Showing Your Age with the Flick of Your Wrist

I want you to do something right now. Raise your hands in front of you and look at them. Do they look smooth or rough? Are the veins of your hand very visible? Do you have age spots/brown spots on your hands? Our hands are used throughout our day, every day to complete a variety of tasks. We feed our children, clean our home, steer our automobile, lift our coffee to our lips, give prasie through clapping, wave hello and goodbye, and other expressive gestures. As much as we use our hands and as often as we see them, we certainly don't treat them as well as they deserve to be treated. And a lack of care for your hands is a certain indicator of age. 

We spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in skin care products and services for our face, but not for our hands. And here is the scary part, our hands naturally have less fat in them and as we age the natural fibers that provide tone in the skin decrease. Hand skin is also thinner than that of the face. So as we age our hands naturally and quickly begin to show it. Now take into consideration that we don't always use sunscreen and that as we drive there is more than 60% UV exposure focused right on your hands. So your commute back and forth can really be showing in the appearance of your hands.

So that's all the bad news that can lead to frown lines on your face. So here's the good news. You can both prevent further damage and start aiding your skins appearance right now. And you don't have to spend a fortune or seek a dermatologist for treatment. First thing first, please use your sunscreen daily on your hands as well as your other areas of exposed skin. Indoors and out. As the suns rays still penetrate you indoors via windows. Exfoliate your hands twice a week. This can be as simple as taking a few teaspoons of brown sugar, and a tsp of olive oil. Mix together and rub on your hands in a circular motion and rinse. This removes the dead layers of the skin, revealing newer softer skin.

Moisturize. Use a hand creme with nourishing mositurizers such as the Big Fat Yummy Hand Cremes from Perfectly Posh. They contain apricot kernal and coconut oil that nourish the skin providing a non greasy moisturizer.  They also contain vitamin E, aloe, and allantoin. Allantoin is a chemical compound found in the comfrey plant. It has skin soothing and softening  properties to name some of this simple ingredients benefits. All ingredients combined in Perfectly Posh hand cremes create a wonderful aromatic scent and soothing moisture in a tube that fits easily in your purse, backpack, or automobile. They last a long time and are well worth their $9 price. Lil Snarky is one of my favorites. It has a wonderful fragrant mix of lily, freesia, and sandalwood. https://christenemakin.po.sh/big-fat-yummy-hand-creme/lil-snarky

So you are protecting, exfoliating, and mositurizing your hands. Go a step further by wearing gloves. Wear gloves when you garden or work outdoors. Wear gloves when you wash your dishes or use household cleaning products. Take it from me, personal experience is that not using gloves destroys your nails and creates hands that look much older. At 37 I am just now doing right by my hands and wearing gloves. Also consider driving gloves. Yes they are more than for race car grip or a fashion statement. They actually block a lot of the uv rays you are exposed to when driving. And of course wear gloves during the dry winter months, when our skin is very suseptible to the elements of the season.  If you do these simple things you will see and feel a difference in the skin of your hands. Why have a youthful lovely face and haggard hands? Take good care of your hands. Pamper them a little bit. They do so much for you everyday.

Exfoliation for a Fresher Face

 

After my last post I thought why did I talk about moiturizing before talking about exfoliation? Well if I want to go there I should talk about nutrition then hygiene (cleansing), then exfoliation, then moisturizing. But I have exfoliation on the brain right now, so here is where we are. Since ancient times in Egypt and Asia people have been exfoliating their skin for a fresher, healthier apperance. Modern day seems to be all about lasers and in office micro dermabrasion. Both are good and effective, but can be uncomfortable and expensive. And let's face it, our ancestors did not have machinery to keep themselves looking glowy and gorgeous. So let's get basic with our exfoliation.

Exfoliation is the removal of old dead skin cells from the face and body. It can be done through either a mechanical or chemical process. Mechanical means include  using an abrasive to physically rub away the dead skin cells to reveal new, softer, smoother skin. Natural abrasives such as sugar scrubs, salt scrubs, and crushed walnut provide excellent exfoliation for the lips, face, hands, feet, and body. You can be smooth and fresh from head to toe. Chemical exfoliation uses a type of acid such as fruit enzymes that remove dead skin cells for the same effect. Not with scrubbing but with acids that do the work for you, such as a glycolic acid face mask.

