfully (at least sometimes) and use only soap and water on their skin, followed up with an inexpensive moisturizer if their skin or climate warrants it. I think that make-up is too expensive, and I've never seen any woman look more than 3% better with some on (if that). As for the "natural" stuff, I think that I'd rather eat the cucumbers and olive oil and oatmeal that some women use on their bodies. I know a few who would be a lot better off if they would eat those foods all the time, instead of using it on their bodies.

I really meant it when I wrote that all women are beautiful. Why do you women pollute your beautiful skin with all this junk? You are beautiful just by being female. That's enough.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

Kb8:

"I think that I'd rather eat the cucumbers and olive oil..."

I'd agree with this. I once overheard the Mary Kay girls discussing placing raw cucumber slices over their eyes to "refresh" them. I had a leftover cucumber, so cut off two slices and laid down on the couch with them over my eyes. SO came in and said, "Whatcha doin'?" "I'm testing whether cucumber slices really refresh eyes." Afterwards, "Well? Did it work?" "If I'm supposed to smell like cucumber, it worked."

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

Anita,

LOL, you are funny. I can't get the cucumbers to work on my eyes either.

BTW, what is the eye liner you used to use? I used one by Mabeline, but I can't find it anymore. I have yet to find a liquid liner that I like that gives a thin line and looks natural. Lately, I've just been using a soft pencil, then I smudge it--but it is too much work and it doesn't go on smooth.

I understand your eyebrow dilemna. I use a very light colored gray pencil and then use light, short upward strokes because I have to fill in the sides since mine have never grown in fully.

Some cosmetic lady asked me one time why I plucked out the sides and it got on my nerves, so I started filling them in. Go figure, huh?

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

My morning ritual takes about 50 minutes.

Shower.

Shave face.

Shave head.

Shave palms.

Shave nutsac.

Dry off.

Apply after-shave to above shaved areas.

Roll on floor in agony for 10 minutes.

Brush teeth.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

You know, I really didn't get past #5 in that list. Just felt light- headed, got a brief visualization, and burst into tears.

That's way more information than I needed to know. But I have so many questions...

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 16, 2000.

Anita,

Yep, it sure is uncommon. You know, I've never made my face up for job interviews, other than some lipstick...but I did focus hard on my clothes (I've always tried to have at least a couple of really nice suits and some other decent stuff), as well as being and looking as clean as I could, and usually just had my hair (salt 'n' pepper now) tied back in a simple way.

Now, I'm kinda embarrassed to say this, but part of the reason for little makeup (other than personal preference and comfort) is that I've got large, dark eyes that never really called for (IMHO) much touching up -- so I've been lucky there. But I do have crows' feet that have become pretty obvious over the last ten years or so. And, hey -- I could mail you and Maya some of my eyebrow hair! My eyebrows are pretty full, and if you look close enough, they connect in the middle! But I never plucked 'em. The Israeli look, I guess. :)

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

Well, I just reread my post, and while I've never plucked my eyebrows, I just promised to mail you guys some of my eyebrow hair. And it's online, can be printed out, and there's witnesses -- well, virtual witnesses, anyway.

So am I now legally obligated? Or can I use the smiley face at the end of my post and say it applies to that promise -- that the promise was therefore in jest? Or what?

Are there any lawyers out there? I would prefer one who specializes in just this sort of thing.

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

Bongo,

Prais,e the LARD.

-- floral-d (***@__._), May 16, 2000.

But I have so many questions...

sTReTcH AnD FLattEN!!! sTReTCh aND FLaTTen!!!!! hYEnA!!!

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), May 16, 2000.

Eve:

Assuming that if your eyes are dark, your eyebrows are dark, I'm not interested in your donation. I found a light brown eye pencil and [like Maya stated], if you make teeny strokes upward, one can fill in the missing spots. If I get really desperate in the future, I figure I can trim my hair and crazy-glue it above my eyes. Even better, I could have some hair transplanted [like those plugs we saw on bald men years ago.] THAT oughta be good for a laugh or two.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

Maya:

I'm sure it was an Almay product. All their stuff is hypo-allergenic and I'm sensitive to scented products.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 16, 2000.

