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Personal Care

HAIR CARE

Washing Hair

  • Pump shampoo bottles can be easier to manage than those needing to be opened and squeezed

Hair Drying & Styling

  • Use a stand to hold your hairdryer leaving your hand free for styling

Hair Dryer Stand

Watch video: Posted by a young woman with hemiplegia who can only use one hand, demonstrating how she blow dries her hair with one hand using a stand to hold her hairdryer.

  • Hair may be easier to style when wet
  • A ponytail high on the head is a harder style to achieve than a ponytail formed at the neck
  • Practice makes perfect!

1-UP: The One-Hand Hair Tie

  • Watch video: 1-Up One-Hand Hair Tie
  • Watch video: Posted by a young woman with a weak arm because of Brachial Plexus Palsy/Erb’s Palsy, demonstrating how she ties her long hair into a ponytail
  • Watch video: Demonstrates use of the One-Handed Ponytail Device devised by OT Sara Uhrig in the USA. It is a loop of hat elastic with a bead/washer which acts as a toggle to cinch the ponytail for easier application

DENTAL CARE

Teeth Cleaning

Toothpaste

  • Buy a pump toothpaste dispenser rather than a tube
  • Watch video: Demonstrates how to put toothpaste on a toothbrush one handed using sleeve cuff or mouth to hold toothbrush – posted by Ryan from Living One Handed
  • Watch video: Demonstrates how to floss your teeth one handed with discussion of floss and alternatives – posted by Ryan from Living One Handed

What our Members say   “Toothbrush placed on the bench and toothpaste applied. However, I know that there are kid’s toothbrushes that suctions onto the side of the basin or mirror for toothpaste application then you just pull it off and clean your teeth. A cup for the water when rinsing.”

NAIL CARE

  • Use your teeth to bite nails, but wash your hands first!
  • Watch video: Demonstrates how to clip your nails one handed using a simple technique with clippers braced against the body – posted by Ryan from Living One Handed

What our Members say   “Cutting fingernails… if no one can help, your teeth come in handy as well as a strategically placed nail file.”