Personally I didn't start exfoliating until my thirties. I didn't really feel that I needed to up to this point. I use to exfoliate once a week, when I thought about it. But now as I get closer to forty I exfoliate two to three times a week. I swear it makes my forhead lines less noticeable and it certainly makes my skin feel softer and smoother. I have used both abrasives and glycolic acid masks. I simply alternate or use whatever I feel like at the time. My go to Perfectly Posh products for exfoliating the face are the In a New York Minute fast facial (https://christenemakin.po.sh/new/new-york-minute), which is a natural glycolic treatment. It's great for those who want to avoid abrasive scrubbing. When I want a more aggressive scrub I like the Shine Bright Like a Diamond microderm scrub (https://christenemakin.po.sh/look-natural/shine-bright-diamond-microderm-scrub) .  I wash my face, use my exfoliator of choice, rinse, pat dry and apply my moisturizer. Every time I do this I feel like a million bucks. It takes five minutes and a few dollars to make myself feel good. I don't have thousands of dollars to invest in my skin care. But I can purchase a $16 scrub and a $18 mask that last me multiple uses. I think we forget to take care of ourelves sometimes. We are so wrapped up in taking care of family, friends, pets, and our careers that we neglect ourselves. And then we look in the mirror and go holy moley who is that tired person looking back at me. Don't neglect yourself, not for any other reason than because you deserve a little TLC.

Why Moisturize your Skin?

If you have ever taken a walk through a cosmetic department you are sure to find jars and tubes of moisturizers, lotions, and cremes to hydrate you from head to toe. In movies and television shows women are often shown rubbing hand or face creme on as they prepare for bed. These images make me ask why do we moisturize our skin?  Of course some of you will say, duh because skin gets dry. I understand when your skin gets dry you reach for some lotion. But why do we spend so much time and money on moisturizers?

The answer is likely more about our skins appearance than it's actual daily purpose. Our skin is our largest organ. It acts as a barrier that protects us from exposure to bacteria, pests, the elements, and other external harm. Our skin not only protects us, but it also indicates our age. As the skin ages it's oil glands begin to decrease production and the skin loses collagen and elasticity. It becomes drier and thinner with age. It is likely the number one reason why so many of us purchase a moisturizer.

As a young teen I remember watching the movie To Wong Fu, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar. One of the characters talked about the importance of beauty/youthful skin and moisturizing. This movie line stuck with me. And later as my skin began to change in my early thirties, every skin care article I read talked about moisturizing. With a little research,I learned that moisturizing the skin improves the skins tone and texture. Moisturized skin develops wrinkles at a fraction of the rate of dry skin.  Moisturizers create smoother, softer, fresher looking skin. So now I know why we should moisturize our skin. The next question is how to choose a moisturizer.

The news always has a new chemical component that will strike fear and panic with your next purchase. We are now hearing about parabens and sulfates. So what's the big deal? The concern is that these ingredients act as hormone disruptor's and a carcinogen risk. No body wants to threaten their health with their shampoo, soap, or hand creme. So it's good to know what in fact is in your moisturizer. Natural moisturizers are best. Let's face it before there were labs concocting man made occlusives, humectants, and emollients we were relying on nature to help us maintain hydrated skin. Natural ingredients like honey, aloe, coconut oil, argan oil, almond oil, lavender, and beeswax have been used through the ages to keep skin looking and feeling good.

So why did we stop relying on these healthy ingredients to keep our skin in good condition? The likely answer has to do with the almighty dollar. Someone wanted to create a hydrating product that did what nature does faster and cheaper, not too mention some possible side effects from chemical ingredients. Luckily there are companies out there that understand that you deserve to treat yourself with the best possible ingredients available. This is where my love for the brand Perfectly Posh comes in. Their moisturizers, soaps, face masks, shampoos, and other pampering products contain luxurious butters, oils, fruits, and flowers that are healthy and gentle on the skin. They do not contain sulfates, parabens, phthalates, or lanolin.

 When I use their Big Fat Yummy hand cremes or Skindelicious body butters I am hydrating with coconut and apricot kernal oil.Shea butter, brazil nut, and aloe vera to nourish the skin. These products smell and feel good. They also give me peace of mind knowing that the ingredients are good for my skin. Perfectly Posh clearly labels their products so that you know what's in them. I did more research and checked these ingredients for myself. They are very gentle on the skin and contain subtle scents from essential oils and fruit and nut extracts. If you're like me and you want to know that you are moisturizing your skin with a healthy product take a look at Perfectly Posh hand cremes and body butters. And after you give them a try, let me know what you think.