In each episode of this podcast Harper goes to Jen’s nail studio, affectionately called “The Confessional” and we talk about health, beauty, and relationship topics that we think need to be more out in the open and widely discussed.  These are the things we often carry shame or fear about bringing up with others, but when we do, it’s better for everyone!  We learn from one another, we externalize the stories we hold in secret and find that in reality, others have similar experiences and they are grateful that we shared our story.  

This is our third season of Salon Confessions, and already, we’ve covered so much ground.  In this episode, we are revisiting some of our previous episode topics with updates and new insights, along with some things listeners like you have shared with us after listening.  

One special listener who wrote to us is a fellow podcaster, Kay. Please go check out her show here! F*** My Work Life. ⁠Trailer⁠

In reality, every time Jen and Harper get together, we chat and catch up, and this time, we are inviting you into that catch-up chat...because insights are great, but learning and growing as a result of new insights is what we are all about!

If you want to listen to the original episodes we reference in this podcast, here's the list:

What insights do you have that you think we need to talk more about? Email us at [email protected]

Or find us on Instagram

@Salon_Confessions_Podcast

@From_The_Confessional

@HarperHasNiceNails

@JenTakesConfessions

One of Jen’s good friends and clients is Laurie.  And as Jen and Laurie were discussing menopause-related issues, Laurie shared her story about incontinence.

We always assumed that age-related incontinence was mostly due to going through childbirth, and was a separate issue from hormonal changes.  Laurie really educated us about why that isn’t the case at all.

In fact, stress-incontinence can be directly connected to decreased estrogen and other hormone levels in our bodies, which dry out our tissues and cause atrophy.  In this episode, Laurie shares her story about incontinence with us, in the hopes that her story will help other women who are stressed and suffering from something that may be very treatable.  As she shared her experience, we was blown away again and again by brand new things we had never heard of - things like a Pessary, and a Uro-Gynecologist, and the Apex machine.  

It was a huge gift for Laurie to share her story with us, and we are SO grateful!  Please listen, and then share your story, or Laurie’s story, with other women in your life.  We need to help open doors and shine the light on these topics for everyone!

Body hair!  Our culture has really wild standards about what women should do about body hair.  The beauty industry also has ever-evolving methods for removing it.  Shaving, waxing, tweezing...  Does anyone remember the Epilady?  Now we have electrolysis and laser hair removal.  What are we missing?  The list truly goes on and on.  

So in this episode, we start at the top with our eyebrows, and work our way down all the way to our toes, exploring our perceptions of body hair, and the various methods we’ve tried to get rid of it, or NOT.  I mean, so what if Harper's toes are a little hobbit like??

In the end, we ended up doubled over laughing, trying to breathe, getting an extra ab workout from how funny it all became.  And that is what this podcast is all about.  Airing out the stuff we don’t talk about in regular life, whether it makes us laugh, cry, groan, or pee our pants.

What's your body hair story? [email protected]

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@salon_confessions_podcast

@harperhasnicenails

@jentakesconfessions

@from_the_confessional

Harper's a gel polish girl, and acrylic has always mystified Her.  So in this episode, she asks Jen a bunch of in-depth questions about what acrylic and artificial nails are, and what people should think about when getting those services.

Harper's been going to Jen to get her nails done for 8 or 9 years now, and she's seen how Jen's process has evolved, and how her nails have evolved as a result of getting a regular manicure.  They are stronger, they rarely break or crack, and the funny bumps and twists on my thumbnails are gone.  It’s truly brought Harper's attention to manicures being about so much more than vanity and feeling pretty.  

As you listen, we’d love to hear your thoughts!  What has your experience been with manicures?  What do you think about Jen’s guidance in this episode?  Did it make you think like it did for me?  Harper learned SO Much!  It gave her a whole new appreciation for how skilled Jen is in her craft, and as always, she feels so lucky to have Jen in her life, and caring for her nails.

Email us your thoughts and reactions at [email protected], or find us on the socials at Salon Confessions Podcast.

In this episode, we are talking about travel.  Jen and Harper both love to travel, and we both married men who love to travel.  We are constantly planning our next trip, and it’s rare for either of us to go more than 3 months without getting on an airplane to fly somewhere.  Because it’s so normal for us, we don’t really think about how unique that is, but then we realized that we always have people in our lives commenting about our travels and asking where we are going next.  So we decided to spend some time talking about WHY we travel so much.  What is it that draws us and drives us to spend the money and make the time for it?  Where do we love to go?  What do we do when we’re travelling?

As the actor and philanthropist Michael Palin writes: “Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.”  We wholeheartedly agree!

The very special reason we are publishing this episode this week is that Jen is turning 50, and we are travelling to Las Vegas together this weekend with our husbands to celebrate her.  We have an amazing 3 days planned, and if you don’t yet follow us on social media - find us on Instagram to share our fun travel moments with us! See you in Vegas!! March 16-18, 2024!!

@Salon_Confessions_Podcast

@HarperHasNiceNails

@JenTakesConfessions

@From_The_Confessional

In last week’s episode, we started exploring our questions and confusion and a-ha moments that we’ve had so far about being in perimenopause.  Full disclosure, we have way more questions than answers, but we also think that’s the whole point of having this conversation.

