Where is the line between taking care of yourself and vanity?
I grew up near or at the poverty line. We were clean with clean clothes growing up but things like products to help heal acne, or shampoo that suited our hair, or new clothes that fit us (even my undergarments were second hand!) or complimented us, haircuts (grow your hair out or get a basic trim at home), nail polish, make up, even new toothbrushes, vitamins, and healthy foods were things we didn't have. (We didn't have second hand toothbrushes, but we rarely got new ones unless the dentist or school gave us one.)
Being "poor" also meant that the only outside-of-school activity we engaged in was church. In my mind I made sense of all of this by conflating our very modest Christian upbringing with holiness. Consequently, the women who bought new clothes, got manicures, went to the hair salon, had an exercise bike, enjoyed a new purse, etc, were vain, wasteful, and not very godly.
To this day I struggle with spending money on normal things like getting my hair cut at the salon by a professional (I just grow it out and throw it up in a bun or braid, but I'm getting old and my hair has gone through the wringer between childbirth, Covid hair loss and subsequent regrowth, and over the summer I let the little girl I was babysitting brush and play with my hair and it got some damage).
I feel like I'm being sinfully vain, but then I see lovely ladies like Lila Rose and The Religious Hippie, and Brett Cooper, Candance Owens, etc talk about taking care of your temple, your body. As women who have not taken religious vows, who are in the world as good examples, who are married or marriageable, we have a responsibility to present ourselves well, to take care of ourselves.
I think of the Bible stories of the brides' preparations, how Esther was pampered and preened for a year before meeting the king. Vanity is putting all of our worth in our looks, not having looks or taking care of what we have.
Having regular visits to the salon is not vanity. Too frequent visits or the latest crazy hair trend or weird dye job, or feeling you need these visits to feel something is vanity.
Losing weight and getting in shape at the gym isn't vanity. Posting backside pics in painted-on workout clothes all over Instagram and Only Fans is vanity.
Buying healthy food you can afford is not vanity. Buying all the latest trendy "health" foods that you can't afford is vanity. (I remember when Beachbody and Shakeology was supposed to make me happy, healthy, and wealthy. I ended up puking my guts out in the gas station bathroom because I'm VERY allergic to Shakeology!)
I'd love your feedback on the vanity vs taking care of yourself line.