Beauty Tips for Ministers

Hotter Than Hades

Good Lord, it’s going to be 95 degrees tomorrow. We have no a/c in our 1830 meetinghouse, of course. And an annual meeting tomorrow night in the UNair-conditioned parish hall. Now that ought to be a kick. I’d better get to BJ’s Wholesale and purchase a huge vat of bottled water. Wait, no. That’s environmentally incorrect. Maybe huge pitchers of iced water with big paper cups?

I wonder if anyone will come to church, first of all.

Second of all, I’d better heed my own advice.

This doesn’t give me an excuse to go to church with wet hair, but I’m sorely tempted, as it will be soaking wet by the end of the service anyway. Does anyone have any favorite “wet-look” hair products? Maybe I’ll slick it back in a ponytail and let it dry with some serious gel. I just don’t want to wind up dripping gooey product down my neck and back. Tips, anyone? Anyone?

Bueller?

Staying Away From Braids and Manic Panic

Well, the economy is officially in the tanker, it takes $43 to fill up my car, the dog had $400 in vet bills last month and my new man is eating me out of house and home. All of which is to say that I no longer purchase beauty magazines but I do try to spend quality time with them at the supermarket check-out so that I can give you, my darling readers, the LATEST. Well, the LATEST is that Glamour or Allure fashion editors apparently think that little 1980’s style braids are back in fashion.

Here’s former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell wearing one (and a blindingly ugly frock, too, but who’s looking at the frock!!? Miss Halliwell is NOT the modest type, pigeons!)

I’m not sure about this braid business. For one thing, it’s just too hippie-dippie, and unless you’re officiating at some Age of Aquarius ritual, I wouldn’t go there. Look how silly it looks on Gerri, with her bombshell dress and silly Marilyn Monroe white fox throw. She’d have done much better with a flowy Missoni boho dress; the gypsy hair would have gone quite well with that. There’s also the uncomfortable possibility that, if you don’t make that braid thin enough, someone might start calling you Heidi and ask you to milk the goats. Or start humming the Swiss Miss theme, if there is one.

I would avoid this look. If you’ve been wearing a braid this way, try a gentle twist fastened on the bottom with a tiny elastic. Far more adult and still adds some interesting texture.

And while we’re on the subject of misbegotten hair trends: please, Goddess, PLEASE… NO PINK, PURPLE, ORANGE OR BLUE swatches of hair. That is SO over. It was so over in 1997, they heyday of Manic Panic. Furthermore, you’re the minister now. You don’t need attention that badly.

No Bare Shoulders

Ladies,
No matter how hot it gets, it is not appropriate to wear spaghetti strapped garments to church or to any ministerial function. Save the strappy sundresses for your vacation or your friend’s wedding at which you are a guest, not the officiant.

There’s a reason woman are asked to cover their shoulders at every cathedral in Europe; it’s called respect. Bare shoulders are way too informal to be part of your on-duty clerical wardrobe. Spaghetti straps are the worst, but I am against anything sleeveless unless it’s a very steamy day and you’re at a picnic or out boating with your folks.

Guys, no Hawaiian shirts for you. I’m just making this up here, but let’s say it’s roughly the equivalent.

PeaceBang is making a very stern face about this and if you argue she will purse her lips disapprovingly at you.

Those Hot Preachers

‘Tis the season to get drenched with sweat under preaching robes, my doves, so listen up and Auntie PeaceBang will help you get through it.

If you can afford it, research vestment options in lightweight fabrics. Read the archives of this blog for suggestions. Have a talented friend sew something up for you. If you’re in the Free Church tradition and can be creative with vestments, by all means do be. I found a white duster at Lord & Taylor with a lapel and a bustline hook-and-eye closure on the sale rack about ten years ago and I LOVE that thing. It closes entirely over my street clothes, a stole rests beautifully on its lapels, and it weighs almost nothing.

Please do not throw vests or floaty hippie apparel on over your clothes and pretend that they’re appropriate as vestments. Anything standing in for a preaching robe should cover your street clothes entirely. Let’s not get cute with this. You’re either vested or you’re not. There is no such thing as a Preaching Shirt or Preaching Vest. Make a decision and make it work.

A cotton alb is a nice choice for an outdoor summer wedding or christening during the summer months. I have one with the traditional rope cincture that was inexpensive and which can be washed in the machine, praise the Lord. An alb is a distinctly pastoral garment — it is not a preaching garment, so don’t wear it if you’re not doing anything sacramental (for UUs, “fulfilling the priestly functions”).

When I preach in the summer I shower as close to the event as I can, dry off very thoroughly, whap corn starch-based baby powder all over my body with a huge puff, and wear
a 100% cotton slip under a dress (or pack it to change into later). I make sure to tuck a clean, ironed cotton hankie into my pocket for delicate moppings of facial perspiration (dab, don’t wipe). If you don’t have a pocket, tuck it into your wristwatch band or better yet, into the pocket of your folder.

I bring a towel and if need be, a hair dryer. I do not like attending receptions with soaking wet hair, which is always my condition following a summer preaching event in unair-conditioned sanctuaries. I like to change into fresh clothes, which is why the slip trick works so well.

A polyester slip will not do. Neither will a bikini, or even preaching in your underwear under a robe, which will cause rivulets of sweat to rush unimpeded down your poor, flushed body, making you extremely wet, pooling into your shoes, and ruining your robe. You might even get a rash. So please, be wise, a cotton strappy sundress, cotton briefs and a Hanes t-shirt — you want something to absorb the sweat of your labor.

P.S. Hide a quiet fan under the pulpit if you can get away with it. You can plug it into the sound system and no one need know.

