What our skin needs

Picture it: Sicily, 1938 Michigan, 2009. An aging woman sits in a bar, delicately sipping a Blue Moon. A much less-exfoliated woman approaches and demands to know the skin care habits of the aging woman, proclaiming her to look “not a day over 30”.

That aging woman was me. And the less-exfoliated woman? I have no idea who she was…just another drunk in the (very dark) bar.

The point is, besides the fact that I look every minute of my age and I think that woman had vision (blind drunk) issues, my new skin care routine seems to be working. I am sometimes even getting compliments from sober people. But never in broad daylight. There’s still much work to be done.

If you are over 35 (some people even say 25), then you owe it to your skin to be using a retinol product. Retinol is the ONLY thing proven to prevent and eliminate wrinkles.

But first, you have to understand the difference between retinol and Retin-A (tretinoin). Without getting too technical, because I’m no skin care expert, the main difference is that retinol is an over-the-counter vitamin A derivative, while Retin-A and Renova are prescription-only tretinoin products. Tretinoin also treats acne; retinols do not (although they will unclog your pores). There is an excellent article on the differences between these products, as well as detailed instructions on how to use them HERE.

Retin-A was originally developed as a topical acne drug – and it works for that purpose. But something happened when people were using this drug to fight acne; they discovered it also decreased wrinkles, shrunk pores, evened out skin tone and faded out dark spots due to sun damage. A pretty exciting discovery for the anti-aging market.

Renova was created specifically for use as an anti-aging product. It is exactly the same as Retin-A, except it is contained in a more emollient base. Oh, and it costs about $400. Talk about capitalizing on our aging skin phobias. I’ll just stick with the Retin-A and a good moisturizer and save myself over $300.

The way I understand it, retinols work by slowly exfoliating the cells deep under the external skin layer and rebuilding collagen. This is different from a topical exfoliant, such as an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) which exfoliates the outer skin layer only.

The trick to using a retinol, especially the stronger products like Retin-A or Renova, is to start slow. If you overdo it, you can really irritate your skin. To the point of blisters. Really, there is no need to slather it on 3 times a day, hoping for quicker results. It doesn’t work that way. Slow and steady wins this particular race. If you follow the directions, you probably won’t have any problems at all. You will start to see some results within about two weeks, with optimal results reportedly being apparent by six months. Do not give up; it will be worth the time you invest.

Retinols are a nighttime product because of the increased sun sensitivity that can develop with their use. The use of a sunscreen is really not optional when using these products. I find that the sunscreen in my foundation and daytime moisturizer are enough for most days, but if I am forced to be out in the sun for an extended period, I use something stronger.

If you don’t want to start out with a prescription-strength product, that are a couple of over the counter brands worth taking a look at. Sometimes I think it might be better to start with a lower-level retinol to “prep” your skin for the eventual use of Retin-A or Renova.

I started out with Philosophy’s Help Me (.15% retinol), a very mild retinol product and got really good results almost immediately.

Problem? It’s $45. Of course, after I bought it I learned that Alpha Hydrox’s ResQ is virtually the same product for about $15 and it can be purchased in drugstores.

Another product to look at is Green Cream (available in .3%, .6% and .9% retinol formulations).
This product gets great reviews, but something in it really irritated my skin. I wanted to like it but just couldn’t get it to work for me. Which is not to say it won’t work for you. Many, many people adore it, so it’s worth going to their site and checking it out. Their message boards are very helpful.

These are just a couple of the options for over the counter retinols. If you do a little research, you will find many more. My original plan was to keep increasing the strength of the OTC products and, after reaching the top level there, moving on to Retin-A. But after four weeks of using the Help Me, and looking at some of the prices for the higher-level retinols, I decided to scrap that plan and just go for it.

Retin-A and Renova are available in strengths ranging from .025% tretinoin to .1% and as either a cream or a gel. Your doctor (preferably a dermatologist) can decide which will work best for your skin. My doctor took one look at my skin and prescribed the strongest strength. She must have decided I didn’t have time to fool around. I wondered if she was trying to burn my face off, but she advised me to use a very small pea-sized amount for my entire face, use it every night and only back off if I had a problem. After two weeks of daily use, I can report that I have had no problems at all. Some minor flaking around Day 7 but, overall, smooth sailing.

