The Big Book of Girl Stuff

by Bart King

  The most common cosmetics that go on the mouth are lipstick, lip gloss, and lip liner. But adding color isn’t the only way that women have beautified their lips. They’ve also done “lip exercises.” It was once thought that pronouncing words with a lot of “Ps” would give lips a good workout and make them fuller. Girls used to walk around talking about “popcorn and pumpkins” to get puffy lips. Some girls even did lip weightlifting. You’ve heard of push-ups and pull-ups, but how about lip-ups?

  But before you think how weird that is, keep in mind that many girls and women in the United States today buy lip plumpers, which irritate and sting lips so that they get puffy. These plumpers use things like cayenne powder or cinnamon oil to do their stinging. Ouch! Girls who lip plump too much suffer from “trout pout.” Their lips start looking like a fish face!

  *The Japanese thought it was rude to show someone your open mouth, which is why many Japanese women cover their mouths when laughing even today.

  The Eyes Have It

  Eyes are usually the first thing someone sees when they look at you. But even though we “beautify” our eyelids, eyebrows, and eyelashes, we usually leave our eyeballs alone. Most eye makeup makes the eyebrows and eyelashes darker. The ancient Egyptians called eye makeup kohl, and it had a practical purpose. Kohl was used to protect eyes from the desert sun. You may have seen football players with black streaked beneath their eyes for the same reason. Cleopatra put blue-black kohl on her upper eyelids and green on her lower lids.

  To get the perfect eye makeup mix, Egyptians mixed either honey, crocodile poop, and onion water OR ground donkey liver, oil, and opium. Gross! BTW, nowadays, there is clear mascara, which is terrific for separating lashes. (It can also be used as an “eyebrow gel” to keep your brows looking good!)

  Expressions

  Our face can communicate how we are feeling more quickly than words. Our expressions EXPRESS our feelings! And because we are complicated, our expressions can communicate complicated feelings instead of just one at a time. In other words, someone can smile sadly, even though these are two different emotions.

  Computers using emotion-recognition software can be used to analyze these feelings. One such computer was used to look at the Mona Lisa’s famous smile. The computer found that the smile was 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent afraid, and 2 percent angry. Since Leonardo da Vinci painted her, you could say that we now know the Da Vinci Code!

  As for eyebrows, American girls didn’t start tweezing (or even shaving) their eyebrows until the 1920s. Tweezing has continued right up until today. Not only that, but men are getting in on the act as well. Recently, a growing number of men have also begun to have their eyebrows “shaped” with plucking and waxing. (This is called manscaping.)

  If you’re going to tweeze your eyebrows, try to keep them looking natural! For some reason, there are girls who get a little crazy with the tweezers and they start pulling everything in sight. This is painful and silly, especially when they end up using eyebrow pencils to fill in the holes where their hair was.

  Although it’s not such a big deal anymore, pierced eyebrows used to be a real “in your face” way of getting people to pay attention. (Get it? “In your face”?) But eyebrow piercings can be dangerous, because they can damage nerves and leave part of a person’s face numb.

  “The thing you hate about yourself tends to be the thing that everyone likes about you.”

  —Nicole Kidman

  Do You Pick Your Nose?

  If you “pick your nose” as the best part of your face, you’re not alone. Native Americans like the Nez Perce (which means “Pierced Nose”) used piercings to draw attention to the center of the face. Women in Pakistan and India have worn delicate nose ornaments for centuries. Sometimes a fine chain will lead from a woman’s nose to a hair ornament or earring. And the ancient Romans believed that a strong, assertive nose was a sign of intelligence and leadership ability.

  Do Your Ears Hang Low?

  As for ears, they might be the most ignored part of the face. How unfair! This isn’t a face “rule,” but a doctor told us that most people have ears that are about as long as their nose. Check to see if this is true for you!

  Do you have earlobes? (This is the lower part of your ear which may hang down a bit.) A traditional Buddhist belief is that long earlobes are a sign of great wisdom. And long earlobes are thought to be beautiful for members of the Kelabit tribe of Borneo. Women there stretch their earlobes so that they hang anywhere from two to eight inches down from their head! At that length, they can tickle your shoulders. (That reminds us of a song: Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie ’em in a knot . . . Okay, we’ll stop now.)

  Getting pierced ears is pretty common for U.S. girls. You should know that studies show that if the ear piercing goes through cartilage (in the stiffer part of the ear), the chances for infection are greatly increased. One study found an infection rate of almost 30 percent for cartilage piercings. Yikes!

  *In traditional Japanese culture, pierced ears are considered bad luck.

  In Your Face!

  “Your brain is the most important part of your body. That’s because good looks come and go, but your brain will always be there.”

  —Sarah Nader

  In India, the forehead is believed to be one of the most important parts of the body. Indian women sometimes have a red or yellow mark in the middle of the forehead called a tilak or a bindi. The tilak is a sign of good fortune; it shows that the person wearing it is pure and thoughtful. The decoration also supposed to keep the mind calm. Although the tilak may show that the woman wearing it is married, it can also be a fashion accessory. (Young girls wearing the tilak usually have it done in a light red color.)

  The Bigger, the Better!