Thanks Anita.

Eve, what I wouldn't give for big dark eyes and dark hair. I'm a blonde bimbo, but it's not so bad . . . I work on the side as a body double for Pamela Sue Anderson and do her stunts on VIP.

Here's part of the script from one of my famous scenes:

(Pointing gun at bad guys) "Alright, stick 'em up, this is a bust!"

Then I beat everybody up with my 8" high heels. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

Of all the things in the world there is to be concerned about, facial treatments and beauty products are about l20,390,184,827, on my list of interesting topics. Sorry I opened this thread.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 16, 2000.

You're probably not going to believe this but something that is really good for everything from diaper rash to chapped hands and dry skin is none other than good ole' Udder Balm that they use on cow's udders. It has some sort of healing properties, possibly including aloe vera, and works gread. A lot cheaper than cosemetics, too!

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), May 16, 2000.

Flash,

I thought you were teasing, but I did a search and found all kinds of information about the healing benefits of udder balm. Sounds like it is great for dry skin. Where can I buy it? Is this something I can buy at a drug store or department store?

Thanks a bunch!

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

Dieter, thanks for sharing. Now my life is complete.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 16, 2000.

Maya,

I know it sounds nuts, but I'm glad you had the gumption to check it out anyway!

I got mine from Lambriar Animal Health Care at 1-800-344-6337. Their prices for a lot of other stuff are reasonable and I suspect that at $7.70 for a 1 lb. jar it is likely reasonable, too. Now that I live in the country (sort of) I should check my local feed store for prices, too. It is listed as product #011004. If you call them, ask for a catalog too if you have any animals. They've got ALL KINDS of stuff for everything from fish to dogs & cats to cattle, swine, horses, reptiles, etc. They were very nice people.

People sell this stuff under various other names for a lot more than $7.50/lb. I remember one product called Balm of Gilead, which I strongly suspect is this stuff. I use it myself (not on udders)!

Best...

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), May 16, 2000.

Hey there Flash, thank you for the info. Gosh, you are thorough and I appreciate it. I'm 'udderly' amazed. LOL

I plan to purchase some. I think it will help my husband with some of his skin problems.

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 16, 2000.

Howz that stuff for razor rash?

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 16, 2000.

Unc,

I'll bet it will! It's great stuff. It's got Lanolin, Aloe Vera, and vitamins A, D, and E, among other things.

Maya,

Great, I sure hope that it helps! I fogot to add that Lambriar has a web site at Link

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), May 16, 2000.

Maya,

The best thing for healthy skin is plenty of fresh veggies and fruits and perhaps some 'hair, skin and nail' vitamins. Supposedly Choline and Inositol are very good for this reason.

I've recently switched from just any lotion to all natural healthy products that come from natural sources such as plant extracts, plant derived oils such as avocado oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, etc.

You can check your local health food stores, I know Rachel Perry is one of the brands they usually carry. I found this really nice lotion at Trader Joes, called "A midsummer night's cream, moisturizing lotion". Contains no petroleum or animal products. Smells fresh, works great, cost me 99 cents for a 4 oz. tube. No kidding! =)

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), May 16, 2000.

Do not use lanolin near your eyes.

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), May 16, 2000.

oops I forgot...

Anita, I have almost the same problem with eyebrows. I have them, but they are very blonde. I use a pencil, 'covergirl brow and eyemakers' is what works for me. Maybelline eyebrow pencil is good too. The trick is to match your natural hair color, a neutral shade is best (not too orangey, not too ash) and use very light, very short upward strokes along your natural browline. It will be easy after a little practice, and remember...less is more. =)

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), May 16, 2000.

gilda, you sure are salty today. old age settling in.

-- ribbit (toadf@rog.net), May 16, 2000.