Personally, I am not overly concerned with the wrinkles (except for those “marionette lines” that go from the corner of your mouth all the way down to your chin – ick) but I hate the huge pores. I can honestly say that after four weeks of Help Me and two weeks of Retin-A, my pores have definitely shrunk, my skin tone is much more even (no more intermittent redness) and I do not seem to have quite as much sagging in my cheeks. And I am nowhere near the point of optimum results yet.

It’s nice to have something to look forward to.

Keeping it clean

Okay, so I go through stages with my internet buying - I'll get totally obsessed because I feel like I NEED everything and buy like crazy for a couple of weeks months - and then, being appalled at how much I've bought, back off and don't buy another thing from a shopping channel for a year. We all know what stage I'm in at the moment (tail end, I swear) but the last time I was actively stalking QVC's beauty programming was about 18 months ago.

At that time, the Clarisonic Facial Cleansing System was THE THING to have. "Are they crazy?" I thought. "There is no freaking way I am spending $200 for something to clean my face." Even though I wanted it, of course, I couldn't justify $200 for something that, frankly, I was afraid I would buy and then never use.

So here we are, 18 months later, and the Clarisonic is STILL the thing to have - but now I own one. I hemmed and hawed about it. I read reviews on QVC and other places on the internet. I watched YouTube video reviews. I tried to find cheaper alternatives. But none of that mattered when, right in the middle of my decision-making process, the Clarisonic popped up on FIVE EASY PAYS. Woot! What this meant to me was that now I only had to put out about $40 to test drive it for a month and, if I didn't like it, (say it with me, now) back it goes.

If you're not familiar, the Clarisonic face brush is based on the Sonic toothbrush technology. The brush spins back and forth in a way that isn’t even visible to the naked eye and deeply cleans your skin. They say it “dislodges facial debris.” I think this means it pulls all the gunk out of your pores. If you don’t get all that crap out of your pores, you get ugly stuff like acne, milia (little white bumps on your skin), and, the bane of my existence, visibly enlarged pores.

You can use any non-abrasive cleanser - you are not tied to a specific brand. The replaceable brushes come in normal, sensitive and delicate and last for 3 to 6 months, depending on whether you use it once or twice per day. I can actually use all three levels without a problem.

Oh and the best part? It's waterproof. You can totally use it in the shower.

It takes about 1 minute to use. They suggest twice a day, but lately I’ve only been using it at night (because I have enough things going on in the shower with all the hair products I’m using these days).

It's simple to use. Just load up your damp face with the cleanser, wet the brush and turn it on. Then, starting at your forehead, you use light circular movements until the thing beeps - that means it’s time to move down the center of your face (nose, mouth area) until it beeps again. Then your right cheek (beep) then your left cheek. When that's done, it automatically shuts off. Rinse your face and the brush. All done. The time can be adjusted for longer or shorter periods of time and for faster or slower spinning but, I'll be honest, I haven't bothered to play with that. If I feel I need more (like for my neck and chest) I just turn it on again until I feel done. A single charge holds for at least 3 weeks.

The results? Super-clean skin, for sure, but also better all over color and evenness of skin tone. And reduced pore size! Yay! I don't have problems with acne, so I can't personally speak to how it works for that, but the reviews are good. The deep cleaning leaves your skin in a better position to receive whatever treatment or moisturizing products you use, making them work better. It's not an exfoliator, but I think you do get just a tiny bit of that effect.

At first I thought I was going to have to send it back. I didn't think I liked it. But the more I used it, the more I loved it. I'm glad I gave it the full 30 days because it literally got better every day. Is it worth $200? Eh. I guess so. It IS really a nice, quality product. There's nothing cheap about the way it is made at all. And from what I hear, if you have any problem at all, their customer service is outstanding.

