An adult diaper (or adult nappy) is a diaper made to be worn by a person with a body larger than that of an infant or toddler. Diapers can be necessary for adults with various conditions, such as incontinence, mobility impairment, severe diarrhoea or dementia. Adult diapers are made in various forms, including those resembling traditional child diapers, underpants, and pads resembling sanitary napkins (known as incontinence pads).
An aftershave is a lotion, gel, balm, powder, or liquid used mainly by men after they have finished shaving. It may contain an antiseptic agent such as denatured alcohol, stearate citrate or witch hazel to prevent infection of cuts, as well as to act as an astringent to reduce skin irritation. Menthol is used in some varieties as well to numb damaged skin, and it is an ingredient that shaving cream manufacturers have started including in their formulations, too.
Anal bleaching is the process of lightening the colour of the skin around the anus. It is done for cosmetic purposes, to make the colour of the anus more uniform with the surrounding area. Some treatments are applied in an office or salon by a cosmetic technician and others are sold as cream that can be applied at home.
Artificial nails, also known as fake nails, false nails, fashion nails, nail enhancements, or nail extensions, are coverings placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. Some artificial nails attempt to mimic the appearance of real fingernails as closely as possible, while other designs may deliberately stray in appearance from real fingernails. Artificial nails are made from a wide variety of materials.
A barber (from the Latin barba, "beard") is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair. A barber's place of work is known as a "barber shop" or a "barber's". Barber shops are also places of social interaction and public discourse. In some instances, barbershops are also public forums. They are the locations of open debates, voicing public concerns, and engaging citizens in discussions about contemporary issues. They were also influential in helping shape male identity.
Bath salts are water-soluble, pulverized minerals added to water to be used for bathing. They are said to improve cleaning, enhance the enjoyment of bathing, and serve as a vehicle for cosmetic agents. Bath salts have been developed which mimic the properties of natural mineral baths or hot springs.
Bikini waxing is the epilation of pubic hair in and around the pubic region by the use of wax. While the practice is mainly associated with women, men at times also remove pubic hair. With certain styles of women's swimwear, pubic hair may become visible around the crotch area of a swimsuit. Visible pubic hair is widely culturally disapproved of and considered to be embarrassing, and so is at times removed. However, some people also remove pubic hair that is not exposed, for aesthetic, personal hygiene, cultural, fashion or other reasons.
Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. It is also produced commercially for medical, cosmetic, and research use. There are two main commercial types: botulinum toxin type A and botulinum toxin type B.
Brilliantine is a hair-grooming product intended to soften men's hair, including beards and moustaches, and give it a glossy, well-groomed appearance. It was created at the turn of the 20th century by French perfumer Edouard Pinaud (a.k.a. Ed. Pinaud). He presented a product he called Brillantine (from the French brillant meaning "brilliant") at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. It consisted of a perfumed and coloured oily liquid.
A bubble bath is a filled bathtub with a layer of surfactant foam on the surface of the water and consequently also the surfactant product used to produce the foam. Less commonly, aerated or carbonated baths are called bubble baths.
A comb is a toothed device used for styling, cleaning and managing hair and scalp. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating back to 5,000 years ago in Persia.
A hair iron or hair tong is a tool used to change the structure of the hair using heat. There are three general kinds: curling irons, used to make the hair curly, straightening irons, commonly called straighteners or flat irons, used to straighten the hair, and crimping irons, used to create crimps of the desired size in the hair.
Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments used to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth. The floss is gently inserted between the teeth and wiped along the teeth sides, especially close to the gums or underneath them. Toothbrushes do not clean between teeth or below the gumline. Used as an addition to toothbrushing as part of regular oral hygiene flossing can reduce gingivitis and halitosis compared to toothbrushing alone. In dentistry, floss is classed as an interdental (between teeth) cleaning aid.
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent body odour caused by the bacterial breakdown of perspiration in armpits, feet, and other areas of the body. A subgroup of deodorants, antiperspirants, affect odour as well as prevent sweating by affecting sweat glands.
Electrology is the practice of electrical epilation to permanently remove human hair. The actual process of removing the hair is referred to as electrolysis.
An eyelash curler is a hand-operated mechanical device for curling eyelashes for cosmetic purposes. Usually only the upper eyelashes are curled. Before using, the device can be shortly heated with a hair dryer, but not to the extent to burn the delicate skin above the eyes. Self-heating, battery-operated units are available.
