Dry Dating, Should-Be Dry Christmas Parties & Nap Season
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Okay, I'm just going to be honest here. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast and Show. And because of some technical difficulties, welcome to the modern age. This particular podcast has been kind of crippled together in three and possibly four different recording sessions. And Sarah Burke, kudos to you for piecing this together this week.

Anyway, here we are, Jan Arden Podcast and Show, Sarah Burke, Caitlin Green. We will never let you down. We are here rain or shine, or if it takes us 19 sessions to put together these podcasts, we're going to do it. So dry dating is a thing. Dry dating. So no, it's not like dry humping, and it probably won't lead to dry humping.

And if you were a Mormon teenager, you know what dry humping is and Levi Lovin. But I digress. So dry dating, there's like almost 50% of people, and this is from an app called Flirtini. Yes, you heard that right. That really think it's important to not be drinking alcohol on a first date.

that they want to be clear and they want to be, they really want to get a sense of a person. So dry dating, Caitlin, what are your thoughts on dry dating? I just think it's funny because they have a teeny in the name. So it sounds like they're going to be promoting drinks, but they're not. There was a trend previously as well, and it was about morning dates. Um,

Instead of moving away from evening dates or even a lunch date, it was let's meet up first thing in the morning and we can go for a coffee together and a walk. If you have a dog, you go for a dog walk together. And everyone felt that this was sort of a low barrier to entry date for people. And you had a chance to see everyone first thing. Maybe they're in more casual clothes.

clothing. Less sexual. Less sexual, exactly. Much more G-rated, but also more reflective of who you might truly be versus getting all gussied up, going out to a fancy restaurant, having a bunch of drinks. How often do you really do that? But you probably go for a coffee and a walk in your Lululemons very often. So it's a more honest portrayal of who you are. I like that idea. I wish that was around when I was dating. I would have done it. And just as far as my own little experience,

When I was a very young person, I'm going to say like 1920, I went on a date with a substantially older fellow. I think he was like 34, 35. Anyway, we went to a pizza place, Piazza Pizza. If you live in Calgary, you know where that was, 37th Street and 17th Avenue. Anyway, we sat at a little table. He was so handsome. I was very happy to be going on this date with Keith. And he ordered a double pizza.

Keith!

Oh my God, that's a ballsy order. I mean, that is the antithesis of dry dating. Yeah, the only time it's suitable to drink a liter of white wine is if you're out for dinner with the Real Housewives or something, or you're on like The Bachelor. That's the only time where I feel like that's a socially acceptable norm.

I will admit that I once drank too much on... It wasn't a first date, but it was a date with someone who I had dated and then we reconnected. We had lived in different cities for a while and then we found ourselves both living in the same city again and we'd stayed in touch and he wanted to get together. And so I did, but I came from another work function where we had all been drinking and he drove and

And so he wasn't drinking and it was just not a good idea for me to do that necessarily because he had to drive me home. And I realized I was like, I should not have met up with you in this moment. He didn't seem to care. But watching someone else get drunk when you're going to drive is like a bit rude. So we didn't end up back together. Spoiler alert. I remember feeling really bad because I realized like halfway through, oh, I should just be home by myself. I should not be on a date with this guy.

Poor person. He didn't seem too bothered. He still drove me home. He was not drinking. So you did not end up back with the boyfriend? I did not. Shocker to no one, including me. Well, listen, just be careful at the holiday parties. I would just opt to...

Stay somewhat in your mind, in your head. Parties are difficult. Oh, yeah. People just are not themselves. People that you have worked with for 10 years, for 15 years...

are suddenly in this atmosphere. And like you mentioned earlier, Caitlin, it's like an open bar. Every wedding I've ever been to with an open bar has been absolute chaos. Chaos reigns. Most of the weddings that I have been to in the last few years, and I'm at an age where

That pretty much is over for me. Everyone kind of gets married in their late 20s, 30s, 40s. Then you're like, okay, everyone has spoken for, off we go. But I will never forget the mayhem that ensued at some of the weddings that I was at with an open bar. Now, my friends, if a straggler is getting remarried, if something's happening, or if I'm going to a kid's wedding, they're doing food trucks. They're doing a cash bar.