At every significant phase of my life as a woman - puberty, getting pregnant, post-pregnancy hormones - all of those times offered pretty straightforward, medically supported guidance.  Perimenopause - not so much.  We don’t get standard hormone level tests at our annual physicals.  We don’t get assessed for perimenopause symptoms and effects until or unless we bring it up.  When we do get assessed and tested, very rarely is there a clear answer for how to proceed.  We have to try 3 or 4 or 10 or 12 different variations of treatments to figure out what might work for a little while, and then pretty shortly it will all change again.  And again, NONE of this is covered preventatively by insurance.  It’s all extra cost, extra time, and crappy answers.

Far from giving you advice, we are here to shine a spotlight on our frustration with it all, and invite you in to share your own story.  We cannot continue to be silent and just pretend we are too wise and too grown up to feel depressed, defeated, vulnerable, and confused about the changes happening in our bodies.  It’s impacting the rest of our lives, and Jen and Harper are OVER BEING SILENT.  We are channeling our rage - hormonal or otherwise, into a challenge - rise up with us, and speak out.  Sure we can laugh about it, and yes, we definitely know how to press on and get on with things.  But if we continue to hide how massively perimenopause impacts our day-to-day lives, we are undermining all of the hard work we’ve done for decades to speak up and speak out about things that matter to women.

Join us!  Share your story.  Send us an email at [email protected], or DM us on the socials.  Tell us how you are raising up your voice about the challenges you are facing as you journey this season of life.  And share with us what you’ve learned so far.  Please?

Jen and Harper are both approaching 50 years old, and in the past couple of years, everything we thought we knew about how our bodies worked is flying piece by piece out the window.

For the next two episodes, we are going to be sharing our very candid, very complicated, real-life experiences with perimenopause, and what we know, don’t know, or are not sure we know.

We believe that talking, shouting, cursing, and laughing about the crazy mess that is perimenopause and menopause can actually help us, because the reality is that women are very complex, and each of us will have different symptoms. It’s not like we just became women after all.  We KNOW we have an extra life tax to pay, and we generally just get on with it all and push through it. But time and time again, the support of other women is what carries us through these challenging times. 

Help us!  We need your story.  It doesn’t need to have a resolution or an answer that worked for you, just share it. Email us confidentially at [email protected], or

DM us on Instagram:

@Salon_Confessions_Podcast

@HarperHasNiceNails

@From_The_Confessional

@JenTakesConfessions

Harper's friend Michael joins us in the Confessional to get his very first manicure, and shares his experiences and perspective on midlife dating, using ALL the apps, and what relationship means at this stage.

As Michael will share himself in this episode, he’s over 50, and after his divorce a couple of years ago, he re-entered the dating world, which is now a world of confusing and sometimes shocking apps. He’s told Harper and her husband Hudson so many wild stories about his experiences, that we asked if he’d be willing to join us in the Confessional to talk more about dating over 50 from a man’s perspective.  And what he said may just surprise you!  It definitely made us gasp a few times.

We are so grateful to Michael for sharing his real-life, nitty gritty report of dating in this season of life, and I think you are going to appreciate his candor and quirky sense of humor.

And send us your midlife dating confessions! Do you want to be a guest on Salon Confessions? Let us know! [email protected]

Or find us on Instagram"

@salon_confessions_podcast

@harperhasnicenails

@from_the_confessional

@jentakesconfessions

Hey Confessionistas!  Welcome to Season 3 of Salon Confessions Podcast, the podcast recorded live in my friend Jen’s nail studio while she’s giving me a manicure.

As we kick off Season 3, we are starting with our 2024 Words of the Year.  Jen and Harper rebuke resolutions, but have each been choosing a theme word of the year for many years.  Choosing a theme word is a fascinating journey, and each year we learn a bit more about ourselves by living with intention and reflection centered on a single word.  In years past, we’ve chosen words like Abundance, Legacy, Adventure, and Health.  Each word has taught us more about our values and priorities, sometimes because of what DIDN’T fit, and that’s why we love this practice.  It’s about building a deeper understanding of ourselves, not simply wishing and hoping for a “new year, new me.”  

So in this episode, we reflect on our 2023 words of the year and what we learned, and share our 2024 words of the year and our intentions and thought process for choosing it.  

 In this episode, we talk about dating our spouses.  But really, it could be a spouse, or a long term partner.  We are both happily remarried, and this time around put a lot more thought and intention about spending quality time together.  For Jen and her hubby, that is often weekend travel dates, or an afternoon biking or going for a walk.  Harper and her husband Hudson tend to plan dates that are fancy, or more involved.  Hudson actually loves to plan dates, and sometimes Harper will just get a calendar invite in her email that says something like “Exciting Evening With Hubby” or “Wife Appreciation Day.” But even though we love getting dressed up and going out, we often have impromptu dates stemming from running errands.  With dash of silliness and an intentional desire to hang out with each other, even a shopping trip to Target, followed by getting drive-thru pie, can be a treasured date-night memory.