You can find the Clarisonic for less on eBay and Amazon, among other places, but you want to look at what’s included for the money. QVC’s package includes 3 brush heads (which is a big deal since they sell for $25 each, or 2 for $40) and several different cleansers, including one from the hoity-toity Kate Somerville line. Having extra brushes is handy if you want to share it with someone else in your family. Yes, even with a man. But if you buy the pink one (portion of profits to breast cancer research), he probably won’t use it. As I’m writing this (Thursday night), it’s available for 3 easy pays of $65 each.

Practically minutes after I bought mine, Clarisonic came out with the new and improved model, which includes a brush head for the body, for $225. That didn’t really hurt my feelings too badly. Like I said, I spend too much time in the shower already – I don’t need to be in there flipping brush heads around.

To sum it up, I highly recommend this product if you can swing the price. I don’t regret it at all and I actually look forward to using it every day.

After buying the Clarisonic and reading all the product reviews, I noticed that most people mentioned using Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple as their cleanser of choice. So I bought it. And since they had it available in a combo with their Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, I decided I needed that, too. Sigh. And guess what? Practically overnight I became a freaking “Philosophy Girl”. I always thought of Philosophy as just some overpriced shower gels, so I pretty much ignored them. Oh boy, am I ever sorry I did that. The things I’ve missed out on!

The Purity Made Simple is, hands down, the best cleanser I’ve ever used. I can actually wash off my eye makeup and open my eyes. With the cleanser on them! No stinging, no burning and the makeup is OFF. Oh, and it leaves your skin nice and soft, without a hint of dryness. Great product.

But even better? The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash. It’s a cleanser that has super-tiny exfoliating beads in it and it’s gentle enough to use every day – even over the eye area. And you all know how important exfoliation is, right? I don’t even know how to describe how great this product is. As a person obsessed with exfoliation, it’s a dream come true for me.

As with all things Philosophy, it’s a little pricey. I got the 16-ounce set for $55 – not a bad deal, really, since the 8-ounce Purity is $20 and the 8-ounce Microdelivery Wash is $25. I’ve been using them both daily for about a month and, since you don’t have to use much, I’ve barely made a dent in them. At this rate, I expect they will last for 4-6 months. I use the Purity Made Simple in the evening with the Clarisonic and the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash in the morning in the shower. I will definitely order them both again; I wouldn’t want to run out.

Over at the Philosophy website, they are having a Friends and Family Sale – everything is 20% off from now through Sunday, June 28th. The discount code is sharethelove. You can also buy Philosophy products at Sephora, if you are so inclined.

So those are my top three new skincare products, cleansing category. But it’s only the tip of the iceberg…

Have a great weekend, everyone!

If you won’t put it IN your body, should you put it ON your body?

Crisco Shortening. We’re all familiar with the blue can – it was probably a staple in all our childhood kitchens. And maybe we’ve given up using it to cook with because of its high concentrations of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats).

Lately, there has been a lot of chatter about the benefits of Crisco for your skin and hair. Yes, you heard me correctly. For your skin and hair. Sounds rather bizarre, doesn’t it?

But let’s look at the ingredients of Crisco: Soybean oil, fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils. So, basically, natural oils hydrogenated to turn them into solid form.

I use natural oils on my skin and hair all the time. Jojoba oil, vitamin E oil, almond oil, emu oil, squalene oil - and I’ve just ordered some avocado oil, which is supposed to work wonders for those of us who have been cursed with straw in place of hair. I love them all and they are super-moisturizing for my dry, wrinkly face. And my dimpled body. Yeah. Try not to get a visual with that one.

I have read that Crisco is used in hospital settings to treat burn victims and those with severe eczema. It has also been used on skin tears caused by edema (severe swelling due to fluid accumulation).

I read of another doctor who had this to say about Crisco: "If you want the cheapest home remedy going, use Crisco. It's a wonderful moisturizer that covers the skin and keeps water locked in. The key is to use very little and rub it in well so your hands don't feel greasy. Your skin needs only two molecules' worth [Jelly Belly interjection: WHAT?] of barrier thickness to protect it from water loss. They used to call Crisco Cream C at Duke University, where doctors dispensed it freely. It really works."

