The Girly Thread

**night faerie** · August 31st, 2003

ok this is a place for us girls to give each other advice & stuff on stuff that's purely girly.

For example...

-moisturizer breaks up static electricity.
Want to wear that groovy skirt but forgot to use your fabric softener and it's all clingy? rub some moisturizer on your legs (this even works with a little moisturizer on pantyhose) and you wont have static cling anymore!

-Forget about those over the counter makeup removers! They're gross, oily and work half as well as they should.
Baby shampoo takes off eye makeup more easily than you can possibly imagine, it only takes a tiny bit and doesnt sting your eyes. and it also helps wash away the natural oils that accumulate along your lash line, which can make mascara go on all clumpy.
and this suggestion was given to me by my eye doctor so it cant be bad for your eyes.

**Anita Blake** · September 1st, 2003

oooh. if you have really really dry hair and want to moisturize it fast, you must buy some coconut oil, and rub a little through your ends, rub it all through your hair, and let it sit there for a couple hours before shampooing it out. if you can't find coconut oil, olive oil will also suffice, but the coconut oil is like magic.

**epiph** · September 1st, 2003

cardamon seeds in coconut oil is good for heat rash.

**Anita Blake** · September 2nd, 2003

oh, and i've said it before and i'll say it again... go to the drug store and invest in some "Pure Vitamin E" skin oil. It's a very viscous clearish liquid, obviously it's vitamin E, but if you have a zit and you are unable to refrain from trying to do somethign about it, which always makes it worse... if you put vitamin E oil on afterwards it makes it heal much faster, so much so that when you wake up the next day (depending on the amount of your pestering with the thing) most signs of your interference will be gone. Also works great on cuts and scrathes, helps to heal wounds without scarring and it heals small cuts and scratches very quickly. I honestly can't go on enough abotu vitamin E oil. it's the best stuff since sliced bread, but even better, since everyone knows that home-bakes fresh-sliced bread is much better than buying already sliced bread.

but i seem to have tangent-ized.

**merryd** · September 2nd, 2003

our happy friendly monthly visitor...

yes ladies, I am talking about the bloody bee-yatch, the rag, moon water, that which makes us stronger than the men, the fact of female existence that men most feared...

anyway... I am a part of a feminist group that has been researching the fact that most feminine products are made by men and men are the ones who profit from them. Furthermore, the ones that are mass marketed ie: tampax, kotex, playtex, often contain bleach, perfumes, and other chemicals that are unhealthy for a woman's womanliness. So, we've been experimenting with alternative solutions. There are a variety of sponges and cups that are much more environmentally friendly and some are even reusable.

I was wondering if this is of interest to anyone else around here or if any of you ladies have had any experience/knowledge of what I am talking about.

merry d -- feminist in residence (not that I am claiming to be the only feminist in residence, in fact, hopefully I am not)

**epiph** · September 2nd, 2003

i had a friend who used some sort of cup...i don't remember what it's called...of course, she's also the friend who got preggers cuz she relied a little too heavily on natural family planning. i just use natural cotton tampons...

**Anita Blake** · September 2nd, 2003

yeah, there's this great product called "instead" in canada, don't know if it's anywhere else, but it's like a little plastic cup that you insert, and it collects, rather than absorbing, so y ou can leave it in for up to 12 hours. it's sooooo much more comfortable than tampons or pads. no freaking strings hanging out of you like a little mouse tail. it's awesome. It's more "hands on" if you know what i mean, beacuse of the no strings, and at first can be a little messy, but once you get past that ( i mean, it's your own body, what's the big deal?) you're flying high and confident

i've also seen a similar thing from feminist sex stores that is a small natural latex rubber cup that you can reuse for something like 10 or 20 years.... you just have to wash it out with every use.... but i'm not that natural..... to me it seems kind of unsanitary, but they say it's not, but whatever. If you can find "Instead" definitely try it out.... honestly... i can't go back to tampons or pads. they feel so gross and scratchy.

**merryd** · September 2nd, 2003

We do have Instead -- they actually sell them at Walgreens and they definitely work as well as tampons without the discomfort. I agree that it might take some time for me to be 'natural' enough to go with the reusables but I think one of my friends is going to try them out so I'll see what she says.

I also found the organic cotton pads and tampons and they are much better than the mainstream brands.

well... I'll keep you all updated.

**night faerie** · September 2nd, 2003

ROFLAO, well that should be enough to ensure the boys dont invade our thread.

Well done, grrlz, well done.

**Mesaana** · September 2nd, 2003

We have a nify sex shop that sells reuseable pads for the natural woman... I never have heard of this Instead Anita, what shops sell them?? it sounds so much better than O.B. and whatnot... I dunna mind getting a wee bit messy, I mean tis not even really blood....

Also for those of you who have had leakage issues on some nice underwear or anything at all... apparently if you douse the area in hairspray then wash it the stain goes... Apparently it's what they use in department stores and lingerie stores for their underwear.

**satan** · September 2nd, 2003

hydrogen peroxide gets out leakage as well..

**epiph** · September 3rd, 2003

yeah! instead! that was what she used! i think she said you can have sex with them in too, but it takes a little bit of getting used to for the guy....

**Anita Blake** · September 3rd, 2003

yeah, supposedly you can have sex wearing them, but my bf's not too keen on the idea... so it's not something i've tried. you can get them at shoppers drug mart, and most major grocery stores here. they're a little more expensive than tampons, like $10 for 16, which should last probably your whole period anyway, so i think it's worth it.

but you know what gets me angry? like, super duper angry? That we get taxed on feminine products. You don't have to pay GST (goods and services tax - 7%) on food or "necessary" items, but you do have to pay it on feminine products... what, like that's not "necessary"??!!?! grrr. stupid government.

on other news... i read that they did some studies and discovered that one of the things that can make cramps lessen and PMS better is getting hugs. so tell your boyfriends that you wouldn't be so damn cranky or in pain if he'd hug you more often.

my bf read that article so when i feel terrible he hugs me... and it does kind of make me feel better.

*hugs all the girls*

**merryd** · September 3rd, 2003

*returns hugs enthusiastically*

that is so sweet... your bf sounds like a keeper.

here's an idea... if feminine products aren't 'necessary', let's see how many people would participate in a feminine strike against all feminine products....

that's right ladies... let it flow... freely and messily

I'm saying in a month we'll have feminine products in abundance, cheap and tax-free. you know the men in charge can't even stand to think about what really goes on in a woman's body much less see it or (horror) smell it.

As for the instead; I don't think I'd have sex with it in, that might be a bit weird. What I've found is that my flow seems to temporarily stop when we do have sex (it requires some pretty quick clean up afterwards) but isn't too bad.

All right... for any men who might be lurking... stay tuned for next weeks segment on breast exams and masturbation.