my appearance is changing . . .

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this is really strange.
all through my life and all through puberty i never really bothered to take pride in my appearance, when i got up in the morning id just have breakfast, put on whatever was available, quickly brush my hair just to get the knots out then throw it up into a ponytail, then just quickly wash my face and brush my teeth and thats me done.
but since christmas(and now that im starting to finish puberty) ive been making sure im always very clean(showering when i need to or should, washing my hands when i need to or should, brushing my teeth as often as i should{normally id only brush them in the morning}, making sure my belongings(especially clothes and bedsheets etc.) are clean and get cleaned when they should be, making sure my "hairy places"(lol) are immaculately hair free, washing my face as often as i need to or should), and making sure i look very presentable. ive had a fetish for straighening my hair(but i did get new straighteners for christmas), and putting it up in a nice style(instead of my usual pony tail i divide the hair from my ears up and tie whats behind my ears back and let whats in front of my ears just hang down) and putting makeup on, but everyone else who has nice hair and makeup also have nice clothes, but i havent really started on the clothes bit yet but then i expect that will follow shortly.
is this an AS thing, or me just overreacting in some way? or could it be OCD starting to develop? help?!

This seems like total non-AS behavior to me.
Sounds normal for someone your age.

But hey, what do I know? Wait for more opinions.

Hey, another female aspie!

I'm a year younger, but I experienced the exact same thing. I think it's a part of growing up and taking responsibility for your hygiene. I take a shower everyday, put on makeup when I feel like it, and brush my teeth three times a day. Although, I need to do laundry more often, but I'm working on that. =)

If it was OCD, it would be disabling your life. Plus, others would take notice of any extreme behavior. Have others complimented you? That's probably a good indicator of good hygiene habits.

I wish I would do my hair better. Mine looks like Einstein's!

Sounds like normal, not extreme, behavior to me.

My girlfriend is also an aspie is always doing doing her hair, she likes to look great. I don't think it unusual for any aspie to want to look good and take pride in their appearance.

It's a matter of growing and maturing. I don't always put make up on but everything else I do and have done since I was around 18.

I started doing what you are doing, a little later in life.

I did take normal showers for work though. It took many years to finally develop a better style.

Watch make over shows, to see how clothes are supposed to fit on a body. That helped me alot.

The when I shop for clothes now, I get the colors and patterns I like, that have the right or appropriate fit for my body.

Thrift store shopping is hard unless, you are really picky. I generally leave with only 2 items or so. So that I don't buy bad styles.

I love wearing things that look like they are from the 70's, 20's 50's all at once. I am creating my own very pretty style. I think that is what beauty is about. Showing who you are on the inside, as best as possible, on the outside.

If you need any tips, let me know. I'll explain what I have learned from very stylish and independent people. Clothes, makeup and hair ideas, I mean. How to use them for who you are.

Take care and have loads of fun, learning what the inside is on the outside.

I'm going to start changing my apperance myself. For a long time even to this day I don't like looking at myself much or pictures from the past. I identify as Androgynous even though I'm biologicly male. I want to start dressing Androgynous soon.

I didn't get to this part until I was 27 or so. It hadn't occurred to me that I had the option, and I had no idea how to begin. I also had strong prejudices about nice clothes being superficial and boring and a waste of money and uncomfortable. On some therapy show (a mediator helps two parties resolve a conflict within 40 minutes, yay!) the therapist told a young woman who always dressed carelessly in ill-fitting clothing that she was only exercising choice if she really gave herself a range of options. That made something click.

The actual discovery/evolution of my style started with buying my first very well-fitting bra, in a specialised shop, and getting hooked on nice underthings. Motivation to pay attention to what went over that followed ... but I still had a hang-up about clothing being superficial. So ... I took sewing lessons. Lots of them. And read the BBC website on What Not to Wear and experimented with their tips on flattering necklines etc. It felt OK to look nice (and get compliments for that) when what I was wearing was a result of my own work, creativity, skill etc.

Now I'm fine buying off the rack, though I'm really, really selective about quality, fit, color, classic-basic etc.





OCD? Doesn't sound like it. Maybe it would be good to maintain some self-awareness ... one of my sisters freaked about getting married bc it meant her DH might see her without makeup on. Um ... I feel bad for her kids, who are held to her appearance standards. Not distance-dx-ing her OCD, I don't know what's up with that, but maybe you could pencil in quarterly 'check-ins' with yourself to monitor OCD-ish-ness? Only half joking there ... I can't read whether it's at all a concern for you.


These days I'm really, really down, and having extreme EF and sensory issues, so much so that showering wipes me out. Times I've done hair, makeup, dressed to my own standards, I've been too drained to leave the house! So rather than not get groceries, I've chosen to go out looking not-that-great. Even so, my hands are manicured (short nails, shaped, buffed, clear polish, and cuticles cleaned up) and my eyebrows are groomed, and I still manage to put some lipstick and eyeliner on and neaten up my hair. Oh, and earrings and a scarf. I still feel like I just crawled out of a Goodwill bin, but probably don't shock or repulse too too many people.


With luck, things won't ever get bad for you, but even so, I really doubt you'd let looking nice get in the way of meeting basic needs.