• Buglefingers
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    21 hours ago

    What are people supposed to use if not Q-tips? I’m actually wondering cause I use Q-tips after every shower

    Edit: I’ve been informed and read up at bit on it (thank you for the links too). I may also need to look into an ENT Dr. Now haha. So long good feeling of Q-tips

    • @Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In
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      12 hours ago

      The cap of Bic pens!

      Allows you to scoop and clean without the fear of going too deep (adults only).

    • Fleppensteyn
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      12 hours ago

      I switched to just using toilet paper. Not sure how much safer it is.

      • @Bogan
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        11 hour ago

        I do that too, but I twist it into a screw and then twist it in my ear and it pulls the gunk out.

    • @TeamBrett
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      25 hours ago

      I went to Amazon and got an ear wax removal tool. It has an arm with a soft latex scooping tip and a camera and a light. It has wifi and you hook it up to your phone so you can see the camera. I was having custom ear plugs made and I needed to get things squeaky clean. It worked surprisingly well and is the best way to clear things out completely imo. It’s also pretty interesting to see what is going on in there. I also have a little syringe thing I keep in the shower to use on a more regular basis.

    • @Soup
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      2922 hours ago

      You simply don’t need to.

      In fact, there’s a lot you don’t need to do nearly as frequently or aggressively unless there’s a specific reason for it. A common one is shampoo, where after a few days of letting it go back to normal your hair will be perfectly fine taking care of itself. I just rinse it every day and that’s been more than enough for many years.

      • @suction
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        11 hour ago

        hair

        Do you notice people keeping their distance from you? Because non-washed hair (with shampoo I mean) is one of the worst smells there is. Never fails to make me gag when I walk behind a person with non-washed hair.

      • @[email protected]
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        25 hours ago

        People say that… And yet, in middle school they did a hearing screening, and said I had reduced hearing. I told my mom “that’s crazy, my hearing is incredible, I just had earwax in my ears”. We went to the doctor anyways, the PA said she couldn’t see any earwax even though I could hear it moving around when she put the scope in my ear

        I was adamant I just needed to clean my ears, so my mom grabbed some qtips from the exam room when the PA left, I cleaned my ears, and I passed the test perfectly

        In my 30s I can still hear those “teen repellants” that whine at a pitch most lose in their early 20s. People look at me weird when I say I heard someone’s voice on the wind, and yet I can pinpoint individuals talking normally within a half a mile in a forest

        I don’t use qtips anymore, I use a metal loop to clean my ears, but for me it’s most certainly necessary to clean them somehow

        • @Soup
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          35 hours ago

          That’s called an anecdote, and while it’s rad that you’ve got super good hearing it doesn’t mean that cleaning ears is necessary for everyone.

          • @[email protected]
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            13 hours ago

            I’m not saying it’s necessary for everyone… Even if most people don’t need it, some do. I do, despite what everyone has told me from childhood

            Anecdotes aren’t good science, but they can point out bad science

      • @Droggelbecher
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        821 hours ago

        Do you never use shampoo? I personally only even wet my hair once or twice a week, then wash with shampoo though.

        • @Glitterbomb
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          716 hours ago

          Bar soap top to bottom. Big Shampoo has played you all for fools

          • slingstone
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            14 hours ago

            Funny, I use shampoo over my whole body because the equivalent soap doesn’t have the menthol in it that I use to wake me the heck up every morning. That tingly feeling of freshness I get is phenomenal.

        • @QualifiedKitten
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          1220 hours ago

          I use shampoo maybe once per month, usually only when necessary to remove products such as bleach/dye. Just rinsing it with water is usually enough, but when my hair starts feeling more greasy (maybe once per week), I just use conditioner to help loosen up the dirt. If you’re curious, look up “cowashing” and “no poo” for more information.

          • @[email protected]
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            317 hours ago

            Ohh yeah. I’m currently washing my hair once a week on average, cause it gets greasy, but I forgot about conditioner helping that. I hate the few days after shampooing- my hair is so dry and smooth that it won’t stay in a ponytail for very long. Very frustrating.

          • @Droggelbecher
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            220 hours ago

            I’ve tried cowashing before! I have a lot of hair, but thin individual strands, and it kinda made it too hydrated (idk how else to explain) so I lost my waves.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 hours ago

      Q tips are wide as fuck to prevent people from injuring themselves easily i think. Really what you need is something thinner that has hook like properties and there are kits with those. Still gotta be really careful with that ofcourse. Make sure no people are around to jump scare you and causing you to accidentally ram that thing into your eardrums.

      At some point i just bent a piece of wire into a loop to use that. (toothpick for scale) Thats not stainless steel tho so its gonna corrode.

      But going to a professional once a year or so is probably not a bad idea either.

      • Lev_Astov
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        16 hours ago

        What… uhh what are you doing with that toothpick?

      • slingstone
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        614 hours ago

        I unfold paperclips and use the smaller end. One caveat that make me realize it’s not the best idea: the point I unfolded can break. I’ve never lost one in my ear, but I could imagine it happening.

    • @[email protected]
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      1421 hours ago

      You really shouldn’t insert anything into your ear canal unless you are a professional, and even then probably wouldn’t recommend doing it on yourself.

      If you need to clean your ears, there are products specifically made for that (no, q tips are not made for that). Hydrogen peroxide also works.

    • @moseschrute
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      921 hours ago

      I’m not a doctor, but they make ear cleaners that are more of a scoop shape. Imo q tips suck because you are trying to scoop with something that isn’t scoop shaped. The scoop allows you to get the earwax without shoving it deeper into the ear.

      One thing to bear in mind is there are two earwax types. I can only speak for my type, which is sticky.

      • @toynbee
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        114 hours ago

        What is the other type?

        • @moseschrute
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          13 hours ago

          Dry and flaky I think. I think it’s wet vs dry. Maybe sticky was the wrong word

          • @toynbee
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            213 hours ago

            Thanks for the edification!

    • @[email protected]OP
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      522 hours ago

      I think nothing but if it gets too much get it taken out professionally. I’ll have to recheck tho

    • @Num10ck
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      422 hours ago

      try dipping the ends in cold water first