  For originality, you’ve got to like the standard of beauty that the Massa have. The Massa is a tribe of Africans who live in Chad. For them, the bigger, the better. The most beautiful feature a woman can have is rolls of fat on her neck!

  Fun and Natural Facials

  It’s time for a guacamole facial! It’s fun AND natural! Just cut an avocado in half and remove the pit and peel. Mash up the avocado. Then smear it on your face! Leave it on for around five minutes and then wash it off with warm water. The natural oils from the avocado will soften and moisturize your face.

  The egg white facial is another natural beautifier. You need one egg for this. Crack it, remove the yolk, and whip up the whites in a small bowl. Then spread it on your face. Once you’ve done so, lie down for awhile and let it dry. Then wash and wipe your face clean.

  Trim and Polish

  You’ve probably noticed that your fingernails grow faster than your toenails. Most fingernails grow about an inch and a half a year, while toenails grow just half an inch. (This is because your hands have better blood circulation than your feet, and they get more nutrients.)

  *Psychologists believe that fingernail and cuticle biters may be more stubborn than most people.

  To decorate their nails, girls in the United States started using nail polish in the 1920s. For a long time, pink was the only color considered “appropriate.” If a girl painted her nails red, she was considered a troublemaker!

  You might be surprised to learn that “manicures” and “pedicures” don’t actually cure anything. Nope; this is simply what we call trimming and polishing fingernails and toenails. They are also a terrific way to “pamper” yourself. It turns out that getting your nails soaked, buffed, polished, finished, filed, decorated, and colored feels pretty good. And it’s also a fun thing to do with a friend! Massage her hands with lotion, and to keep her nails soft, wrap them in warm, wet towels. Use a clipper and nail file to shape her nails. Note: You may want to take a bath or soak your toes in warm water for five to ten minutes before going through the above steps for a pedicure.

  When done, it’s time to paint or polish! Clear polish is the most natural look, but if you want to do some color painting, most girl
s try to match whatever color lipstick they might be wearing. If you’re in a creative mood, you could paint each nail in a different color. You can also put clear nail polish on a fingernail and then sprinkle glitter on it. After it’s dry, just put one more layer of clear polish on, and you have glitter nails!

  *If you ever want to whiten your fingernails, try sticking them into a cut piece of lemon for a while. (Make sure you don’t have any fingernail cuts before you do this . . . ouch!)

  Hot Tip! If there is a beauty school near you, they probably offer manicures and pedicures for way cheap.

  Fun Nail Trick: Try putting scratch ’n’ sniff stickers on your fingernails. They’re nontoxic and will make your fingernails smell good all day!

  Practical Joke Alert! We encourage you to sneak up on your brother or father while

  he’s asleep and paint as many of his finger and/or toenails as you can reach. Once the painted man wakes up, try to rush him off to work or school as fast as possible so that he doesn’t notice!

  I’ll Never Look Like Her

  “Who I am inside determines how I feel about my body, not the other way around.”

  —Alanis Morissette

  In ancient Greece, girls were supposed to be slim and trim. In order to get their daughters beautiful, Greek mothers sometimes wrapped up their baby daughters tightly with fabric for the first months of their lives to squish and lengthen them. (Sort of a Play Doh Not-So-Fun Factory of Beauty for real girls!)

  If that seems weird to you, think about this: The average American woman is about 5’ 4” tall and weighs around 150 pounds. The average American fashion model is about 5’ 10” tall and weighs around 115 pounds. There are 3.5 billion women in the world, and only a few thousand of them are models. And even models don’t look like models. What if you took away the airbrushing, makeup, and expensive clothes?

  Anyway, think about who you are comparing yourself to. Are you putting yourself through a Play Doh Not-So-Fun Factory of Beauty to look like something you’re not? Other countries have beliefs about the female body that can be the opposite of U.S. culture. For example, in the United States, girls sometimes get eating disorders trying to keep their weight down. In the West African country of Mauritania, overweight women have long been thought of as attractive. They have problems with girls eating too much! Fortunately, the United States and Mauritania are both trying to educate girls about proper nutrition.

  It is possible that times might be slowly changing. Mannequins are sort of like store “models,” and lately some of them have been made with 38-inch hips, which is much bigger than they used to be. Storeowners say they now have “butts with attitude” which are easier to model jeans on realistically.

  The Belly Button

  It’s so cute, and so important! In Japan, the belly has long been believed to be a source of a person’s warmth and vitality. Traditional Japanese women’s clothing has a wide cloth belt around the midsection to protect the belly and keep it warm. The Japanese believe that the perfect belly button (or navel) is narrow, vertical . . . and an “innie”!

  As cute as it is, your belly button is also your first scar. It is the scar tissue left over from when the doctor cut the umbilical cord that connected you to your mommy. So that means some girls show off their scars with short blouses and tops. It’s weird to think about the belly button that way!

  *Belly button experts have not been able to figure out why belly button lint is almost always blue, even if it comes from a girl who owns no blue clothing.

  In the United States, girls generally have to be 18 to get their belly buttons pierced. (It is one of the slowest-healing piercings there is.) If you want to have a little fun, try the following practical joke.