Unc-

ROFLMAO- Just picturing it in my mind's eye. Need any help?

Best laugh I had all day-- (nutsac-snicker).

-- Aunt Bee (SheriffAndy@Mayberry.com), May 16, 2000.

Maya,

I use skin care products made with olive oil from a company called DHC (www.dhccare.com) A little pricey but they will send you samples.

I use Udder Balm on my hands, but I tried it once on my face and it made my skin break out.

Anita,

I don't know about "eyebrow plugs" (lol!) but I once let someone talk me into "permanent make-up" to fill in my brows. It *sounded* so nice, unfortunately I didn't realize until after she started that the process involved tattooing those suckers on.

To top it off I had to walk around for 3 days looking like Groucho Marx because I wasn't supposed to wash off the excess ink until my brows "set".

-- Grace (SincerelyGrace@aol.com), May 17, 2000.

Unc, don't shave your balls, they will itch like hell when the hair starts to grow. Then you'll walk around scratching your crotch all day and the only place you'll be able to get a job is on a baseball team.

-- Hawk (flyin@hi.again), May 17, 2000.

I thought about this thread while shaving my face this morning. Why would a guy need to shave anywhere else? (Assuming that he's not an erotic dancer or something).

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Anita,

Yeah, my eyebrows are very dark brown. I guess I figured that any color's better than nothing at all. Or, you could figure out a way to dye them.

But you said,

[Even better, I could have some hair transplanted [like those plugs we saw on bald men years ago.] THAT oughta be good for a laugh or two.]

Now, I know nothing about hair transplants, but if you get eyebrow transplants from the hair on your head...wouldn't they...grow? If you go this route, and if they do grow, instead of bothering with trimming them, when they get long enough you could just sweep 'em back and wrap them behind your ears (I wouldn't let them get longer than the rest of your hair, though -- that could look tacky). But until they get long enough to get your "ear support," maybe just braid them and let 'em hang with a pair of cute, tiny red ribbons at the bottoms. Of course, since they'd be in front of your eyes you'll have to put up with the obstruction -- but it's only temporary.

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Maya,

I'm impressed with your stunt work. I'm sorry to say that I don't think I have enough "on top" to get in as a body double (for certain purposes), but maybe you could get me in the business anyway. You see, I pulled off a pretty good stunt once.

One day I was walking downtown immersed in a paperback, and before I realized it, I had gone off the sidewalk, right into a parking gate. Before I could stop myself, I had bent it way back and it snapped me backwards, down the driveway entrance, almost into the street. But the point is, I landed on my feet. Is that anything?

(I swear this really happened to me, though; luckily no one saw it, and I coolly looked around, smoothed out my clothes and continued on my way -- except the book went into my purse this time...)

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

lol Grace, I had my lips "done" as well, with a natural looking shade. Talk about PAIN. Getting a tattoo is painful enough, but on your sensitive lips?!

What really sucks is that after all that pain, they have faded into oblivion, I can hardly tell anymore. grrrrr =)

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), May 17, 2000.

Well, we had friends over for dinner last night and I noticed that Cheryl [who has VERY dark hair] is ALSO losing her eyebrows. I wonder if eyebrows are to women like thinning hair is to men. I had a male friend once say, "Why is it that the hair on our head falls out, but the nose-hairs just keep growing?"

Next question: Has anyone noticed a WILD hair here or there? I have fine, blonde hair on my arms, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye and find a hair that's about an inch long, sticking straight out from my arm. The rest of the hair on that arm is so short and fine that I can't even grab hold of it, but there's one WILD one that just came out of nowhere. I've also noticed one BETWEEN my eyebrows. It's another fine, blonde number, and if I grab it to pull it out, it sometimes curls and shrinks back, like running a scissor along Christmas wrap ribbon. We could write a book, ya know: Aberrations of the human hair follicle.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 17, 2000.

Cin, Thanks for the tips! I will check it out.

