I went an entire day without looking in a mirror

It is way harder than you think


I have had my fair share of unfortunate incidents, like the wardrobe malfunction, the classic spinach-in-teeth, and the annoying bump-in-the-ponytail. It’s downright horrifying to come home from a long day of class, notice that your zipper is down, and think to yourself, “How long has it been like that?”

That’s why I am constantly checking my reflection. I won’t go out of my way to do so, but if I’m in front of a mirror or some reflective surface, I will make sure that everything is in its place.

We are all guilty of peeking at our reflection as we walk past a car, or giving a little wink to our fine image as we wash our hands. I certainly do all of the above – making faces at myself as I get ready in the morning, checking my appearance from every angle, and doing constant reflection checks whenever I catch a shiny surface.

The last moments with my reflection the night before

This week, half out of my love for personal challenges and half out of plain curiosity, I decided I wanted to try not looking in a mirror for an entire day. Not even once.

The day that I chose as my ‘no mirror day’ was certain to be full of challenges.

I would be working from 9 am to 5 pm, and then grocery shopping afterwards. There would be plenty of reflective surfaces to test my resolve.

It was harder than I thought, but somehow I made it successfully through the entire day without even peeking once.

Here are some of the take-aways from not seeing myself for an entire day.

I do have my hair and face routine under control

In the morning, I put my skills to the test with a french braid and headband combo. I do a french braid just about every day, so I knew I could ace that ‘do without the aid of a mirror. Later, I switched to a bun. I felt for any fly-aways and was good to go.

I did put on a bit of face makeup, but I did not want to go anywhere near mascara. I was certain I would have poked my eye out, or gotten it all over my eyes without even knowing.

A ‘no- see- my- selfie’

Not knowing is the hardest part

I spent the first half of my day paranoid about my appearance. There could be a piece of hair sticking up, or a booger hanging out of my nose, and I would never know.

I must have smoothed by eyebrows down half a million times (they do tend to go a little wild), and was constantly passing my tongue over my teeth to make sure I didn’t have any food lurking between them.

It is nearly impossible to avoid your reflection because it is everywhere

There’s always that one person who you really don’t like, but you just seem to see them everywhere you go. Today, that person was myself.

I didn’t realize how many reflective surfaces surrounded me until I had no choice but to avoid them: cars, glass doors, mirrors, electronic devices, sunglasses, you name it.

Every time I used the bathroom, I’d have to cast my eyes down while I washed my hands. Hey, maybe I really just wanted to make sure my hands were clean.

To make matters worse, where I work is absolutely covered in mirrors. It took every ounce of restraint to not do a customary glance at myself as I walked by one of the many, many mirrors.

Why are these all here?

I look at my reflection way more than I need to

Only after spending time not looking at my reflection did I realize how often I normally do look at it.

It freaked me out a little, to be honest; I’ve never considered myself to be overly concerned with appearance. As it turns out, I am.

It’s time to stop worrying about my hair and get on with my life

Though it was a bit difficult not looking at myself for an entire day, I did it. I was totally functional without seeing my reflection constantly.

Reunited with my reflection at last

I do not need to double-check myself all the time. It’s okay to spend some time in the morning looking at my reflection as I get ready. It’s okay to check a mirror every now and then to make sure my teeth are food free, my eyebrows subdued, and my nose snot-free.

But worrying over my reflection every time I see a shiny surface? That’s just over-kill and obsessive.