If all that’s true (and I don’t really have any reason to doubt it), then it sure sounds like Crisco could be a moisturizing mini-miracle, doesn’t it?

Outside of the medical community, countless women (and probably a few men) are using Crisco on their faces, bodies and hair – and reporting great results. And it’s cheap. Under $5 for the small can which should last a really long time (considering you only need two molecules worth and whatnot).

I ran out and bought some (hiding the can from Mr. Jelly Belly, lest he get overly excited thinking I was going to make a pie) and, feeling foolish, gave it a try. I slathered it all over my alligator legs and feet, my elbows and my hands. Then I avoided all open flames.

The result? Wow. Soft and smooth. In fact, my legs are SO DRY that it took three very generous slatherings before it stopped immediately absorbing. I didn’t have the nerve to try it on my face and hair, so you’ll have to do your own experiment if you want to know the answer to that. I have my limits.

But whenever an inexpensive miracle product is discovered, there are always going to be naysayers who will kill your buzz – and darnit, make me think about what I am doing. God, I hate that.

The argument most widely heard is that anything you put ON your body, you are putting IN your body. If you think about it, that makes sense. How else do you explain trans-dermal drugs like progesterone and estrogen creams? Not to mention nicotine patches. They work because you put them ON YOUR SKIN and they go through your skin and work internally.

Now I’m no scientist, so I don’t know if trans fats can penetrate your skin and work their way into your arteries or not. And I don’t even know how I would go about finding that out. But I’ll bet the answer lies somewhere in molecular size and structure. And that, my friends, bores me nearly to tears. But I do know that I don’t want my death certificate to list “cause of death” as Crisco.

On the other hand, people use salt on their bodies in the form of scrubs all the time - and I’ve never heard of hypertension due to excessive exfoliation, have you?

To sum it up, I’ll just say I don’t have any real answers as to the effect of using trans fats on your skin. So you just did a lot of reading for no pay off. To make it up to you, I offer you these alternative uses for Crisco:

Removal of tar and lipstick from clothing.
Removal of ink, grease and dirt from surfaces and hands.
Revitalizing the surfaces of wooden utensils such as bowls and cutting boards.
Shedding water and snow from weather gear such as galoshes and snow shovels.
Preventing diaper rash.
As a makeup base.
For seasoning cast iron cookware.

As a sexual lubricant [oh, I can picture the Google hits already], it has been popular for some 40 years, as it is long-lasting, cheap, and does not exude a strong odor. However, as with other oil-based lubricants such as Vaseline, it can degrade latex and is unsuitable for use with latex condoms.

For episiotomy prevention. [I am totally NOT going into details on that one; use your imagination – it involves “seasoning” like the cast iron skillet.]

Okay, now all I have left to do is cutely alter my Crisco can in such a way that it won’t lead to behind-my-back gossip if people spot it in my bathroom.

Oh those ugly feet

Since we started this skin care mini-series at the top of our heads, it seems only fitting that we should end it at the bottom of our feets. Our dry, callused, ugly feet. Well, my feet are ugly. The world's ugliest, even. Yours maybe not so much.

To keep my feet only slightly ugly, rather than the hideously ugly they become when ignored, I used to use one of those razor things that shaves off the calluses and other rough spots. You know the one. It looks like this:

Or you can get disposable ones now, like these ones made by Tweezerman (4 for about $8):
There are a couple of problems with this thing. First, your foot has to be damp. Which means the only time you can do it is when you've just stepped out of the shower. Inconvenient. Of course, you could soak your feet for 15 minutes or so at a more convenient point during the day. I really don't see that happening all too very often. Or ever.

Secondly, you have to make sure that you angle your damp foot over a trash can, or some other receptacle you've designated as the shavings catcher. It can get messy. Especially if it's been a while.

Finally, that thing can be dangerous. Especially if you get a little overzealous because you are secretly kind of enjoying all the slivers of dry, dead skin dropping into your trash can. You might bleed. And limp for days.