Eve, I hope you know that I was joking about the body double thing. I have this weird, offbeat sense of humor. It can be very annoying at times. Anyways, it goes over a lot better in person than it does in print. :D

Well, I was at my workout class this morning and most of the ladies are around my age . . . 40 something, and I couldn't stop looking at their eyebrows!!!!!! Now that I think about it, mine are not as full as they used to be. Drats! It's bad enough that I am a recovering doomer and now I am worried about an eyebrow crisis! What's a woman to do? Maybe we should start a Lusenet forum entitled: Help, I am losing my eyebrows. LOL

Grace, I appreciate the information. I didn't realize that I could purchase beauty products with Olive Oil ingredients. Thanks a million!

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 17, 2000.

Maya, I knew (well, 99% sure, anyway) you were being "tongue-in- cheek" -- I just decided to play along!

And..."weird, offbeat sense of humor?" Well, Maya, we seem to have something really cool in common, because I think you're going to find that my sense of humor just may be frighteningly similar to yours...

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

cin,

You have to protect the "reds" in your tatoo from the sun. I have a rose on my wrist :o) It was an "age 40" thing. 30 didn't bother me as I was the mother of a one year old and didn't feel like 30 was old.

Maya, I love that "Recovering Doomer". Do you have relapses? Are there weekly meetings where people smoke and drink a lot coffee and stand up and say "My name is joan doe and I am a doomer"?

Sorry, it struck me as funny. I was picturing people turning down "dooer" conversations because they could bring on a relaps...

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), May 17, 2000.

Eve, sounds like we would make a great pair -- we could really kick some butt! LOL

Cherri, your post cracked me up. Truth is, I was so worried about y2k last year that the beauty routines went down the tubes. I figured since the world was going to hell in a handbasket, nobody was going care about what shade of lipstick I wore, etc. Every time I went to the drug store, instead of buying a new shade of eye shadow, I bought a water filter. LOL

Wellllllllll...now that the pressure is off, I'm getting back to basics -- beauty basics, that is. I don't mind being 'old enough to know better', but I'm still young enough to care! LOL

Besides, I must have messed up because I thought "TB2000" stood for "Tight Buns 2000" -- conk! I could have had a V8!

Thanks all for your advice and tips and oh yes . . . humor too.

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 17, 2000.

sorry, I didn't mean to sound so crabby. It's just that when a post says for women only, I thought it was going to be interesting. NOT. Discussing Bag Balm, Olive Oil and cosmetics is a BORE.

However, to get into the spirit of the thing. Here's my beauty tip, given to me by a man who partied too much, didn't get enough sleep and had bags under his eyes. He said that Preparation H will get rid of eye bags better than anything. It shrinks them right up.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 17, 2000.

Gilda,

ROTFLMAO!!! That's great. You MUST come yourself to any gathering we might manage to have. We need your wit and presence, too! Of course, we'd enjoy meeting your husband as well.

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), May 17, 2000.

Flash, I agree with you -- Gilda, you are a riot!!!! Let's see . . . a little olive oil, a little udder balm, some Preparation H under the old eyes and PRESTO! I'll be a new and improved version in no time. Gotta love it. SSSSSSSSomebody stop me. ;)

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 17, 2000.

Glad you liked my tip, and glad to be back on the A list. And ladies here's a tip for the inner you that it's not to late to work on. As a senior citizen I feel this should be told to all young women as it was to me. Practice tightening your Kegal muscle. (not sure I spelled it right)

This is the muscle that will keep you from depending on Depends when you're older, and it'll keep your innards from falling out on the floor too. In case you don't know what muscle it is, if you have to go to the restroom and don't have a dime, you hold this muscle. I had a gym teacher who taught us this, along with tightening the lower abs. So, I'm proud to say I have a 6 quart bladder with the holding power of a vise-grip.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 17, 2000.