Like they are doing stuff that they are not losing their shirts at weddings, but this is a whole other thing. Moving on, survey, another survey about people wanting to get away. 45%, and they're talking about Americans, and I can't even believe this, would consider a solo holiday.

Not me. Not for you at all? No, I wouldn't go by myself. See, and I think they were saying too that they wanted to go away on a solo holiday for Christmas. Sorry, I should back up a little bit. Yeah, they're abandoning the pressure of Christmas to say, F this, I'm going to go away on my own.

I would. I totally would. Yeah. Okay. Are you kidding me by yourself? Where would you go? Just maybe like two weeks ago, you know, our mutual friend, Josie does. She's got a place in Aruba. Single Sarah.

kind of can do what she wants right now. Just do my own thing. And like, sure, I would make sure I like spend some time with mom and dad and my sister on either side of the vacation. But I was like, Hey, Josie, what's going on at the place in Aruba? I mean, I haven't booked anything, but I definitely was thinking about it. 50% of people. These aren't just single people like you.

are saying they want a break from their partner. Merry Christmas. See you later. I definitely felt that way this time last year. So, you know, almost 50% need a break from their partner and 46%, which is, you might as well say 50%. Come on, let's round it up. Need a break from their kids.

Wow. So what's happening to everybody at the holidays? Like why are the wheels falling off the bus here? Well, I think it's a lot of when you think about emotional labor, that is this would be a peak time of year for that because you've got the gift giving, you're running around to various parties, you're running your kids around to various parties, you're hosting them, you are just dealing with endless expectations. And I don't know why, but everyone still has this notion in their head of like a Norman Rockwell Christmas when it's really not

that. I mean, and then you factor in, there are people who are divorced and I have friends who, you know, they might have the first year that they're divorced and they don't have their children with them. And it's, it's, it's really emotionally challenging. So I think reworking the idea of what a quote unquote successful Christmas looks like and stepping away from the ads and, you know, all that marketing and let's face it, capitalism, which has wedged itself in there and convinced us that we have to spend money and look a certain way and be a certain way at the holidays and

I just feel like people are too smart for that now. Everyone's saying I'm tired, I'm overworked, I'm broke, whatever that mix is. And they don't want to do it. They just want to sit on a beach. Or it could be reasons like this. The trashiest thing someone has done at your holiday dinner. Maybe this is what happened last year. And this is why people, I'm not going to read all of these, but they are hilarious. So they asked people on Reddit, um,

What's the trashiest thing someone has done at your holiday dinner? And I have a few of my own. Share them. Here's some of the responses. My aunt, uncle, and cousins make no food and take 90% of it home. They also get there late and leave first. My aunt decided to announce she got chlamydia as we started to eat. And my grandmother told her getting stuffed by random people is for turkeys.

Okay. Okay. My uncle poured Crown Royal whiskey on his turkey and ate it. Well, maybe it was dry. So whose fault is that? My brother lit a firecracker in his butt crack. He returned from the ER in time for dinner. Putting the crack in firecracker. Brothers. My drunk aunt served the turkey in a kitty litter box she cleaned just for the occasion. Okay. This is Jerry Springer. So she didn't have a tray, obviously. Okay.

And, you know, she cleaned it out, Caitlin. I mean, come on. You're right. I'm the one that's being dramatic here. Okay, this particular family, if someone didn't show up for Thanksgiving or Christmas, we automatically checked the inmate records at the county jail. It's happened a few times that someone's absence is accounted for by an arrest or jail stay. Okay, I can kind of relate to that.

One of my relatives picked up an entire stick of butter with their hand to butter their corn. Yeah.

