Feel Good #2-Tea

It is common knowledge that if you have been dumped, lost your job, are facing a huge decision, or your precious pet Scruffy has passed away; a cup of tea is the answer to all of life’s hardships. I grew up in a family that believed this wholeheartedly.

We were lucky enough to enjoy family holidays three times a year in our house down on Durban’s south coast. My grandparents would often come to stay. When they did us kids would try to avoid any adults at 8:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 7:00pm as we would certainly be asked to make yet another tray of tea. It was the worst possible job. No matter what you had been doing, you were forced to stop and make a full tray of tea. Not just a mug of tea; teapots, teacups, sugar bowls and milk jugs had to be included (WITH a doily, purely for the purpose of decoration).  At 30 degrees Celsius it would be too hot for such a beverage, but this would not deter these die hard tea drinkers.

This is now a custom that has passed down through the generations. My husband knows that if he has to wake me up early, he only needs to present me with a cup of tea to coax me out of bed. I find nothing better than a nice cup of tea after dinner. This love of tea is something I definitely inherited from my mom and granny.

On the day my beloved gran passed away, the entire family met at my grandparent’s house. It was a time we all needed to be together. We spent the whole day there, talking about my gran, grieving our loss and laughing at all the fun memories of her; and I can’t tell you how many trays of tea were made that day. She would have loved it!

Feel Good #1 - Waxing

Yes I do believe in equality for women. Yes I do think that magazines sell a false perception of what real women look like. Yes I know that we probably spend too much time trying to live up to these standards than we really should. But I draw the line at being hairy! I don’t think we should be angry at men for wanting a lady with smooth legs. There is nothing better than the feeling of a full body wax.

That is why my first Thing That Makes Me Feel Good is waxing.

Being in the beauty industry has made me a little obsessed with hair removal; that, and the years of my brother commenting on the hair above my lip; asking subtly, “Don’t you think you should get that seen to?” Those sorts of comments can scar a person.

My first tip for you is to find a decent waxing salon! If you ever see a therapist straining the wax to reuse it, run like mad! This is an archaic practice and totally disgusting.

If it’s your very first time waxing don’t be afraid to ask loads of questions, like what type of wax they use and how long the therapist has been waxing for.

If you do find yourself in the middle of a disastrous waxing experience, don’t be shy; tell the therapist to stop and don’t feel you need to pay. There is no way you should be expected to pay if a therapist has bruised you, burnt you, or removed a layer of skin!

Strip or cold wax is fine to use on your legs; but for your bikini, face or underarm remember to make sure they are using HOT wax.

Don’t be too brave, if it’s your very first time having a bikini wax play it safe and simply have a G-string wax. You can always work your way up to a Brazilian, especially if you aren’t familiar with the therapist.

The only problem with waxing is trying to maintain it during the summer months, especially on those rare occasions in England when the sun ventures to come out, you don't want to be forced to wear trousers and sleeves. For your legs the Veet strips will do to clean up between waxes. However, I don’t recommended trying to wax your bikini on your own. You end up with your legs in peculiar positions and spend half the time bracing yourself to pull the wax off. It’s not an attractive look. Leave it to the professioals. But do try it, it really does make you feel good.