It's a Girl thing...

It all begins when you turn 14 or so. No I'm not saying that you're any less of a girl before that, but things like one's appearance and looks don't bother one till then. It didn't bother me so much at least. Up until I reached my turbulent teens, I was obsessed about other stuff. (Well, I've sort of forgotten what I was obsessed with then, but hell I know it wasn't about my hair or complexion!)
It's a turning point in a girl's life when she's too old to be attending good-for-nothing birthday parties and made to play lame games and yet is too young to be included in girlie gossip. It's the most awkward age to be.
Then comes the phase when you're introduced to everything feminine. From inner wear to make up. It comes at you Tsunami style and hits you in the face about being lady like. It's during ones early teens that one begins hearing of friends frequenting beauty parlours. And no, not just for a hair cut, at that.
The funny thing about how it turned out for me, is that I visited one (beauty parlour) for 'more' than just a hair cut at the ripe old age of 18. It was a torturous experience. Getting my eyebrows plucked and my limbs waxed. I swore never to go back there for as long as I could, and I managed for almost a year.
Of course, it didn't help that my Sindhi-Mallu background of healthy genes made my arms look like the the Sundarbans forest region in no time, but I wasn't going to back down.
Alas I lost my battle with it just before my sister's wedding. The thing about Weddings is that one's forced to spend one's time and money on things we don't want, for things we'll hardly wear, to show off in front of people we don't even like! But I digress!
Visiting the parlour after such a long hiatus gave me the creeps. It even made my hair stand on end. And coming to think of it, it probably made it easier for the lady wielding the hot wax to get rid of the Sundarbans.
With that out of the way, I only had to get my eyebrows plucked and upper lip done. The former's thickness would've put Kaalia's (from Sholay fame) eyebrows to shame and the latter's existence, Gabbar himself.
Getting deforestation done without your whole and soul consent is by far one of the most painful things. And that's saying something cause I've burnt, cut, nicked and poked myself during my entire lifetime.
I barely survived the eyebrow ordeal and I couldn't for the life of me let the evil lady with the thread do the same to the area above my upper lip. I tried in vain telling my sister that the true pride of a person lies in the strength of their mustache (or some rubbish along the same lines) but she was not amused. I had to go ahead with the thing and boy did I manage... halfway.
I'll spare you the torrid details, but I'll tell you this. When I posed for photographs later, at my sister's wedding, I had to do it at an angle.
Here's a tip for those who've not got their upper lip done completely. Tilt your head, chin up and smile. It doesn't matter if you have half your handlebar mustache to hide. You can just cover it up with a tilt, chin up and smile. Practice. Tilt, chin up and smile...