Went for it. It's just convenient. Have you guys ever been at a table with corn and they have the butter like in the middle of the table and then everyone just rolls their corn on the butter? Is that bad too? I figure with family, you're okay. Like we don't, I don't mind a corn roller. I don't mind a corn roller, but I do, I do then wonder to myself, what do they do with the corn, with the butter after? And sometimes, you know how they get little strands of other people's corn hair in it? It's off-putting. I will say that.

Yeah, my family was not corn rollers. And the first time I was at like a Christmas dinner, actually, with a new part. Who has coffee on the cob at Christmas dinner? Where were you? That's true. Might have been Thanksgiving. It might have been Thanksgiving. Either way. But yeah, it was the first time that I saw the rolling happening. That I don't have an issue with. But maybe I'm just so, maybe that was such a family thing that it never, ever tweaked my mind that this could be

A, a hygiene issue because everyone's corn was unchewed at this point. So that hadn't been in anyone's mouth. Okay. My brother-in-law's father went out to the refrigerator. We keep it in the garage and ate both pumpkin pies we made before dinner was even served. Okay. That guy's kind of a legend though, in other ways. My aunt let her dogs lick the dirty plates on the floor while everyone was eating dessert. Okay.

I mean, I don't have a problem with that. Rinsing before you put in the dishwasher. It's, you know, I don't know. It's just like everyone gets a treat. It's Christmas. Is it that bad? I don't think any of my friends would say one thing about a dog licking a plate on the floor while we were having apple pie or pumpkin pie or peach pie or trifle. No one would say shh, man. I wouldn't care. Yeah.

My dad set our garage on fire by trying to deep fry a turkey. That happens a lot. These deep frying turkeys are real security issues for people. Like it's a problem. That's a lot of oil. It's so much. It's too much. Like gallons of oil and an open flame. Yeah.

Seriously, this should not ever be a thing. Put it in the oven. Better yet, don't eat a goddamn turkey. A potato. Bake a potato. There's so many great plant alternatives out there. Something like 230 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It seems excessive. It is so, it's so, listen, who made that a tradition? You know what? It's not even a tradition. You take me back to Plymouth Rock. Somebody walk me through the turkey, please. I want to know why the poor turkey got saddled with this and not a tomato.

I wonder if it is it tied to the whole, you know, after the Great Depression, it was a thing that politicians ran on where they'd be like a chicken on every table. I wonder if it's tied to that because everyone had just lived through the Dust Bowl. So if you could promise people actual protein at dinner, they were going to vote for you. I feel like that's kind of where maybe this all started. Everybody was...

A turkey doesn't have to be that traditional. Caitlin, you're the one that was telling me that your family went for Chinese food on Christmas. We did. I've done that. I've had Chinese food on Christmas. Not only that, I once had my, one of my favorite Christmases, we went for dinner at a hotel because hotels are frequently where people will have a Christmas dinner because they have to have their kitchen open. And so they do a really nice, like traditional style Christmas dinner at lots of these hotels in Toronto. And then afterwards we went to go see a movie. And when we went to go see the movie, the theater was packed.

We didn't choose an uplifting film. We went to go see The Wrestler. I thought you were going to say Apocalypse Now or something. No, no, no. We went to go see The Wrestler. It was great. It won Academy Awards for a reason. And you know who was there? Rick Mercer.

No. Yes, he was. I remember being like a celeb. And it was the vibe at the theater was so good because everyone was freed from the shackles of holiday expectation. And they just had gone to dinner and a movie. Welcome to Jewish Christmas. Yeah. We just eat Chinese food and go to a movie. So many wacky Christmas dinners. You know, I can remember growing up. You know, I remember my dad being so drunk one year.

that, I mean, he used to smoke while he was, you know, baking and the ashes were always like four inches long. And as kids, you're just like looking at it, like running around behind them with like tinfoil to try and catch the ashes off his cigarette. And he's got music going like Wilf Carter. And, but I just remember the cigarette going and thinking, is that going into the stuffing and like what's happening? But he'd stuffed,

You know the giblets that used to come out of the body in a bag? It would be a wax bag filled with the gizzard and the... I'm not even naming real organs here. What's a gizzard? It's probably not even something. That bag, well, he just cooked it in there. So that bag was cooked inside. I didn't really want to eat turkey as a child even then, but I just...

