Everyone seems to have their own style and standards when it comes to personal hygiene. There are the parameters that are established by the culture that one grows up with and lives in, but individuals add and subtract from these standards. I am an advocate for person choice and expression, but people do need to be aware how there choices affect those around them.
One thing that many of us seem to forget or not realize is that as we age our facial hair grows longer. Unfortunately our eye sight becomes weaker so we may not always be aware of these hairs. To me one of the more repulsive things is people with long nose hairs. The hairs tend to catch nasal drip and the result is quite unpleasant to look at. A nose hair clipper is easy and safe to use. Unfortunately by time long nose hairs become an issue people are already set in their hygiene routine. For some reason we find it embarrassing to point out to someone if they have disturbing facial hair. I have noticed that during the holiday season there are more nose hair clippers as well as other personal hygiene items on display in gift sets. There are also more advertisements on television at holiday time showing new and convenient hygiene devices.
In a way I find this quite amusing. We are not going to say to Uncle Fred that his long nose hairs are disturbing, but we are going to wrap up a nose hair clipper and give it to him as a gift. I have a friend that is a person care attendant in a facility for the aging. She has a very easy going manner and most of the elderly people she works with look forward to her pleasant smile and personality. She is very matter of fact with the elderly about getting rid of unwanted hairs. She has a tweezers, nose hair clipper and neck hair trimmer in her supply bag at all times. She will tell the women if they have facial hair and she will help them pluck them out. She will show the men how to use the nose hair trimmer and if they are too poor sighted or unsteady with their hands she will do it for them. She laughs that her goal is to rid the world of unwanted facial hair one person at a time. She said that most of the residents that she works with are grateful to her for pointing this out to them. She said for most of them once she has mentioned something they will ask her if the hairs are back. She believes that the problem is not that the elderly no longer care what they look like, it is that they cannot see good enough to notice.