Facial tissue and paper handkerchief refers to a class of soft, absorbent, disposable papers that are suitable for use on the face. They are disposable alternatives for cloth handkerchiefs. The terms are commonly used to refer to the type of paper tissue, usually sold in boxes, that is designed to facilitate the expulsion of nasal mucus from the nose although it may refer to other types of facial tissues including napkins and wipes.
A facial is a procedure involving a variety of skin treatments, including: steam, exfoliation, extraction, creams, lotions, facial masks, peels, and massage. They are normally performed in beauty salons but are also a common spa treatment.
Eyelash Extensions is a practice that enhances the length, thickness and fullness to natural eyelashes. The extensions may consist of silk, mink, or synthetic hair. Methods of applying the extensions include full strips, clusters, and individual, one-by-one extensions.
A hairbrush is a stick brush with rigid or soft bristles used in hair care for smoothing, styling, and detangling human hair, or for grooming an animal's fur. It can also be used for styling with a curling iron or blowdryer.
Hair clippers are specialized implements used to cut human head hair. They work on the same principle as scissors, but are distinct from scissors themselves and razors. Similar but heavier-duty implements are used to shear sheep, but are called handpieces or machine shears.
Hair colouring is the practice of changing the colour of hair. The main reasons for this practice are cosmetic (e.g., to cover gray hair, to change to a colour regarded as more fashionable or desirable, or to restore the original hair colour after it has been discoloured by hairdressing processes or sun bleaching). Hair dyeing, which is an ancient art, involves treatment of the hair with various chemical compounds. Today, hair colouring is immensely popular, with over 75 percent of American women dyeing their hair, and globally hair colourants are a rapidly growing over-$7 billion industry. At home colouring in the United States reached $1.9 billion in the year 2011, and is expected to raise to $2.2 billion by 2016.
Hair conditioner is a hair care product that changes the texture and appearance of hair.
Hair crimping is a method of styling usually straight, long hair so that it becomes wavy, often in a sawtooth fashion. In the American South, it is usually referred to as crimping, but also can be called krinkles or deep waves.
Artificial hair integrations, more commonly known as hair extensions, add length and/or fullness to human hair.
Hair extensions are methods of lengthening one's hair by incorporating artificial hair or natural hair collected from other individuals. Hair extensions can also be used to protect one's natural hair. These hair techniques are advanced and are used to change the hair drastically without looking unrealistic.
Hair gel is a hairstyling product that is used to stiffen hair into a particular hairstyle.
Hair highlighting/lowlighting refers to changing a person's hair colour, using lightener or hair colour to colour hair strands. There are four basic types of highlights: foil highlights, hair painting, frosting, and chunking. Highlights can be done in natural or unnatural colours. Colour highlights come in four categories: temporary, semi-permanent, demi-permanent and permanent. Hair lightened with bleach is permanent.
Hair mousse is a hairstyling product added to hair for extra volume and shine. Mousse originates as a French term meaning foam. Hair mousse originated in France and was brought to the North American retail market by L'Oreal in the 1980s, the first mousse product coming out under the label "Valence".
A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, although some formulations are based on ammonium thioglycolate instead.
Hair removal, also known as epilation or depilation, is the deliberate removal of body hair.
Hair typically grows all over the human body. Hair can become more visible during and after puberty and men tend to have thicker, more visible body hair than women. Both men and women have visible hair on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, pubic region, arms, and legs; men also have thicker hair on their face, abdomen, back and chest. Hair does not generally grow on the lips, the underside of the hands or feet or on certain areas of the genitalia.
A chemical depilatory is a cosmetic preparation used to remove hair from the skin on the human body. Currently, common active ingredients are calcium thioglycolate or potassium thioglycolate, which breaks down the disulfide bonds in keratin and weakens the hair so that it is easily scraped off where it emerges from the hair follicle.
A hair roller or hair curler is a small tube that is rolled into a person's hair in order to curl it, making a new hairstyle.
Hair spray (also hair lacquer or spritz) is a common cosmetic product that is sprayed onto hair to keep it stiff or in a certain style. The spray can be dispensed from a pump or aerosol spray nozzle.
Modern hair sprays were developed around the time of the aerosol can in the 1940s, and the first patents describing copolymers for hair styling were published in the 1940s.
Hair straightening is a hair styling technique used since the 1890s involving the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth, streamlined, and 'sleek' appearance. It became very popular among black males and females of all races, during the 1950s, the former group because black men wanted to have the very popular and stylish "greaser" look, either that or wearing Afros. It is accomplished using a hair iron or hot comb, chemical relaxers, Japanese hair straightening, or Brazilian hair straightening. In addition, some shampoos, conditioners, and hair gels can help to make hair temporarily straight.
