To ask where do mums find the time?!

I wish I could find the time I really can’t right now. I work 4 days a week and my day off during the week I have my daughter to look after. My husband works Saturdays so the only day we have is Sunday and salons are all closed. Some may think it’s pathetic or a waste of money etc but I know I’d feel much better about myself if I felt more put together. I used to go to the gym regularly, get my nails, eyebrows and waxing done monthly and hair done every 3 months. My daughter is almost 2 and a half and I’ve not been to the gym since I went back to work when she was 10 months old, last had my hair done in March and have been waxed maybe once since she was born and do my eyebrows myself.

I had a mobile hairdresser who came to the house and did my hair and the kids, and sometimes my mum or sister so we just did that on a Saturday booked every 12 week, no childcare needed (not highlights though). I also got nails or brows done either in my lunch hour at work or on a weekend, also went to the gym or swimming regularly and the kids were with my DH. Still managed to fit in plenty of family time and activities and DH had his own free time for exercise and hobbies. As long as both parents are capable of looking after the kids alone I don’t really see the issue. There are lunch hours, evenings after work, days off annual leave and weekends so plenty of free time even if you have kids with a man capable of parenting his own kids.
DC are older now but it hasn’t made much difference except they pay for their own hair and have their nails done too.

It’s really not that hard to understand, surely?

My eyebrows take about 20 minutes. I get them done once a month.

Nails take an hour. I hardly ever get them done, but when I do, they last for 3 weeks.
Both salons are open until 8pm on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as all day on Saturday.

My highlights take 2 hours, maybe 3 of the salon is busy, but again, I only go every 8 weeks.

Many of my friends get their lashes and waxing done too, again, it’s only an hour every 3 weeks or so

I have three children and I have all the time in the world. I could do all that while they are at school.

No spare money for that sort of stuff though.

The mothers I know who spend a lot of time on grooming on a regular basis are SAHMs and they go to appointments when the kids are at school.

I can’t imagine wasting my time or money on the things you described, but most adults can organise their lives to have some time to pursue their own interests.

when my children were babies, week end was the only time so my husband could look after them. We had a tight budget so only prioritise my hair every so many weeks. After loosing my hair to chemo, it s every 6 weeks on the dot! I even already have my christmas appt!
i take a morning off mid week.

manicures on my lunch break
pedicures evening/late afternoon or week ends
i only do manicures when I go out and want to have my nails done so not regularly as I hate shellac for it does to my nails afterwards.
in between i put the manicurist transparent pink on. Love it and help my nails and super easy to do it yourself.

Depends on the age of the children. I have a toddler so don’t have much time. By the time I’m 40, my toddler will be in her teens so I’d have more time. Maybe your friends booked time off work.

But aren't you at work? I do this too but I squeeze it in over lunch or between calls on a WFH day.

This. Or I go in my lunch break when I WFH.

I don't think I could physically sit still for that amount of time to get my hair done

A quick cut and blow dry is tedious enough

If you have a partner then you just book it in & they have the kids. I have flexitime so used to get a massage &. nails done every fortnight. It’s about priorities. I could do the hoovering & 3 loads of laundry, or I could get massage/hair/nails done. The housework is always going to be there.

I once saw a post where a woman said she could finally wash her hair when her child was age 3. Just put them on a bed with an iPad and get in the shower with the door open so you can see them.

If it makes you feel unhappy, do the Hairdresser thing, if it makes you feel happy do the low maintenance thing.

for me- I’m more of a priority than the dishwasher or hoovering. But I know for example my MIL Prefers a tidy house.

we are modern women - we can choose!

Few of my friends had time for this when our children were young! I'm a lazy moo who doesn't bother dyeing my hair and just chop a bit off the bottom with my own scissors when it gets too long - never have my nails done either! No waxing, just a quick scrape with a bic razor in the shower 😂

Now our kids are older, more of my friends do hairdresser's and nail salon appointments - I'm still to lazy and would rather spend those hours doing other things!

I don’t see why you can’t unless you’re a single parent and can’t leave your children alone

Eyebrows I go to a threading brow at the retail park a couple of minutes down the road at 9am on the dot, I’m done and dusted by 9.05am and back home at my desk by 9.30 at the latest. Hair and nails I usually get done together at a place that does both, 30 mins for hair then 30 mins for gel nails and I book the first appt on a Saturday or Sunday or the latest evening appts during the week. I go every 3 months not every 6 weeks though.

I get my hair done during the working day while my child is at childcare!

i get my nails and waxing done in my lunch hour, guessing for a 2 hour nail app you had mani and pedi and acrylic nails as I get gels and to remove my old colour and have the new one added today took 35 mins

my hairdresser is mobile and comes to mine in an evening after she has done her kids tea, and she cuts DDs hair then DH puts both kids to bed while I have my hair cut and highlighted, however if I went to a salon I would go and my DH would look after the kids

That's very judgemental! Plenty of people I know love getting stuff like that done, me included. Personally I think it all looks lovely, providing it's done well.

I just started using press on nails, I box dye my hair and tint my own eyebrows (I am qualified! Not tinting them with hair dye!). I just go to a salon to get my eyebrows waxed every 4/5 weeks and my DH has the DC that isn't on full time school yet.

I'm lucky enough to be able to work whilst I'm in the hairdressers chair. For nails, lashes, brows and other appts I can't work during, the kids are with DH.