I have found the perfect replacement product for that dangerous blade. It's called the Microplane Orb Foot File and it looks like this:

The beauty of this product is that it allows you to "clean up" your feet anywhere, anytime. I use it in my family room while I'm watching tv, for pete's sake. And nobody around me finds it gross. Well, except for the having to look at my bare feet part.

Here’s the fun part: The "shavings" drop into the unit where they stay stored until you empty it. Nobody has to see them at all. And, as you may have gathered, your feet do not have to be damp. Dry as a bone is the recommended state of your feet before microplaning.

For only $17.95 and a few minutes of your time, your feet will be nice and soft and amazing. No ugly cracked skin. And you can throw away that pumice stone.

I saw an infomercial recently for a knock-off version of the Microplane Orb, called the Ped Egg:

At 2 for $10, it’s definitely cheaper, but I really can’t say if it works as well as the Microplane version, as I have never tried it. But the reviews for it seem to be good, so it might be worth a try.

After you get all the ugly stuff off of your dawgs, you want to slather on a moisturizer and put on some white socks. Or spa socks are fun. So you don’t walk all over your carpeting collecting lint and dog hair and God knows what else on your newly buffed and moisturized feet.

Taking a few small steps to save your feet over the winter months will help you avoid springtime panic when you bring those flip flops back out.

So that concludes my skincare mini series. Tomorrow, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Oil for your face? You betcha!

For quite a while, I was harboring a pretty good addiction to QVC and HSN. Especially their skincare and cosmetic lines. They have a way of making everything look so appealing. And to make it worse, I started spending way too much time on their message boards, where everyone had a product recommendation.

Always on the lookout for moisturizers and eye creams that were going to eliminate the wrinkles, it became too easy to fall into the hype.

From Philosophy and Principal Secret to the ridiculously overpriced Dr. Denese, I bought it all. Sometimes I bought just a single product; other times I bought the entire product line. And there were no miraculous results.

Let me just say that I have absolutely no problem spending big money on skin care items. When they work. Because if it works, the money is worth it to me. But after a while you start to question the wisdom of throwing so much money at skincare.

This is when it occurred to me that these women who were on the message boards touting the fantastic results they were getting from Product Line X, were probably getting those results because they had never really followed a skin care routine before. And no matter what product they used, they were going to get good results. Just because they were spending more time on their skin. And exfoliating.

Right around the time I made this realization, I heard of two products that have totally changed the way I look at moisturizers. Squalane Oil and Emu Oil. Yes, like the bird.

Squalane is actually an all-natural derivative of olive oil – not to be confused with squalene oil which comes from a shark’s liver. The names are used interchangeably quite often, but there is a difference.

At first you might think, “Oil on my face? Ick!” I know I did. But because I was hearing so many good things about it and my skin was SO dry, I gave it a try. And I have absolutely fallen in love with the Squalane Skin Snack (Yum Yum Face Food!):

I buy this from Body Moose at the bargain price of $9.99 for a 1 ounce (cutest ever) bottle. Fantastic product. Fantastic customer service.

You only have to use a small amount, so you can be rocking that tiny bottle for a couple of months. I have been using this product for probably close to two years now and it is really doing some good things for my skin. I can’t say my undereye wrinkles are gone, but they are minimized - and they certainly aren’t getting worse. Putting it on right after exfoliating feels so soothing and really keeps those flakes at bay. Plus, my makeup has never gone on smoother.

Emu oil is a little thicker oil than the squalane and very similar in the effect it has on my skin. It also has natural anti-inflammatory properties and is good for many things, such as burns, scrapes, rashes, joint pain and most notably, scar prevention. I had a pretty good-sized cyst removed from my forehead and started applying the emu oil right away. I have NO scar. You would never be able to tell where it had been. I can’t even find it and I’ve looked. You can read more about its benefits here.

Emu oil is really popular right now because, you know, Oprah and her favorite things. Because of that, a lot of it is really overpriced. You don’t need to pay a fortune. I buy mine at Smoky Mountain Minerals:

I pay $14.95 for two ounces and it lasts several months. Again, fantastic customer service – and free shipping! She usually has a sale going on, so sign up for her newsletter and get it even cheaper.