Bad Red Hair

My dearly beloved,
Lord knows that PeaceBang loves her some violently red hair. I have never been one to promote the idea that our hair color need reflect anything found in Nature; after all, what is L’Oreal for if not to transcend the limitations of genetics?

As you can see here, I have had fiery red hair myself at times:

Whether you think that particular hue is flattering on me or not is not the point right now (although I’m happy to receive your criticism — it’s all in the past, and if you love it, maybe I’ll go back to it!). The point is that PeaceBang has been seeing some REALLY SCARY red hair out there on clergy lately, and she feels obligated to say something about it.

1. Although there is a wide variety of what constitutes “red hair,” your hair color should not approach faded pink or magenta. This tends to be an unfortunate trend on older heads, where I’m seeing a really unflattering combination of thin, fried out hair the color of canned peaches or dried out beets on too many pastors at a recent conference. If this is you, please see your colorist or get a friend to help you. And remember that deep conditioner is your friend.

2. Red hair requires careful application if it’s a home job. Again: get someone to help you! I saw at least four women at the Festival of Homiletics with aubergine-cast auburn hair with big black undergrowth patches at the back of their heads. I am pretty sure this wasn’t an intentional goth design but a testament to how difficult it is to get that color applied evenly. Make a party of it! Invite a pal over, have sangria, and color each other’s hair! Just take it easy on the sangria or you may, as PeaceBang once did, wind up with hair the shade of Ronald McDonald. Also: that purple-shaded red is really hard to carry off; especially for white women. Proceed with serious caution.

3. Henna is not better for your hair than chemical colorants, sweetpeas. In fact, it coats the hair shaft something terrible and can be very damaging. It’s also hell’s own work to correct if you screw up. Not to mention that it stinks so badly that you’ll want to avoid the entire human community for the first few days after coloring, and you don’t want to have to do that, do you?

Bare Legs, Hose In Summer And Self-Tanning

Hello my little May apples!

Taking up an inquiry about going without hose in the summer months, PeaceBang’s response to a recent commenter was YES, you can do it if you have nice, smooth legs, are otherwise respectfully dressed and clad, and have a lovely pedicure if your tootsies are showing. This isn’t a matter of age, exactly, but one might discern that she is aiming for a more mature image and opt to wear sheer hose with her summer outfits.

And let PeaceBang make this perfectly clear: it is NOT necessarily a fashion faux pas to wear hose with sandals or open-toed shoes. One simply must search for the sheerest possible hose and wear them with the seam carefully tucked under the toes, and not with Birkenstocks or any other super-casual shoe, of course. We are aiming for elegance here. And of course the fashionista clergy out there know full well that it has been au courant for some time to wear opaque hose with peep toed heels or flats in the fall and winter. The risk with the latter option is that the hose should not bunch up at the toe and ruin the line of the shoe — nor does this trend tend to look good on women with tiny feet, who risk looking as though they walk not on feet but on hooves.

THAT said, it is important that the bare-legged pastor keep her legs smooth, moisturized –and if she is of a particularly lily-white hue (think anywhere from pale to Casper the Friendly Ghost)– possibly fake- tanned with one of the many excellent products on the market.

PeaceBang loves, loves, loves Neutrogena Summer Glow Daily Moisturizer with SPF 20 but has been unable to find it in the stores this season and will have to resort to ordering it online. It is one of the only products that smells good, provides SPF protection and builds a natural-looking base of color after only one use. This is her go-to product for summer days and she recommends it far above any of the other color-adding products out there (and believe me, I’ve tried them all: Jergens comes in second, but other Neutrogena products smell hideous and make me Oompa Loompa-hued).

Darlings, learn from PeaceBang’s mistakes: DO NOT USE FAKE TAN SPRAYS ON SUNDAY MORNINGS. Even with plenty of time to dry, you’re likely to sweat a lot under your robes and you may, like PeaceBang once did, wind up with orange streaks running down into your Bandolino pumps by coffee hour.

Here’s how to do the Fake Tan Routine:

1. Shower. Shave your legs all the way up to the thigh (this takes the place of exfoliating, which you may also choose to do but which is too harsh for PeaceBang’s skin).
2. Dry yourself well.
3. Prepare a few cotton balls wetted with witch hazel.
4. Briskly and using broad circular motions, spray the front and back of each leg with the spray tan product, keeping at least a 6″ distance between the spray and your leg. DO NOT SOAK.
(5. Keep the cat out of the way.)
6. Wash your hands well with soap and water. Scrub under your nails.
7. Use the witch hazel to wipe the product off of your heels, where it may turn an ugly dirty brown. (I also make sure to rub the product into my ankles really well to avoid brown stains there).
8. Walk around in the buff for at least ten minutes. Standing in front of a fan works very nicely to expedite drying results.
9. Get dressed and go have some iced coffee.
10. Expect your lovely glow to last 3-5 days (don’t shave in the meanwhile).

This may sound like an arduous process but it really isn’t, and it helps the nuclear-white skinned among us to avoid pantyhose (worth it at any price!) and to look glowing and lovely in the leg area for special occasions. Believe me, I don’t apply this stuff a whole lot — it’s probably absolutely poisonous, for one thing, and I don’t have the time or patience, for another.

I have found that this L’Oreal product works very well and leaves me with a natural hue, not orangey at all.

Women of color, bare legged summertime is the season to bring out your most emollient moisturizers and apply them religiously. Cocoa butter or shea butter based products are wonderful, and if they add a bit of glow factor, even more fun! Sephora makes delicious body butters; the coconut almond flavor makes me swoon. The dog also likes it a bit too much — when I wear it he keeps mistaking my legs for a bowl full of cake batter that Mommy has invited him to lick clean. Max, yuck!