Personal grooming and personal hygiene aids
Personal grooming can include a range of activities that relate to maintaining appearance, hygiene and dressing. Typical examples can include everyday tasks like getting washed, brushing hair and dressing independently. For most people these are basic activities, however for those who have problems with their grip, mobility or reaching, these tasks can become difficult and sometimes impossible.
Please use the menu to the left or the links below to find out more about the numerous grooming and hygiene aids that are available. Many are simple aids, but they can make life much easier.
- Grooming aids index (this page)
- Portable hair washing basin
- Bed bottles (for urination) (men and women)
- Large handle tweezers
- Long handled hair brush and comb
- Long handled scissors for personal care
- Toilet wiping aids
- Long handled bathroom brushes
- Bidet bowl
- Bariatric toilet seat for larger people
- Toilet gel cushion
- Wipes – personal care (and surface wipes)
- Hip protectors
- Dressing aids (our dressing aids index page)
- Hands free hair drier (hair drier stand)
- Commodes and portable toilets
- Bed or mattress protector for spills and accidents
- Waterproof protectors for dressings and casts
- Inflatable wash basin for the bedroom. living room etc
Personal grooming - general information
There are two different ways that personal grooming can be made easier for someone with an illness, mobility limitation or disability.
- The first is to look at making changes to the environment or room, e.g. having a bath lift in the bathroom.
- The second is to use modified or ergonomically designed portable aids that are a variation or development of the standard item. Very often these variations are quite simple and can include an extended or elongated handle to make reaching easier, or a larger “easy grip” handle that makes holding and controlling less demanding.
Naturally different people will have different needs based upon their dexterity or mobility limitations and this has resulted in a large number of helpful aids becoming available. Most of these aids are comparatively cheap and they do not look unusual or overly different from the standard item that they are developed from. They simply use ergonomics and clever design.
If you want to find further details concerning these aids, use the menu items above. If you want to find out more about modifying a room or home environment, then please go back to our home page and look at the sections relating to bathroom aids, aids for dressing and undressing, and electronic health aids. Some of these larger aids require a much greater level modification to the standard equipment, however they can be highly effective and can make rooms like a bathroom a much more friendly environment for those with mobility limitations.
Ultimately, the extent and availability of personal grooming aids is such that many of the challenges resulting from problems with stretching, reaching, bending and gripping have now been overcome. The result is that independence in this important area can be retained for much longer without the need for assistance from a carer or family member.
This allows dignity and personal control to be retained and this in turn results in a more independent, fuller and satisfying life.
