Hey guys I understand that many of us here have been through a lot and that addiction isn't pretty for those of us who have experienced it, but can we please try to avoid some of these blanket-statements? As much as we might like to think that heroin is the devil, it's not. (Perhaps, more plausibly, it's some weakness inside ourselves? Just an idea...)
Anyway... no one has ever told me that I look good or that I look better when I'm using, but I've never had someone tell me the opposite either. (shrugs) I don't think that I put myself together any better or any worse depending upon my usage; and I don't think that I'm fooling myself, either. If it's early in the morning and I have a quick errand to run, be it to the store for some milk or to my dealer for some dope, I'm not going to take a shower and put myself together like I'm ready for the day -- because I'm not. It's early in the morning and it's just a quick errand...
But if I've got to go to work or I have work immediately after or if I've got some errands that need to be run, more than one time-consuming errands, regardless of whether or not we're going to pick up dope, I'll shower, put on clean clothes, perhaps some cologne and voila, I'm ready.