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair colouring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. Most hairdressers are professionally licensed as either a hairdresser, a barber or a cosmetologist.
A hand sanitizer or hand antiseptic is a supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. Many preparations are available, including gel, foam, and liquid solutions. The active ingredient in hand sanitizers may be isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol), ethanol, n-propanol, or povidone-iodine. Inactive ingredients in alcohol rubs typically include a thickening agent such as polyacrylic acid for alcohol gels, humectants such as glycerin for liquid rubs, propylene glycol, and essential oils of plants. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are more effective at killing microorganisms than soaps and do not dry out hands as much.
Hand washing or hand hygiene is the act of cleaning one's hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or with the use of soap for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms.
Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved, all or part of, their heads for very diverse reasons: practical, convenience, low maintenance, religious, cultural, or aesthetic—so a shaven head has widely varying connotations depending on the context.
A hot comb (also known as a straightening comb) is a metal comb that is used to straighten moderate or coarse hair and create a smoother hair texture. A hot comb is heated and used to straighten the hair from the roots. It can be placed directly on the source of heat or it may be electrically heated.
Leg shaving is the practice of removing leg hair by shaving the hair off using a razor or electric shaver. In addition, some people remove leg hair using waxing, sugaring, depilatories, depilation devices, or lasers, but shaving remains the least expensive method.
It is a very common practice among women in the western world, and is also done by some men, especially bodybuilders, cyclists, swimmers and some runners.
Mouthwash, mouth rinse, oral rinse or mouth bath, is a liquid which is held in the mouth passively or swilled around the mouth by contraction of the perioral muscles and/or movement of the head, and may be gargled, where the head is tilted back and the liquid bubbled at the back of the mouth.
A mud bath is a bath of mud, commonly from areas where hot spring water can combine with volcanic ash. Mud baths have existed for thousands of years, and can be found now in high-end spas in many countries of the world.
Nail buffing is the act of polishing the nail using buffers of successively finer grit in order to make nails look more consistent and shiny. A paste is used to fill ridges on nail surfaces.
A pedicure is a superficial cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails. It provides a similar service to a manicure. Pedicures are done for cosmetic, therapeutic and medical purposes, and can help prevent nail diseases and nail disorders. They are extremely popular throughout the world, primarily among women.
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of unwanted body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, disposable razor and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since before the Bronze Age (the oldest razor like-object has been dated to 18,000 B.C.), its modern counterpart was invented in the 18th century, and the 1930s saw the invention of electric razors. In the 21st century, the safety razor - electric or not - is most commonly used by both men and women, but other kinds still exist.
A sanitary napkin, sanitary towel, sanitary pad, menstrual pad, maxi pad, or pad is an absorbent item worn by a woman or girl while she is menstruating, while she is recovering from vaginal surgery, for lochia (post birth bleeding), after an abortion, or in any other situation where it is necessary to absorb a flow of blood from her vagina.
Setting spray (also finishing spray, makeup setting spray, finish spray, or makeup spray) is a cosmetic product designed to preserve applied make-up long periods of time. Usually sold in small spray bottles, setting spray is applied by spritzing mist over the face, keeping the make-up application moist for several hours.
Shampoo is a hair care product that is used for cleaning hair. The goal of using shampoo is to remove the unwanted build-up without stripping out so much sebum as to make hair unmanageable.
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down - to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair. A man is called clean-shaven if he has had his beard entirely removed.
A shave brush or shaving brush is a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to apply shaving soap or shaving cream to the face when shaving. Shave brushes are often decorative; the handle is sometimes made from fine materials such as ivory or even gold, though the bristle load may be composed of any number of natural or synthetic materials. The shave brush is used most often today by "wet shavers" in tandem with a double-edged safety razor or a straight razor. However, this is not always the case, as shavers of all varieties may employ the tool.
Shaving cream or shaving foam is cream applied to the face, or wherever else hair grows, to facilitate shaving. They achieve three effects: lubricate the cutting process; swell keratin; and desensitize skin. Shaving creams commonly consist of an emulsion of oils, soaps or surfactants, and water.
Shaving oil is normally a vegetable oil, blend of vegetable oils or siloxanes with essential oils that can be used as a stand-alone shaving lubricant or as pre-shave underneath shaving cream, soap or gel, to facilitate the shaving of facial and other body hair. Often these products would work best by wetting the area before the razor is used.
Shaving soap typically refers to a hard soap that is whipped into a lather using a shaving brush. The lather it produces is used to coat the face during shaving, providing protection and lubrication for the razor. Among most wet shavers, shaving soap has largely been displaced by canned shaving foam or gel, but hard shaving soaps have a following among shaving traditionalists especially among straight razor users.
