Right, enough is enough- I need help (please!)

[MyFeatheryHat]

Dear kind MNers, I need your help and advice regarding a daily care routine.

I am now 37 and quite frankly it's quite obvious The thing is it's probably entirely my own fault as I do nothing to help myself in anyway

Growing up it was frowned upon to take too much care of oneself, a little vain and superficial if you like (coupled with the fact that we simply couldn't afford more than the bare basics) so I've never actually learnt how to take care of myself.

Don't get me wrong, I shower, clean my teeth (twice) wash my hair and change my clothes daily but that's it. I never moisturise, don't wear make up (don't know how) have appalling skin and I probably most embarrassingly of all don't own a hairbrush.

So where should I start? I need a decent hair cut as I'm really past the stage where I can just push my fingers through it and have it look intentionally messy. I need to sort out my skin so that it is not dried out or spotty (not helped that I work in a very greasy environment I suspect) Also my hands look very old, not helped by my shocking nails. Also any easy to implement daily routines that might at least slow down the raging tide of decline I have begun to notice?

FWIW I live an active outdoor life and am not looking for catwalk perfection. It's more that my current regime of benign neglect needs overhauling!

Get yourself a moisturiser with SPF! I don't know your price range, but you can find this in a selection of brands such as Body Shop, Lancôme. Try a mircellar water. This has oil in it to help remove grease. Soak a cotton wool ball and wipe over your face. Garnier do a good one and you should be able to find it in supermarkets or boots. How long is your hair? Or what sort of cut are you looking for? Your hair type will depend on what shampoo and conditioner to use.

Night cream (night time moisturiser) will help get moisture into your skin. I would start off very basic and build up. You will hear a lot about serums, skin oils, double cleansing, hot cloth cleansing. I am a beauty junkie and own all these things, but still do the basic regime I put in my first post most regularly! Oh and a hand cream will help x

Thank you love, plenty of scope for improvement there :o

I'm astounded that my shampoo should be a reflection of my hair type/cut Thankfully it doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects as it is soft and shiny. My hair is thick (as in lots of it) but very fine. I am also blessed with a double crown and a wave in it so have always embraced the slightly unkempt look. At the moment it's about 6 inches long as I am long overdue a haircut.

I have very fine hair, so if I use a shampoo for dry hair it goes really lank and greasy! Sounds like you have your hair type sorted glad to be of service