And my uncle Jerry would be so hammered. He'd be drinking like a straight glass of rum sitting at the table smoking to like the 70s were nuts for people smoking at the table. They would take a big bite of something and then be smoking. Oh, it just I mean, I have a lot of fond memories, but it's like.

It really is mayhem because once again, it's those relatives that we hardly ever saw. And my poor mother felt beholden to her brother. Like it was one time a year, maybe every second, third year that she would have him and a new girlfriend who would be on some kind of pills, you know, with the one Jimmy eye. And we'd be like, mom would say, just, just be nice to her. I don't know what her name is.

And he's probably going to be drunk. And oh, my God, it was just I just think back and and I think of my mom and what she must have endured to try and get a meal on the table and to keep my dad in line. And I mean, they weren't always like that. But the 70s in particular were wild. It was like Christmas vacation. Yeah, it's so much work and passion.

every single person has one of these, many of these stories of the nightmare Christmas. And I just don't think it's worth it. I mean, if you're going to have a lovely holiday season and it's not challenging for you, then like amazing do that. I just think the expectation that everyone has this perfect Christmas and it's just, it's not realistic. So it's just like, do whatever you want. I don't know. It's just another day. Am I crazy? I love Christmas, but I just also recognize that it is just another day.

Christmas is like a month to my perception anyway. It's like everyone's kind of celebrating forever. It's already going. Yeah, like I like that part of it. I like the holiday season, but I think the day needs to just take it down a notch, everybody. Well, it is heightened expectations, you know, and Christmas is for kids. It's for the kids that, you know, hopefully get the stuff that they want. And for crying out loud, if you've got a few extra bucks in your pocket this year, you

You know, I always do food bank this time of year because they are desperate for stuff. But if you can do, you know, those toy mountains, a lot of your radio stations, your local stations are going to have those. If you can drop an unwrapped gift off for a girl or a boy. And I know it's early. We're going into the third week of November here. But still, if you can make it special for the kids, because it's not about us anymore. We're thinking about uncles smoking at tables, drinking rum. I mean...

That ship has sailed. No, but it matters to parents because even if it's not for the kid, it also matters to the mom and dad because they feel so guilty that they can't provide their kid with the type of Christmas that they want to. And we've had so many people who are recipients of the CP24 Chum Christmas Wish on the show on Tuesdays.

talking about how they give because they received using the wish as a child and how much it meant to them. And so, yeah, no, this is the right time for sure to do it. And there's so many easy ways to donate to like you can text donations, you can tap donations. And it's the it's the Santa Claus parade this Sunday in Toronto. And you can donate, I think, at a bunch of locations around the parade. So no, it matters. Kids remember that stuff. And you're right. That's who Christmas is for. I know what my gym is doing that I really like this year. They put

all the items that one family needs on the wall with these like sticky notes and every member at the gym grabbed an item. So we're basically making Christmas special for one family this year. So I got double bed sheets. I love that.

I love that. That's such a good idea. Our friend of the show, Julie Van Rosendahl, does a reverse advent calendar. And so what her and her son have done for a number of years is they get an old, you know, a wine box, a couple of wine boxes that have 24 spaces in them. They put in, you know, every day they put something in. So shampoo and conditioner, some socks, something.

a bottle of wine, some dish detergent, some, you know, a package of spaghetti. Like they put tea towels, but those two boxes are filled with household items and fun things, chocolates, you know, things that you might need. So if you're thinking of a fun thing to do with your kids, um,

And I'm sure you've been having some wine, you know, over this past year, grab a couple of empty boxes of wine boxes and do a reverse advent calendar. I'm definitely, definitely doing, you know, one or two of those this year. You are listening to the Jan Arden podcast and show. We've had quite the day here. We, this is about our fifth attempt at starting this podcast because everything was crashing. My microphone didn't work cutting in and out.