Skin whitening, skin lightening, and skin bleaching refer to the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten skin tone or provide an even skin complexion by lessening the concentration of melanin. Several chemicals have been shown to be effective in skin whitening, while some have proven to be toxic or have questionable safety profiles, adding to the controversy surrounding their use and impacts on certain ethnic groups.
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfactants for washing, bathing, and cleaning, but they are also used in textile spinning and are important components of lubricants. Soaps for cleansing are obtained by treating vegetable or animal oils and fats with a strongly alkaline solution.
Sunless tanning, also known as UV-free tanning, self tanning, spray tanning (when applied topically), or fake tanning, refers to the application of chemicals to the skin to produce an effect similar in appearance to a suntan. The popularity of sunless tanning has risen since the 1960s after health authorities confirmed links between UV exposure (from sunlight or tanning beds) and the incidence of skin cancer.
Sunscreen (also commonly known as sun screen, sunblock, suntan lotion, sunburn cream, sun cream or block out) is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects some of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the skin exposed to sunlight and thus helps protect against sunburn. Skin-lightening products have sunscreen to protect lightened skin because light skin is more susceptible to sun damage than darker skin. A number of sunscreens have tanning powder to help the skin to darken or tan; however, tanning powder does not provide protection from UV rays.
A tampon is a cylindrical mass of absorbent material, primarily used as a feminine hygiene product. Historically, the word "tampon" originated from the medieval French word "tampion", meaning a piece of cloth to stop a hole, a stamp, plug, or stopper. At present, tampons are designed to be easily inserted into the vagina during menstruation and absorb the user's menstrual flow. Several countries regulate tampons as medical devices. In the United States, they are considered to be a Class II medical device by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are sometimes used for haemostasis in surgery.
Toilet paper is a tissue paper product primarily used for the cleaning of the anus to remove faecal material after defecation or to remove remaining droplets of urine from the genitals after urination, and acts as a layer of protection for the hands during this process. It is typically sold as a long strip of perforated paper wrapped around a paperboard core, to be stored in a dispenser adjacent to a toilet. Most modern toilet paper in the developed world is designed to decompose in septic tanks, whereas some other bathroom and facial tissues are not. Toilet paper can be one-, two- or three-ply, or even thicker, meaning that it is either a single sheet or multiple sheets placed back-to-back to make it thicker, softer, stronger and more absorbent.
The toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth and gums that consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle, which facilitates the cleansing of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth.
Dental bleaching, also known as tooth whitening, is a common procedure in general dentistry. According to the FDA, whitening restores natural tooth colour and bleaching whitens beyond the natural colour. There are many methods available, such as brushing, bleaching strips, bleaching pen, bleaching gel, and laser bleaching. Teeth whitening has become the most requested procedure in cosmetic dentistry today. More than 100 million Americans whiten their teeth one way or another; spending an estimated $15 billion in 2010.
Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush as an accessory to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it serves as an abrasive that aids in removing the dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing halitosis, and delivers active ingredients (most commonly fluoride) to help prevent tooth and gum disease (gingivitis). Most of the cleaning is achieved by the mechanical action of the toothbrush, and not by the toothpaste.
A toupee is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupees and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to lengthen existing hair, or cover a partially exposed scalp. The desire to wear hairpieces is a response to a long-standing bias against balding that crosses cultures, dating to at least 3100 BC. Toupee manufacturers' financial results indicate that toupee use is in overall decline, due in part to alternative methods for dealing with baldness, and to greater cultural acceptance of the condition.
Tweezers are tools used for picking up objects too small to be easily handled with the human hands. They are probably derived from tongs, pincers, or scissors-like pliers used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history. In a scientific or medical context they are normally referred to as forceps.
Waxing is a form of semi-permanent hair removal which removes the hair from the root. New hair will not grow back in the previously waxed area for four to six weeks, although some people will start to see regrowth in only a week due to some of their hair being on a different growth cycle. Almost any area of the body can be waxed, including eyebrows, face, pubic area (called bikini waxing), legs, arms, back, abdomen and feet. There are many types of waxing suitable for removing unwanted hair.
A wet wipe, also known as a wet towel, or a moist towelette, is a small moistened piece of paper or cloth that often comes folded and individually wrapped for convenience. Wet wipes are used for cleaning purposes, like personal hygiene or household cleaning.
A wig is a head covering made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fibre that is worn for fashion or other reasons, including cultural tradition and religious observance. The word wig is short for periwig and first appeared in the English language around 1675.
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