June 17, 2021 general

Occasionally, I am humbled to receive a kind comment about my complexion. Apparently, some folks think that I look better than what they would expect for my advanced age. Appearance does matter to our self-confidence (both women and men) …and unfortunately, people see us and too often judge us even before we get acquainted.

I am going to discuss how I care for my face on the outside, but I need to point out that our skin dramatically reflects our inner health. If we are undernourished, sleep-deprived, sedentary and/or toxic, it shows. Also, skin is very unforgiving of sun exposure—even decades later. There is a fine line between getting enough sun to create the vitamin D that we require and the extreme of baking permanent damage into the skin cells. (Being quite fair skinned, I gave up tanning many decades ago as a hopeless goal. But, I wish I had made that decision many years sooner because, believe me when I say that the parts of me that never sunbathed are in much better condition.)

Here is my humble DIY regime: (I started out to call it “simple”, now seeing it in print, I’m going to go with “manageable”.

• I cleanse my face with whatever creamy cleanser I happen to have on hand that will work in my pump dispenser. As long as it is not harsh and drying, I am not much concerned about cleanser ingredients because it should be all washed off quickly before it absorbs. In the shower and when I travel, I use mild and healing, Ohhira’s Probiotic Kampuku Beauty Bar. However, next time I shop for a new creamy cleaner liquid, I am tempted by this one. (BTW, I have no connection to Lucky Vitamin, but link examples to them because I find they have a wide selection, typically competitive prices, an easy reorder system and good service.)
• Note, because I change them daily, I bought a big package of cheap white cotton wash cloths at one of the warehouse stores.
• Then, I splash on my homemade toner, using just my hands.
  • The toner base is Lily of the Desert Aloe vera juice* (I select their product in glass with no preservatives. BTW, “gel” is just “juice” with a thickening agent added. Last time, I accidentally bought gel instead of juice but it still works fine.) The aloe itself is very moisturizing, but I add…
  • A few squirts of hyaluronic acid serum for additional therapeutic moisturizing.
  • Vitamin C is good to help even out skin tone and color. So, I have been adding a liquid that I found at a health food store. There are a number of other vitamin C serums on the market that would work.
  • To help preserve the toner from bacterial growth, I add several drops of silver gel. (This is a brand that I respect.)
  • I put these ingredients in a glass pump bottle left over from another product I had finished off.
• Daytime, I seal all that good moisture in with a thin coat of ozonated coconut oil. (It is lighter than it sounds and does not seem to clog pores even in that often oily forehead/nose “T-zone”.)
• At night, I use a retinol product recommended by a facialist. It is effective for skin issues and wrinkles, but I have been tempted to try the much less expensive national consumer brand retinol products. I would probably buy this one because I like their body lotion and my dermatologist approved of that.
• About twice a week, after cleansing, I use a scrub. The one I like best is very fine grained (microdermabrasion) and kind of polishes the skin by removing dead cells but does not scratch.

* Pet Tip. For Dog “Hot Spots” (not to be confused with hot dog spots), I recommend putting the Lily of the Desert Aloe Juice in a spray bottle and keeping it in the refrigerator. The spray is very soothing and healing. Plus, if your pet licks it off, it is safe and probably useful.