I wish I knew about tongue scrapers when I was a teenager.
The Morning Breath I Couldn’t Brush Away
As a teenager, I was so self-conscious about bad breath. I brushed my teeth obsessively, scrubbed my tongue with my toothbrush, and used tons of mouthwash, but I always had a nagging feeling it wasn’t truly fresh. It was years later that a dental hygienist showed me a tongue scraper. She explained that the white film on the tongue is where most bad breath bacteria live, and a toothbrush just moves it around. The first time I used a scraper was a disgusting but revolutionary experience. It was the simple secret I had been missing.
I wish I knew how to trim my eyebrows properly when I was in my early 20s.
The Unibrow I Ignored for Too Long
In my early twenties, I started to notice a few stray hairs connecting my eyebrows. I was terrified to touch them, having seen guys with horribly overplucked, unnatural brows. So I just ignored it. I wish I had known the simple rule: just clean up the middle and the obvious strays underneath. A friend finally took a pair of tweezers and did it for me in 30 seconds. It didn’t change my brow shape at all; it just made my entire face look cleaner and more defined. It was such a small, easy fix.
I wish I knew a safety razor would give me a better shave with less irritation when I started shaving.
The Expensive Cartridges That Were Ruining My Skin
When I first started shaving, I fell for the marketing and bought the fanciest 5-blade razor I could find. My reward was a neck full of painful red bumps and ingrown hairs. I thought that was just a normal part of shaving. I wish I had known about the classic double-edge safety razor. Years later, I finally tried one. The single, sharp blade glided across my skin, cutting the hair cleanly without any tugging. It gave me a better shave with zero irritation, and the blades cost a fraction of the price.
I wish I knew the correct place to define my beard neckline when I first grew facial hair.
The Chinstrap Beard I Regret
The first time I grew a beard, I thought a sharp, defined line right on my jawbone looked clean and cool. I meticulously shaved everything below it, creating a chinstrap effect. But in photos, it looked unnatural and made my beard seem thin and disconnected from my face. It took a good barber to show me the correct technique: defining the line about an inch above the Adam’s apple. This creates a fuller, more natural foundation for the beard. I wish I had known that simple rule from the start.
I wish I knew that applying cologne on pulse points was more effective when I was 18.
The Cloud of Scent That Disappeared in an Hour
At 18, my cologne application method was to create a huge cloud and walk through it, ensuring my clothes were soaked. The scent would be overpowering for the first 30 minutes, and then completely gone by second period. I thought the cologne was just weak. I wish I had known that fragrance is activated by body heat. Applying it to pulse points—the wrists, the neck—allows the scent to warm up and release slowly throughout the day. I was just perfuming my t-shirt, not myself.
I wish I knew how to properly care for my nails instead of biting them.
The Habit That Undermined My Professional Look
I was a chronic nail-biter for my entire young adult life. It was a nervous habit I barely noticed, but it left my hands looking ragged and unprofessional. During an interview for an internship, I noticed the hiring manager glance down at my hands as I passed him my resume. I was instantly mortified. I wish I had invested in a simple nail kit back then. The simple act of clipping, filing, and cleaning my nails would have been a small display of self-respect that had a big impact.
I wish I knew to use a separate body and face moisturizer when I was starting out.
The Body Lotion That Clogged My Face
When I first started to think about skincare, my approach was simple: one bottle of lotion for everything. I’d use the same thick, scented body lotion on my face that I used on my arms and legs. I couldn’t figure out why I was constantly getting little pimples and clogged pores. I wish I had known that the skin on your face is much more delicate and prone to congestion. Facial moisturizers are formulated to be lighter and non-comedogenic for a reason.
I wish I knew that an electric toothbrush was a game-changer for oral health when I was younger.
The Dentist Visit That Changed My Mind
I used a manual toothbrush my whole life. I thought I was a good brusher, but every six months, my dental hygienist would spend what felt like an eternity scraping plaque off my teeth. I just thought that was normal. My dentist finally convinced me to try an electric toothbrush. The built-in timer forced me to brush for the full two minutes, and the vibrating head did a much better job. At my next visit, the hygienist was amazed. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,” she said. The cleaning was faster and less painful.
I wish I knew the importance of flossing daily when I was a kid.
The Cavities I Could Have Prevented
As a kid, I saw flossing as an annoying, optional chore that my parents and dentist nagged me about. I’d do it for a day or two after a check-up, and then forget about it for the next six months. Consequently, almost every dentist visit resulted in another cavity being filled. I wish I had understood then that brushing only cleans about 60% of your tooth surface. All that plaque building up between my teeth was the direct cause of so much pain and so many expensive fillings.
I wish I knew that good grooming was a sign of self-respect when I was a teenager.
The “Too Cool to Care” Attitude
As a teenager, I adopted a “too cool to care” attitude about my appearance. My hair was messy, my nails were dirty, and my clothes were sloppy. I thought it made me seem rebellious and carefree. In reality, it just made me look like I didn’t respect myself. I wish I had known that taking a few minutes to present a clean, put-together version of yourself to the world isn’t about vanity; it’s a signal to others (and to yourself) that you believe you are worth the effort.