Compare this to Dremu, one of Oprah’s favorite things. Price: $125 for 1.7 ounces. Exact. Same. Thing.

I use the squalane and the emu rather interchangeably, but tend to use the squalane in the summer and during the day and the emu at night or when my face is extremely dry. And on my feet and elbows.

I cannot recommend these two products enough. Inexpensive, effective moisturizing. You just can’t go wrong.

Coming tomorrow: Clean up those feet!

Exfoliation: The key to softer skin

Never is exfoliation more important than during the dry winter months. Regular exfoliation of your skin, both face and body, will make such a huge difference in its appearance that you will wonder why you didn’t think to take this simple step earlier. And it is pretty simple.

A couple of years ago I got all caught up in an infomercial for Susan Lucci’s Youthful Essence. Fancy name: Personal Microdermabrasion System. If you’ve never seen it before, it’s a nifty little handheld, battery-operated tool with a replaceable sponge cushion on it.

You apply the microdermabrasion cream ($29.95 per month, auto-shipped, and just TRY to stop it) to the sponge and turn it on. The sponge spins the microdermabrasion cream into your face, exfoliating gently as it goes along. You then ooh and aah and touch your face repeatedly while talking about how great it feels.

And it actually does work like that. Nice product. But when you combine the monthly shipment with my lackadaisical skin care habits, it didn’t take long for me to acquire a pretty large stockpile of the stuff - and my bank account was bleeding.

That is when I realized that the tool didn’t do one darn thing I couldn’t do by hand and was, in fact, a detriment. It seemed like too much trouble to get it out and clean it off when I was done and put it away. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

And the “microdermabrasion cream” was no different than St. Ive’s Apricot Scrub that I could pick up anywhere for under $5.

I keep the Apricot Scrub in the shower and use it after cleansing. Now, I have dryer skin than most so I normally use it two to three times per week in the summer and every day in the winter.

You just squeeze out a small little blip of the stuff and massage it (gently, gently, gently) into your face, paying a little extra attention to the areas that tend to get driest. For me, this is around my eyebrows and my nose. Nobody likes dry flaky skin on their nose. Looks like you didn’t clean up that last sneeze very well. Then you rinse it off and you’re done. Two minutes tops for the whole cleansing and exfoliating process. Then you touch your face repeatedly and ooh and aah about how you just saved 25 bucks.

Mr. Jelly Belly, ever the manly man, is not one to use “girly” stuff. Even when nobody would ever know that he did it. But he has wholeheartedly embraced the whole exfoliating thing. He doesn’t care for a flaky face, either. And thank God for that, because I can't always be around to lovingly pick the flakes out of his eyebrows.

So now that our face is flake-free, let’s talk about the rest of our body. Especially our legs. What a winter nightmare, right? You moisturize and moisturize and, still, the flakes keep on coming. Let me tell you why that happens. Because you haven’t EXFOLIATED.

When you apply moisturizer to dry skin, all you are doing is wasting your moisturizer on a layer of dead skin cells. So you want to get rid of that layer and moisturize the fresh new skin underneath. Makes sense, right?

So what’s the best way to do that? I like a loofah sponge, which you can pick up for just a couple of bucks (Target again), but a “rough” washcloth works just as well.

Just get the loofah good and wet and apply your body wash. Now, you can start using up those body washes from Bath and Body Works that you have piled up, but it works just as well to pick up any moisturizing body wash. Target (I love Target) has an aisle full of them, most under $5. They all work. I like Nutri-Oil, made by SoftSoap, of all people:

If you’re one of those odd people who shave their legs on a semi-regular basis, do that first. Then just proceed as you would when washing with a regular washcloth, giving a little extra scrub to your legs and knees - and for heaven’s sake, don’t forget your elbows. And your hands.

Now that you’re all clean and feeling tingly from the exfoliation, you’re ready for the moisturizing step. So wait right there…

Coming tomorrow: Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

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