Today, we have having a little Testosterone party here at Stark Raving Dads! Matt, who writes at RedSparks blog and also has a line of premie clothes that are TO DIE FOR offered us his soul his mad bloggin' skilz for a day. How could we refuse? And so, boys, take it away....

Ashley writes:

If you could name just ONE thing that a wife/mother should take the time (what's that) to take care of (having to do with) their own personal appearance, what would it be? Yes, you each have to choose just ONE.

Would it be for them to put makeup on, workout, wax their eyebrows, shave their legs, get dressed up, fix their hair, or something else? And, explain...

 Matt:

Ashley, this is a great question. I'm going to take the easy route. I'm not really a butt man or a boob man (well, OK, I sort of am). I am a self-confidence man. Nothing is sexier to me than a woman who exudes an air of confidence. So, basically, I think its important for a woman to do the thing that makes her feel better about herself. It is SO easy to put that stuff on the back burner after having children. Its too expensive, or there's just not enough time. But moms really need to focus on those things, make time and do them. Whether its nails, hair, tanning...whatever. Men can tell when their wives aren't feeling great about themselves and, in my opinion, it can be a turnoff sometimes.

That being said, and to get back to actually answering your question, for me its wardrobe. Moms work hard...real hard. And they deal with spit up and poop and snot and God knows what else. For that reason I think it becomes really easy for them to slip into the sweatpants/T-shirt rut. This bugs me. You know how some guys' eyes sometimes wander at a restaurant or at the mall, right? Well, an easy way to avoid that is to put the cozys back in the drawer for special occasions and go hit the mall. I'm not talking about spending a fortune, either. Just go ballistic at Target once in a while. Buy a pink ruffle bottom tank and some sunglasses. Pick up a green ribbed wife beater and a pair of beige cargo shorts. Or how about a new nice cerulean blue keyhole top and a nice comfy pair mid-rise twill pants? The key is to buy enough stuff on the cheap that so you don't care if a particular item gets ruined. That way, wives look great to their husbands, and feel better about themselves in the process.

BusyDad: 

Wow, Matt. There's a reason why you are running an apparel business and I am not. Cerulean blue? I can't even front. I am clueless about clothing. So my answer will be completely different.  If I could choose just one thing, it would be working out. Hands down. I am a total "A for Effort" kind of guy. If someone puts the effort in to do something, it means a ton more to me than anything else could. Because effort is hard. Effort takes perseverence. Effort takes giving a shit. And to me, nothing is hotter than giving a shit.

You can easily plunk down a credit card and get a haircut, get waxed and get some new clothes. It's not painful. It's actually kind of fun. But to trudge to the gym between picking up the kids, preparing dinner and getting them to bed in one piece is something that requires dedication. To sweat it out and endure a little pain when you could be decompressing in front of the TV requires willpower and committment.  It shows that you aren't going to give up just because you have a perfect excuse to do so. It shows that you aren't happy simply resting on your laurels.

Sure, most moms don't have their pre-pregnancy bodies. But that's irrelevant. I think I speak for most husbands when I say that the mere fact that you care enough about yourself and how you look to try to get it back speaks volumes. Kind of like the guy who spends all day trying to figure out how to roast a chicken for his date. It may taste like rosemary-infused cardboard, but he gets all the "awwww" points when his girlfriend retells the story. Effort is appreciated and it goes a long way. So go forth and cardiobox! We'll stay home and burn the chicken.

Hairless in Hagerstown writes:

Hi. I'm over 40 and I'm follicly challenged. Will using my children's shampoo cause my receding hairline to retreat faster? I only used it once, in an emergency situation, but I kind of liked it. It made me feel younger. Please advise.

BusyDad:
Suddenly, I feel a whole lot better. And all this time I thought I was on the fringe. A freak. I have been a closet Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash user ever since that day years back when I used my son's bathroom to shower and forgot to bring my stuff over. At first it was funny. "Hee hee, I smell like my baby,” I would chuckle to myself.

Then one day the faucet in the master bath broke. And we all had to use the other shower for a while. Sure, I had my Neutrogena shampoo and Dove body wash there, but the Johnson’s was sitting right next to it. Squirt-on-your-head-and-drip-all-the-way-down convenience. And the scent! I couldn’t resist. For a few weeks, my adult toiletries went untouched. In close quarters, people would often look up suddenly and ask “is there a baby in our midst?” to which I’d react by donning a perplexed expression and look around, too embarrassed to admit that it was indeed I who smelled so cuddly.

So I guess what I am saying is thank you. Thank you for making it ok for a grown man to enjoy bathing with gentle cleansing products that won’t dry baby’s skin. Oh, and the hair part? This was me after 3 days of consecutive use.

I’ll see you at Babies r Us.

Mr Lady:

The boring answer: Using a baby shampoo occasionally is great for really cleaning your scalp.  It's like using Aveda, but you don't have to hand over your firstborn for a bottle of it.  It's clarifying, yo.  It might actually help slow down the recession.  Maybe someone should talk to the US goverment about it.

The awesome answer: If you use a yummanummy one, like, oh, a watermelon flavoured scented one, and darling Mrs. Hairless in Hagerstown happens past the bathroom door while you're lathering up, well, she might just have to jump in with you.  Because it smells that good.  And if you should find your hands otherwise occupied, well, you won't have to worry about shampoo dripping into your eyes and burning them while the Mrs helps you "wash" your "hair."