So listen, we're sorry if my voice sounds like it's 10 different versions of itself. Sarah did her best to fix me. But when we come back, we have some breaking news out of a West Coast Taco Bell Christmas party. Don't go away. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the Jan Arden podcast and show. We have a news breaking item that correlates perfectly with our Christmas party extravaganza discussion off the top of the show. Caitlin, tell us what's just come in on the wire. And now from the Jan Arden podcast news desk.

An L.A. area Taco Bell employee is suing the company after she claims a party at the restaurant descended into a drunken mess that included open sex. She says she saw a coworker, quote, having sex with his wife in front of everyone. His wife was kissing her female manager and another female coworker at the same time.

If an orgy at a Taco Bell isn't a harbinger of doom, I honestly don't know what is. The least sexy thing I could think of. A Taco Bell orgy. Also, can we stop referring to Taco Bell as a restaurant? It's Taco Bell. That's all we need to say about it. Taco is ringing all the bells this Christmas. It's not even, oh man. How do you segue here into your story about the technology of hair?

I don't know. I don't know. I just, I feel like it was important for us to include that in because listen, you're not going to top that party. So no matter what you do this Christmas, I have faith in you listener. I know that our listeners are decent, upstanding people that would only maybe do one of those things, but not,

everything all at the same time. I usually stick to two drinks at company functions now. That would be the most I would have. And it would be with snacks and some water and spread out over a reasonable period of time because I have seen so many horror stories. And Jan and Sarah, both women in media, you know, media people given an open bar will go to town and

And then there was a famous story and I won't reveal where this was, but it was at a workplace that had edit suites. And so there were edit suites there and there was a very attractive young intern. And there was also someone who was a seasoned on camera professional. And the two of them had a little bit of a booze infused tryst in one of the edit suites at a company holiday party.

So fast forward to where do you think in a building that has very expensive edit suites, all of the cameras would be?

Inside, looking at the equipment. That was interesting. And guys, we got to get the Ask Jan on the go here. I know. They're afraid of me. Tell us if you have like a holiday party squandry of sorts. Please send us a voice note or you can just tell us about like a past holiday party even if it hasn't happened yet. Yeah, I want to hear. You can ask Jan or just tell Jan. Tell us what you've been doing at your, you know, I told you about my

Uncle's drinking rum and smoking a cigarette and chasing around my dad with a piece of tinfoil to catch his ashes. Come on. You have to do that when you're eight? Come on. You didn't tell us about any of the things that you did, though. And look how I turned out. Oh, you know what? I've been pretty good over the years. I think I sort of tried to reel myself in and behave somewhat. And I was always so glad to see mom and dad. And I really love Christmas. I love the vibe. Like we were talking about having those naps in front of a fireplace and

and having the food and constantly eating toffee Faye and, you know, counting the Ferrero Rocher wrappers and going like, I've had eight, like I need to reel it in. And I'm not a big sweet tooth person, but Christmas day, boxing day, when, when dad would always bring out a box of Olivier's chocolates. And if you're in Calgary area, it's a, it's a family owned chocolatier. They might still be around, but that,

box of chocolates weighed about 10 pounds and got them every year. And I knew which ones I liked. But anyway, I love Christmas, but Christmas parties, I've never been to a staff Christmas party because I've never worked in an office. I've never had a job where I work with other people and I've never had a Christmas band party. We're always working. I've done lots of Christmas tours and

And, you know, we just were all so excited to get our butts home before like the 23rd of December, which is when we're usually always working on the road. So you've never had like an orgy next to a cheese gordita is what I'm taking away from this. That I can remember, Caitlin. No. No.

I just want to know the location. I want to know what location this happened at. I want to know what happened to all their crunch wraps in the mix. Like what was happening here? I really, I have so many questions. It is the season of napping. Apparently a survey has found that 50, like 60% of respondents said they were more likely to take naps during the holiday season. Maybe that's because of food.