Lol. I'm not sure how to spell it either, Gilda, but after my brother's prostate was removed due to cancer recently, the doctor told him that he had to restore continence before they'd start radiation. I said, "Do males have the equivalent of Kegels?" He said they do, and he was doing the "exercises".

I was pretty faithful in my Kegels until I saw a documentary on how most women did it incorrectly, which would cause more harm than good. The differences were so subtle that I never felt comfortable doing them again. HOWEVER [and there's ALWAYS a however], you might notice that the sphincter involved in the Kegel is the same muscle activated in orgasm, and orgasm couldn't be exercising the muscle incorrectly, right? Choose your poison, ladies. [grin]

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 17, 2000.

God I love this place.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Well now this joint is really rockin', so don't come knockin'.

Anita, you are always up to date on EVERYTHING; you're a whiz.

[A-hem] This Kegal business is important, so I did a search and found a good little site: KEGAL EXERCISES

Keep up the good work Gilda!

Start squeezin' . . . and a one, and a two -- now breathe . . . .

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 17, 2000.

You can do harm by doing kegels incorrectly? LOL

Can you elaborate on that please?

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), May 17, 2000.

Maya:

It seems these folks aren't sure how to spell it either. KEGAL EXERCISES discusses Kegels.

Cyn:

If the answer were obvious to ME, I would have posted it. Check out Maya's link. You know you're doing it RIGHT if you need to pee and you can stop the flow by a Kegel. Oops...guess I did it wrong! You know you're doing it RIGHT if you have your finger in your vagina while you do it. I did Kegels regularly while sitting in my chair at the office. "Excuse me, guys...would you turn your head while I insert my finger in my vagina so I can determine if I'm doing my Kegels correctly? Thanks, and God Bless Y'all." Don't hold your breath...don't tighten up anything else. Do I hold my breath during orgasm? Hell, I don't know. I suppose if I DID, I wouldn't be so breathless afterwards.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 18, 2000.

Ladies, ladies, ladies... don't waste your time on those silly excercises. They are not natural, and you could hurt yourself. We men have the best tool for you to use to get yourself "tightened up". Apply yourself frequently and liberally, that's the way God intended it. Remember, a good man is hard to find, and a hard man is good to find. :-)

-- Hawk (flyin@hi.again), May 18, 2000.

Thanks for the tips, Gilda. What would we do without ya!

I could have sworn Jane Fonda had a Kegel exercise video out, but it didn't do very well. Rows of women sitting around in their leotards and not much action...

Anita, sorry you didn't get much of a response with your hair follicle thing. I really checked all over (well, as much as I could without using mirrors, anyway) and found nothing worth putting on a post, other than my connecting eyebrows, which I already wrote about. Maybe if you started a separate thread for just this issue it would get more attention...Hey, 'member Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner)? This is exactly the kind of stuff she talked about, as news commentary. "Did ya ever notice those little..."

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000.

A co-worker just asked me why I'm blushing. If I let her read the offending post (Anita!), I'd probably be fired - or get lucky. Could this be God's way of telling me I shouldn't read ANY thread entitled, "Question for women only"?

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 18, 2000.

Bingo:

I didn't post that. It was my evil twin, Lilith.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 18, 2000.

LOL, Anita! But if Debra sees your post, you might have some 'splainin' to do!

(Hi, Debra -- we're just ribbin' ya);)

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000.

Anita -- you should know I almost spit my coffee all over the computer screen when I saw that one...

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000.

LOL. Hawk is flyin' high! Sounds like my husband; always interested in promoting good health. grin

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 18, 2000.

Hey, I thought I was the only one who had an evil twin.

Hot cha cha cha cha................

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 18, 2000.

Maya (and the rest of y'all), take a look at "The Female Experience" thread to get the full flavor of Anita's comment.

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000.

Oh yes...for this purpose just focus on the posts (over there) with references to "Lilith."

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000.

Well that thread was sure worth the read over there eve!

I think Lilith has been making me do things too. She made me start this thread.

-- Maya (Maya@eck.ist), May 18, 2000.