magicicada (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
magicicada) wrote2006-02-12 10:26 am
magicicada) wrote2006-02-12 10:26 am
Things I don't do which set me apart.
Maybe this could be a meme, but for now, it is a reflection.
I am sensitive to fragrances. They bother me more than others, and I am quite vigilant about protecting my senses. I've known this ever since I was small, but only in the past few years have I understood the way that excessive fragrance can act as a migraine trigger. One instance is ok, but combined with 2 or more triggers, it could lead to a migraine. This knowledge has bolstered my instinctive avoidance and occasionally saved me from lapses of girliness. However, I sometimes feel isolated in my own odd world.
- I don't wear makeup - ever, not for pictures, not for my own wedding.
- I don't use hairspray. It is only within the past year that I have started carefully examining the world of hair products(outside of shampoo/conditioner). I have a Fructis cream that is lovely and a salt/sea spray that I can only use if I have had no other triggers within the past few days.
- I have never had a manicure/pedicure. I keep thinking that *maybe* I could handle a pedicure if I went to a spa and requested a different room than the manicures are done in.
- Theater (onstage, and possibly off) is out. I agree wholeheartedly that some emphasis is needed to convey expressions to the audience, but I cannot stand that stuff on my face. I am not sure that I could even handle being around that level of makeup in an offstage role. It's interesting to me that I avoided acting opportunities as a kid for other reasons.
- This BPAL thing, intriguing, but I have no way of knowing if these will be some of the rare scents I can handle.
I had a hair cut the other day and had to frantically wave off the haircutter when she approached me with some sort of spray. She was nice, but it obviously took her by surprise. She said that she "would not want to live in that world." I get her point, as she obviously enjoys the froufrou and I do get frustrated some times that there are scores of hairstyles which are simply impossible for me. But I don't think I could take that extra fuss in my life. I'm grateful for the thousands of dollars I have saved by not investing in the makeup culture. This sensitivity also supports my philosophical objections to mandatory makeup. I mean, no one requires men to wear makeup but I have seen jobs that require it as part of a dress code. (Mind you, these are jobs which also require hose and I have decided that avoiding hose is a quality of life issue worth adjusting employment goals. )
There are fragances that I can handle: most incense, many fragrance oils, some candles, most skin lotions, most shampoo/conditioner (extends to leave-in and creams), one perfume applied very carefully.
I will also occasionally dye my hair which is a rare triumph of girliness over sensitivity. It does bother me, but I pick a good day (trigger-wise) and comfort myself that I'm trading a few hours for many months.
I assume there's something common about all the fragrances I cannot handle, but I am not sure any longer that I care what it is. The base of makeups seems to be a universal trigger, even in "no-scent" foundations. Rose anything tends to be bad.
*shrug* How much is the allergy and how much is personality? Am I lucky that these two mesh or has the sensitivity changed me as I grew to encourage my personal objections. I know my mom does not wear makeup and my hippie-chick tendencies are innate. Who knows?
I am sensitive to fragrances. They bother me more than others, and I am quite vigilant about protecting my senses. I've known this ever since I was small, but only in the past few years have I understood the way that excessive fragrance can act as a migraine trigger. One instance is ok, but combined with 2 or more triggers, it could lead to a migraine. This knowledge has bolstered my instinctive avoidance and occasionally saved me from lapses of girliness. However, I sometimes feel isolated in my own odd world.
- I don't wear makeup - ever, not for pictures, not for my own wedding.
- I don't use hairspray. It is only within the past year that I have started carefully examining the world of hair products(outside of shampoo/conditioner). I have a Fructis cream that is lovely and a salt/sea spray that I can only use if I have had no other triggers within the past few days.
- I have never had a manicure/pedicure. I keep thinking that *maybe* I could handle a pedicure if I went to a spa and requested a different room than the manicures are done in.
- Theater (onstage, and possibly off) is out. I agree wholeheartedly that some emphasis is needed to convey expressions to the audience, but I cannot stand that stuff on my face. I am not sure that I could even handle being around that level of makeup in an offstage role. It's interesting to me that I avoided acting opportunities as a kid for other reasons.
- This BPAL thing, intriguing, but I have no way of knowing if these will be some of the rare scents I can handle.
I had a hair cut the other day and had to frantically wave off the haircutter when she approached me with some sort of spray. She was nice, but it obviously took her by surprise. She said that she "would not want to live in that world." I get her point, as she obviously enjoys the froufrou and I do get frustrated some times that there are scores of hairstyles which are simply impossible for me. But I don't think I could take that extra fuss in my life. I'm grateful for the thousands of dollars I have saved by not investing in the makeup culture. This sensitivity also supports my philosophical objections to mandatory makeup. I mean, no one requires men to wear makeup but I have seen jobs that require it as part of a dress code. (Mind you, these are jobs which also require hose and I have decided that avoiding hose is a quality of life issue worth adjusting employment goals. )
There are fragances that I can handle: most incense, many fragrance oils, some candles, most skin lotions, most shampoo/conditioner (extends to leave-in and creams), one perfume applied very carefully.
I will also occasionally dye my hair which is a rare triumph of girliness over sensitivity. It does bother me, but I pick a good day (trigger-wise) and comfort myself that I'm trading a few hours for many months.
I assume there's something common about all the fragrances I cannot handle, but I am not sure any longer that I care what it is. The base of makeups seems to be a universal trigger, even in "no-scent" foundations. Rose anything tends to be bad.
*shrug* How much is the allergy and how much is personality? Am I lucky that these two mesh or has the sensitivity changed me as I grew to encourage my personal objections. I know my mom does not wear makeup and my hippie-chick tendencies are innate. Who knows?