It is for sure. Tryptophan. If you're having turkey, that's definitely causing it. And also wine and just generally talking so much to everyone and socializing, long drives. These are things that make people want to nap. And you really do feel like the year is coming to an end. I deserve this. They even go further on this survey, which makes me really smile. The perfect holiday nap begins at 2.57 PM and it lasts for 42 minutes. Doesn't that sound relaxing?

Yeah, I just I nodded off even saying that. Oh, it's so good. I fell back to sleep this past weekend. My husband took me for an early birthday staycation overnight at a hotel. And so we go and we woke up in the morning and we both wake up absurdly early, even when our son is in our alarm clock, just because we're conditioned to wake up when he does. And I'm conditioned to wake up even earlier during the week because of my morning shift.

So I wake up and can't go back to sleep. It's like 5.30. And then I realized we don't have to do anything. We can just lay in bed. And at 8 a.m., I fell back asleep for 40 minutes exactly. And I woke up so rejuvenated and said 40 minutes is the ideal nap length. Well, they're saying 42. I want to know who does these surveys. Anyway...

I'm not a huge napper, but I know that when I do nap, especially during the holidays in front of a fire, that's just that perfect kind of crackly noise that becomes like ASMR. And, you know, you can hear voices for me, a person that lives alone, um,

during the holidays or when people are over, I really do feel it's like a safety thing. I feel like, oh, I can, I can really lean into this and I don't have to worry about anything. And somebody else is watching the dog and nothing's going to burn. And I didn't, it is so great. I I'm going to 1 million percent agree with seasonal napping because it is the one time a year that I do like really love it.

Caitlin, do you nap? Are you like a regular napper with your morning show situation? Yeah. So every day, no matter where I am, I'd say at 1 p.m., I begin to turn into a pumpkin. So...

But you've been up since three. Exactly. Well, four, but still. It's absurd. I mean, there's no functioning for me very well in the afternoon. So one o'clock I power down, I've eaten, I'm back at home, I've tidied up, I've finished my work stuff and I usually shut down and then wake up and do a little bit more work and then go get my son from daycare. And like, that's the day.

That's a perfect day. You're giddy up go like during that time you have to figure out meals for Kyle you guys have to figure out leisure time you have to figure out something that you're going to watch like we really do have to take time for ourselves. And during the holidays, no matter what you celebrate whether it's Christmas or not Christmas or whatever.

The whole world kind of, they've just chosen December. We've worked all year. We're going to lay low and do this stuff. And there is something really special about eating too much food, eating what you want. If I hear one person telling me how to avoid those extra pounds during the holidays, I might slug them.

No, I won't slug them, but I would think about it because this is the time just to lay all those things to the side and not worry about it. If you don't fit your pants properly,

You know, my grandma had a saying, buy bigger pants. Yeah. That's why they come in many sizes. I have so many sizes in my closet. I was going to talk about rich people messing up the environment, but you know what? We're skipping it. I don't even care because they know that they're morons. It's 1%. 1%, I guess I am talking about it, are doing more damage than two thirds of the poorest people on the planet.

One percent. That's always the way. That's what I don't like. And it's the same thing as the dang plastic industry tricking everyone into saying, oh, it's on you, you, you, the proletariat to figure out our world environment crisis. And if you guys just recycled all of your stuff, then we'd be fine. No, you can make stuff with things other than plastic. It was the decision to make everything with plastic.

If we just stopped the faucet at the source, which is the plastic production, it wouldn't be an issue. And they'd use oil to make all the plastic stuff anyways. So it's just, it's ridiculous. Somehow everyone's like, it's on you, you and your plastic straws. I'm like, no, it is not. It absolutely isn't. It is on governments and corporations. But making the money. Yeah. You know how fast bamboo grows? It's like a weed, basically. It's invasive. You can make anything out of it.

