If you’re not familiar with this little device, it’s a little plastic pot in which you pour distilled water and a pre-mixed packet of baking soda and saline.  Then you tilt your head, place the end of the neti pot against one nostril, and let the solution flow up your nose and out the other side. 

I’ve read and heard personal accounts of  varying degrees of success with the neti pot, ranging from “lots of nasty stuff” washing out of the nose, to “I haven’t tried it yet.”  So I thought I’d give it a shot and share with you (aren’t you lucky?!) my results. 

Day one:
I bought the little blue plastic pot yesterday, which came with 50 premixed pouches of baking soda/salt, and mixed up an eight ounce batch of solution.  I went into the bathroom, tilted my head, and stuck the end of the pot against my nose.  And….OUCH!  It feels like water going up my nose!  Imagine that.  I then blew my nose, and repeated with the other side.  Then went about my day.

I was a bit stuffy throughout the day, but I’m not sure if this was because of the nasal rinse, or because we were outdoors apple-picking all day and the allergens were just having a hay-day.  I also sneezed a lot. 

Last night, my sleep was no different than any other night, but I did wake up with my sinuses slightly less blocked.

Day two:
I repeated the process this morning, and so far, I feel like crud.  My ears hurt, my throat is scratchy, and my nose kind of hurts a little.  I should mention that I spent the day Saturday with a girlfriend who’s been diagnosed with a sinus infection, double ear infection and bronchitis, so there were germs in the air.  Lots of them. So I could be coming down with a cold.  Ugh.

We’ll see how the week progresses.

1. A good haircut.   I don’t mean you should go out and spend $150 on a cut.  Just find someone good, who you trust, who can give you a GOOD haircut.  A good haircut is one that is easy to style, easy to care for, and grows out nicely.  A decent haircut should last you at least 6 weeks.  After about 8 weeks, even if you’re trying to grow it out, it’s a good idea to get a trim to keep your ends in shape.  Otherwise, your ends will split, and they’ll just keep splitting up the hair shaft, so that it starts looking ratty, and by that point, you’re not fooling anyone.  You’re too cheap to go get it cut.
2.  Going blonde.  If you want to go more than just a shade or two lighter, it’s always a good idea to get this done professionally.  You can try it at home if you absolutely know what you’re doing – as in, you graduated from hairdressing school – but I would otherwise strongly advise you not to try this.  Trust me (btdt!).  A color-correction appointment at a hair salon costs significantly more than if you just went there in the first place.                                                           
   Here’s some simple math:
   hair appointment to go blonde: $120  Done. 
   OR
   Peroxide: $5
   Lightener: $10 (seems pretty cheap so far, huh?)
   Toner: $6
   Color correction: $150 (to start!)
   So that’s now up to a minimum of $171 (plus additional charges for anything extra they do, which, in my experience, ends up to be about $200 total) vs. $120, plus gas, plus the absolute HORROR of having to drive, in PUBLIC, looking like a chiquita banana.
3. Any type of cosmetic procedure.  Do you want to look like this?
   

            Eggggss-actly!  Just don’t do it.

           The end.

So read on, dear beauties, and please send me your own tips any time and I’ll include them in a post.