Saving your skin - on the cheap

It’s Save Your Skin week here in Mrs. Jelly Belly’s house. Which has absolutely nothing to do with diet or exercise or nutrition. But taking care of your skin is kind of important, especially when you're getting as old as I am, so it's a little break from all the food obsessing.

This mini-series started out as one post, but got so gosh darn long, I decided to split it up. To save your time and your eyes. Has nothing at all to do with those thirty posts I have to write this month. Nothing at all.

Over the years I have probably spent thousands of dollars on skin care products in my quest to have skin as soft and wrinkle-free as a baby’s behind. Although I have yet to find that one miracle product (but hope springs eternal), I have found several products that work just as well as – and sometimes better than - their higher-priced counterparts.

When it comes to taking care of your skin, especially in the winter when dry skin can flake off your legs and form in little piles by your feet if you stand in one spot too long, there are six important steps: Cleanse, Exfoliate and Moisturize. And Moisturize. And Moisturize. And then Moisturize some more.

So today, let’s talk about cleansing. The number one rule of cleansing (as it applies to your face) is to never use soap. Never. It will dry it out and create even more unsightly flakes. And who wants dandruff in their eyebrows?

The product I use most for facial cleansing is Neutrogena’s Fresh Foaming Facial Cleanser:



It will cost you about $7 at Target and last for 6 to 8 weeks or so. As long as you don’t go all crazy with the pumping action.

And here’s an interesting product description that I came across:

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser is a cleanser and make-up remover in unitary. Removing make-up in a previous place passage you go to bottom has ne'er been easier. This dermatologist-tested chemical formula in effect removes ungraded, oil colour and make-up. It regular removes eyeball make-up, out of soaps or oils that tin bite or chafe the sore eyeball country. No more than racoon eyes! It rinses completely and habit allow for whatever pore-clogging residuum. Forget the excuses and acquire refreshfully clear scrape and consummate make-up remotion in unitary tread.

Now is that a product endorsement or what? I just don’t know what I can add to that one.

I also have quite an extensive collection of handmade soaps, made with things like shea butter, aloe vera, goat’s milk and other moisturizing ingredients that I don’t hesitate to use on my face. Because, you know, some days that $7 price tag on the Neutrogena seems like too much when I have a rather large basketful of handmade soap in my bathroom.

I get my handmade soaps from a variety of sources, including eBay, and can usually get them for a pretty reasonable price. But my very favorite supplier of handmade soap is Daybreak Lavender Farms. Awesome, awesome soaps and body products. And great customer service.



A little pricier than most initially but, truly, they last forever. And the quality is not to be believed. Maybe something to keep in mind next time you’re trying to think of a non-food reward for yourself.

And you all know you should perform your skincare routine twice a day, right? And never go to bed with your makeup on, right? Yeah. I know that, too.

Coming tomorrow: Exfoliation – the key to softer skin