I have a countertop that you can literally chainsaw things on. And all you do if you have a little nick or a wine stain or whatever, you

You just take a little piece of sandpaper and sand it out and put some olive oil on it. This thing is so hardy. Every time people come over here, they're like, is this a giant chopping block? I'm like, basically it is. It's bamboo. It's so renewable. Like it can grow pretty much anywhere. Anyway, Caitlin, we got to swap it up here. You brought a really interesting story about a new hair technology. And I'm interested because I'm a menopausal woman and

My hair is thinning. It's growing where I don't want it. So this apparently there's some sort of bio ink that they've figured out. And what they'll do is with lab grown human skin cells that recreates the surface of your scalp, they do with a very, very thin needle. They,

pierce the surface of this artificially grown scalp with this dye. And eventually it grows a hair follicle and then turns into hair. Does it require them taking it out of your head in a very painful extraction that has nothing to do with that? Correct? No. I've had a couple of friends that have had hair transplants taken from like just above their neck lines and plunked onto the top of their heads, but looks brilliant and has really worked. Expensive.

It's painful and expensive. So I think that those are the two main barriers to doing it. Like if you look at the first season of Steve Carell in the office, the first few seasons, and then you look at him in the later seasons, like that's not, that's not Rogaine everybody. He had a really good hair transplant done and it looks fantastic. Many men in Hollywood do and,

But so yeah, this is basically 3D printed hair follicles on lab grown human skin tissue. And it's a bio ink that works with the 3D printer and they apply the ink onto the skin using this ultra thin needle. And then over time, the skin cells react to this and fire up the hair follicles, getting your hair growing again.

And it would work for men and women. I mean, it's a big breakthrough. Like hair loss impacts so many older women as well. And then think of what this could mean for alopecia patients. It's a really, it's a cool thing. I mean, what the heck can't you 3D print at this point? Menopause is terrible for women's hair growth. I have so many friends that are, you know, coming in their 50s, going into their 60s. Sarah and I were talking about that a little bit today.

Just thinning hair, breaking hair. And it is a multi, multi-billion dollar business to coerce people to buy into putting oils on their hair, doing expensive shampoo conditioner treatments that you're supposed to do three or four times a week and everything.

You know, do they work? Is it a placebo effect? Do you after four months of spending $800 think, yeah, I think it's helping. I think it's growing in, but it's a real issue. So listen, I'm all over this 3D printed thing.

bio ink hair thing. I would love that because of course, extensions are super expensive too. Yes. And depending on how you get the extensions done, it can destroy your hair because if you use the little beads and then you heat treat your hair, like use a hairdryer or anything, it causes them to break off. So you're best to use the tape, but it's really hard to style. You have to get it refilled all the time and it's so expensive. This could be a fun option. Sarah, what was about your sister?

My sister has actually had like a huge insecurity since she was I think in grade, if I remember correctly, it was like grade four or five. Not even right. So young. Yeah. So it was just like a hormonal thing. She's constantly had to like, you know, had her have her thyroid checked and things like that. And I'm going to let her know about this because I think it's interesting. She's tried many products and treatments over the years and

Yeah, she's kind of just settled on always being blonde because it feels like the best when your hair is dark, it's easier to see through the scalp situation. And yeah, so I really feel and isn't

Like hair loss, a big thing during postpartum too. Oh my gosh. I was just going to say, so when you're, when you are pregnant, your hair doesn't really fall out. And so you have an awful lot of it and you're like, Ooh, my hair is so luxurious. And then after I'd say that typically, especially after you're done breastfeeding, but probably the six to eight month mark, all of that extra hair starts to fall out. And it usually does it around your very front of your hair. And so you, you wind up having these little postpartum bangs and

And they just stick straight up. It's like this fluffy fringe around your head. And it's ridiculous. It lasts forever. And I've had it. And, you know, thankfully you can like have your hair flattened at the front and it just goes away. But it's so frustrating. And some women, it never really comes back in the same way after you've had a child because your hormones change. And your hormones change every seven years anyways. So this is an issue that comes for both men and women. Yeah.