  Fake Belly-Button Piercing

  It’s time for a fake belly-button piercing. (This trick also works for a fake nose piercing.)

  You Will Need: Beads, glue, a belly button or nose.

  Stop by a bead store and look for a bead that you can use to get a “piercing.” For a nose piercing, find a small bead with a flat back. If you want a custom belly-button piercing, you may want to get a larger, more impressive bead, maybe even one you could attach a small chain to.

  This trick is best done after you have been out of the house for awhile. Wait until it’s almost time to return home, and then put a little dab of white Elmer’s glue (not Krazy Glue!) on the back of the bead. Hold it against your nostril or belly. Be patient and keep it there in place until the glue dries.

  Then you’re ready to parade into the house! Act like you’re sort of guilty and trying to hide it, but make sure it’s visible, too. Then watch your mom shriek and your dad yell before you tell them, “Just kidding!”

  Beautiful Skin

  “If you take good care of your skin, you won’t need much makeup.”

  —Brooke Vermillion

  Dr. Ellen Gendler is a skin-care expert who was asked the all-important question: “What is the most common skin care mistake girls make?” Her answer: “Picking at their pimples or using too much moisturizer.” Okay, good to know!

  Can you believe that freckles were once thought to be a sign of disease? Naturally, there were cures for this horrible condition, like having a girl rinse her face with dew and then saying the alphabet backwards.

  In India, the people have a cool tradition of skin painting. A plant called “henna” grows in India, the Middle East, and northern Africa. It provides leaves that can be used for a safe dye, usually in some shade of red. The temporary dye can be used for body painting or “mehndi.” Women have patterns painted on their hands, feet, or entire bodies, especially for special occasions like marriages. And a new bride didn’t have to do any housework until her wedding mehndi wore off. (See “Fun Stuff to Do” to learn how to paint with henna.)

  Getting Soggy in the Tub

  Have you ever noticed how your fingers shrivel up when you stay in the bathtub too long? (And then you can pretend you’re an old lady!) Guess what? Your fingers don’t actually shrivel. The skin just gets BIGGER.

  What happens is that the longer you stay in the water, the more water molecules soak into your skin tissue. This stretches the skin out. Basically, you’re getting soggy! And the younger you are, the further your skin stretches in the tub.

  Although almost nobody has pure white skin, this hasn’t stopped women from trying to get it with makeup. In the past, Japanese women used face powder made from rice, which was organic and nontoxic. In Europe, some Englishwomen wanted white faces so badly, they put leeches behind their ears to literally suck the blood out of their heads. Gross!

  In modern times, many people think tans are cool, but of course, tanning can create skin problems. Girls with light skin and light eyes are the most at risk for skin cancer, and should be the most careful about becoming a tanorexic. A tanorexic is someone who thinks that she’s too pale, even when she is really tan. The thing is, tans always wear off anyway, but skin cancer can stick around for a long time.

  Unappealing Peeling! When skin peels off after a bad sunburn, it is called blype. Now you know.

  Goose Bumps!

  When you get cold, your skin often gets little bumps on it, which are called goose bumps or goose pimples. How did they get such a weird name?

  The little feathers called “goose down” are useful for stuffing pillows and comforters. These obviously came from geese, and some geese get their down feathers plucked as many as five times a year. Once the goose has its feathers plucked, it gets cold, and is covered in goose bumps or goose pimples. What happens is that the goose has small muscles surrounding each feather, which raises the feather up or down depending on the temperature. When it’s cold, a goose will “puff up” its feathers to create warmth. Without any feathers, the naked goose just gets covered with little bumps of muscles trying to move feathers that aren’t there. Sad!

  Humans work under the same system. We don’t have feathers, but we do have hair. Even though there isn’t much of it, when it’s cold, our
skin muscles try to raise up our hairs to create warmth for ourselves. We can also get goose bumps when we are frightened. Then it is called horripilation. Even though these goose bumps are scary, experts like R.L. Stine agree that horripilation is harmless.

  Perfume

  Smells can have an influence on how we feel. Some people get headaches if they smell something bad, and some people believe that good smells can help us feel better and stay healthy. This is called aromatherapy. In aromatherapy, some plant oils, including essential oils, are thought to have the following effects:

  Rose, chamomile, and lavender increase feelings of calmness and well-being.

  Jasmine, orange, and cypress increase feelings of confidence.

  Geranium, grapefruit, and sandalwood are used to treat depression.

  Basil, frankincense, and peppermint are used to help with low energy.

  Black pepper, basil, and rosemary improve memory and concentration.

  *In traditional Japanese society, women put their clothes in small, enclosed spaces, and burned incense with them so the clothing would smell good.

  Nowadays, many perfumes smell somewhat similar because they have an alcohol base. (That’s why they evaporate so fast.) If you’re looking for a perfume that doesn’t smell like everyone else’s, there’s a store in Williamsburg, Virginia for you. It specializes in very particular smells, including a ripe tomato, moist earth, fir trees, or roast beef. Believe it or not, there are even more specialized and unusual bottled odors for sale, like Play-Doh and Doll Head (the smell of the vinyl head of a doll!). How scents-ible is that?