What thing (style or beauty) do you wish you’d done or discovered sooner?

[Del1lahdaydream]

I always insisted on having long hair, even though my hair is fine and gets really straggly, thin and lank once it gets to shoulder length. Although I’d love the kind of thick hair that looks good long, I definitely don’t have it!

Anyway, after over 30 years of wearing my hair in a rubbish looking ponytail because it looked crap down and I refused to go short, I finally took the plunge and got my hair cut to chin length. It looks so much better. For the first time ever my hair looks thick and healthy, and it actually suits me so much more than longer hair, to my surprise.

The other thing is getting a few really dark, sticky out moles removed. I had them done privately and it cost quite a lot but really improved my confidence and I wish I’d spent the money and done it years ago.

Sure! god I hope I can find it. Pretty sure I've got it saved.

Bingo - I just cut down and down and then went off it. I honestly dont enjoy the taste any more. I still eat fruit but thats it.

I agree the crest strips work. I got mine yonks about from eBay if that’s any help.

I also recently bought one of those facial hair removers that’s a long spring. My god once you get the hang of it I swear it removes hair that I had as a baby. £1 from Primark. I use it a couple of times a week and I’m baby smooth 👶🏻

Is it Cali White for the Crest Strips? Dunno if it’s the same one but if you google they do supply (I’ve ordered from them and confirm they do work)

I got mine from one of the "UK teeth whitening" type websites. I only ordered a few the first time and paid by PayPal to try and minimise risk of dodgyness. But it was all fine.

Ahh thanks @hollieberrie, yes I used to order mine on eBay too (a long time ago!) but now feel a bit weird doing that and sounds like it can be dodgy. Good idea paying with PayPal I might give it a go

Late to this thread, apologies, but wanted to add my two cents' worth.

The things I wish I'd done/discovered sooner:

LASER HAIR REMOVAL FOR LEGS. When I think of the years - YEARS - I sweltered all summer long because no matter how I epilated my legs, waxing, shaving, you name it, I was a mess of ingrowns and red angry-looking rashes. Couldn't wear a skirt, shorts, anything, because my legs looked horrendous. I finally splurged on laser hair removal 2 years ago at age 40 and have spent the past two summers actually feeling COOL for once. My legs are still pale, I've never cracked the fake tan thing, but I don't really care. They are SMOOTH and not red/bumpy and I wish I'd done it 10 years ago.

HOT CLOTH/BALM CLEANSING. I switched from a gentle foaming cleanser to Emma Hardie balm 3 years ago and my skin is approx 1 million times better for it.

SUDACREME FOR SPOTS!! As recommended on here, thank you kindly MN! Started it when my period was due last week and all the usual bumpy horrors just de-swelled (is that a word?!) overnight. Half the size by morning, and trust me, the PMS spots I get, huge under the skin ones, are NOT dealt with lightly. Nothing else has ever worked like good old Sudacreme.

And finally - Cutting down on sugar as much as possible. Best single anti-ageing thing I've ever done. I did it 2 years ago for other health-related reasons and my skin was glowing, as opposed to grey and puffy, about a week later. These days I can see in my skin after a couple of days when I've had too much sugar again.

Great thread, have taken loads of tips off it, thanks!! Hope my input adds something...

Oh and I forgot to add, the life-changer of all life-changers, discovered here on MN... soap instead of shower gel. I was the OP who started that mammoth soap thread by accident about 2 years/18 months back, and I could cry for all the nice clothes that I used to wear that were ruined by my general sweaty smell :( I had to throw away a stunning cream silk tuxedo jacket once because the musty pits just ruined it.

NOW I am fragrant, even in the height of summer (well, OK, maybe not by 5pm on a sweltering day in July) thanks to good old soap, as recc'd on here. Life-changing, and better for the environment too!

Tell me more about the soap @HepburnKNotA ....
Does it not go all claggy? I've got loads of nice soap bars from the Yorkshire Soap company, DS1 bought me a lovely mini hamper of stuff but I've not used it yet. What do I need to look for in a soap?

I use bars of soap for hand washing but still prefer gel or body wash in the shower.

Getting a brace fitted for my terrible teeth. Wish I'd done it years ago. It's not cheap but the best thing I've ever done for myself and with 6 months to go my teeth look so so much better than they've ever done.

Face cleansing. Used to use a face wash like Simple or Nivea in the shower and a face wipe before bed. Used to get horrible cystic acne round the time of my period and assumed it was just hormonal.

Now I wash my face with Pears soap (the green one for oily skin) in the morning, and use Cetaphil cleanser before bed, with a damp flannel to lightly scrub it off. It has made a massive difference, and I hardly ever get spots now.

Don't get me started, GinandGingerBeer!!