And, you know, women aren't necessarily given the option, societally speaking, of turning to the Bruce Willis method, which is just bicking your head and then getting jacked and wearing a white T-shirt and still being considered hot. Well, you know, here's the irony of hair loss with women in particular. You know, as you get older, you know, you'll be going to put your mascara on and you'll make the mistake of looking in a magnified mirror and you'll be like, what in the holy mother of hell is sticking out of my chin?

And you will see like, it looks like four fly legs that are just a fly. It's just somehow gotten underneath your chin and it's, it's trying to get out of your head and it's just fly legs. And, you know, even if you've got fair hair, it's dark hairs that are poking out.

And, you know, all the places that you're losing hair, but you'll just see like hair on your face coming in, in the strangest places. And everyone's so uptight about it. And I just want to say to women out there, you know, whether you're tweezing it off or having it waxed or having to, you know, grab your razor once in a while and nick off a thing or using an epilady.

from all women who are ahead of you in life by 10 or 20 or 30 years, don't worry about it. You know, people get so freaked out. You think you have a couple of hairs sticking out of your face and suddenly you're like, I'm, I'm, I'm,

I'm disgusting. I'm a crone in the trees. And so many women that have, you know, a lot of facial hair. So we have to lighten up on that. And no, most women can't afford to go and get electrolysis for a year and a half or get laser hair removal therapy. And as far as I've been told, laser hair removal doesn't work on fair hair. It has to be dark. It's true from a blondie. Yeah. So have you had laser hair removal, Sarah?

Yeah, yeah. Like a bikini line and stuff like that or armpits or? A bikini line and like a little bit around like the sideburn area because I just wanted it to go away. And it definitely like lessened it. It did. For sure.

Most people go for like six sessions and then they say that it's supposed to be done. And I did my six sessions and then I was like, well, this is fine. I'm fine with where it is now. Like a little bit of maintenance never hurt anyone. I'm a waxer now. Yeah. Yeah. It's still you still have to get it re-upped every so often. And I will say that any sort of laser that you've done may change after you get pregnant.

So pregnancy, the hormone changes that come along with pregnancy can reverse the effect of the laser. So they say permanent, not necessarily. And I would advise you that to expect cost-wise to have to re-up, if not annually, then like every two years to just see that like very smooth appearance you might want. Is electrolysis still the go-to? It seems to be the number one thing. And I'm going to say this because a lot of drag queens seem to

lean heavily into electrolysis. So the old needle- Tried and true. That goes into the follicle. Yeah, the tried and true, exactly, Sarah. And you get a little zap of electricity and that's that. They say it's done.

It's like, again, you know, something you have to do over many sessions for it to actually go away. I still go to electrolysis because my hair is blonde on my face. Yeah, I was going to say it's for that. Okay. I'm definitely going to go because I'm telling you, no, I'm going to go because I have some on my chin. The flies. It is so like, there's nothing worse than you're on a plane or somewhere where it's so random. And you're like, you want to say to the people who have been traveling with you for days on end,

You don't see this standing a foot away from me and you're talking to me and you do not see a one eighth of an inch long hair that is very close to like, I just, I want to kill some people sometimes for just not stepping up. If I have something in my nose, tell me. Let's be honest. You're talking about Chris.

I could be talking about Chris. Usually if I ever say anything, I'm like, you didn't see that I had something in my nose? No. And he's being very earnest. No. Yeah, for sure. Listen, I don't know where we got to with this, but I think it's important that women band together and support each other and tell each other what's going on. But it's okay. It's all going to be okay. We're all going to have beards and we're going to live alone in a complex somewhere.

In rural Quebec. So don't worry about it. Oh, I love that idea. Thank you. You've been listening to the Jan Arden Podcast and Show. Subscribe to our show. Give us some ratings. Five stars, 10 stars if you want. We're available to listen to on all your favorite platforms where you get your podcasts. iHeartRadio, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get them. Thanks for listening. You mean a lot to us. We'll see you next time. Toodly-doo.

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