Soap, glorious soap... you definitely need a well-drained soap dish. easy to find anywhere tbf. Just needs slats or something at the bottom so the soap doesn't sit in its own sogginess all day long. I just pop mine on our in-shower soap dish that has been here ever since we bought the house and it's bone dry again when I come for my next shower.

I'm massively trying to avoid palm oil wherever I possibly can so I go for palm-oil-free or sustainable palm oil soaps: Little Soap Company is lovely. I love the grapefruity one thesy do, or the rose. Less keen on the lavender.

People often buy me soap now and though it's usually not palm-oil-free I'm not going to be churlish and wasteful so I do use it up. Honestly, there are some heavenly ones, and I do have to be honest and say they probably get me feeling fresher even than the Little Soap Co ones. Maybe using palm oil makes them work better??! Those amazing big Nesti Dante bars you see at TK Maxx are incredible, my mum has bought them for me in the past though I don't buy them myself.

I avoid the glycerin kind you get at eg Body Shop, I love the scents but they just don't get my armpits fresh enough! (I think maybe I am abnormally whiffy tbf; I'm dandy when I use the right soap but the wrong soap doesn't get me fresh enough that LASTS all day).

I never ever buy it as it's bad from the palm oil perspective but when I first switched back to soap I used Imperial Leather and honestly I have never felt cleaner. If I had some huge event, now, that I was worried I MUST stay incredibly fresh all day for, I would temporarily ditch my no-palm-oil stance and use Imperial Leather as a one-off.

But no palm or sustainable palm for every day, and there are some gorgeous soaps. less plastic use, too!!

I love Dr. Bronners soap, the rose one especially.
When we all started exercising like made to Jane Fonda and all the other exercise trends such as Callanetics we all bought Shield soap and it got you super clean, men and women.

Not used it in years but I see you can still buy it but I don’t know if it’s the same formula.

Leaving my wavy hair to dry naturally with a bit of salt spray; I spent years styling it only for it to go frizzy. Now it's frizz free!

Lost 4 stone in weight

Stopped wearing foundation and just focussed on getting my skin as good as possible

I second Laser hair removal. Had legs and bikini line done (which wasn’t as painful as it sounds) and ingrown hairs are a thing of the past.

Am buying for my daughters - wish I’d done it years ago.

Great thread giving me lots of great ideas. Thanks OP!

Maybe we should have a new soap thread to talk about all the ones we've sampled over the last year or so. I'm also a convert after that thread, love Nesti Dante and the little colourful French soaps that you get at markets. Only problem is that I buy them at a faster rate than I can use them!

Just to say vinegar on pits area of your tops will deal with any lingering smells. Properly soak it with a spray bottle and wash as normal. Even lower temperatures will do it. If really bad residue, soak the area in vinegar and leave to sit for a bit before washing.

No need to throw garments away, vinegar will sort it. I heard vodka does the trick, too.

I bloody love these type of threads!

I use the bio oil gel on spots (including ones I've picked at!) and scratches and it's s little miracle. Going to try it on crows feet tonight and a time dab under eye

@HepburnKNotA and @Imthevoice could I ask about the leg laser hair removal? Did you go to a special clinic or beautician, or did you get one of those lumea things? And roughly how much and how many sessions to be hair free? Sounds like a magical prospect!

Mine is whiffy arm pit related but more of a thing that happened by accident. Last year I went on a long walking trip in a hot country and I was very sweaty and stinky everyday, which is normal for me. When my normal extra strength deodorant ran out I replaced it with a non descript one from a supermarket, nothing fancy, it was all I could find that day.
After I got home I realised my pits didn't smell any more, which was unheard of for me. I could use any old cheap deodorant and they just didn't smell.
They still don't! It's like my own little miracle and I don't really understand it but it has made my life SO much better! At the end of the day if I sniff my tops they smell of deodorant! Even in this hot weather. I keep waiting for them to start getting pongy again!

Wearing mascara every day makes my blonde lashed eyes look awake
I’m taking on board LOTS of these tips now too

Great thread!

LOVE this thread!

Soap - I've used Dove soap all over (face included!) for many years. Never looked back. Am in my 40s and my skin is v v good.

I use the hot cloth cleansing method with a clean flannel and any old balm/milk cleanser at night if I've been wearing makeup.

Then Dove in the shower in the morning.

Tons of moisturiser, and that's IT.

Like many of you I deluded myself that I could have long lustrous hair. Last Summer I cut it into a chin length bob. I don't even have to blow dry (or curl or straighten or put in rollers etc) anymore - I just wash and go. My hair looks fab, and I now turn up to any event, a school run or a dressy event, looking fab with the wash and go hair! Wish I had saved all those years of my life, even when I had a bob before I never had the confidence to wash it and leave I always spent ages drying and styling.