babyassface

Topical Omega 3-6-9, who do we appreciate?

My skin is looking so haggard lately. I think it’s the stress of not having worked in 5 months.  

None of the products I usually love seem to be working.  Thus I’ve been on a quest to find one that can actually make a dent in the speed aging that’s taking place on my face.

I wrote before about how wonderful ingesting Udo’s Omega 3-6-9 Essential Fatty Acids Oil is for the skin, hair and nails. The only problem is you’re supposed to take 2 capsules, three times a day.

I can’t remember to eat food, which is life sustaining, three times a day, never mind take some gratuitous capsules. 

Since the capsules are so good for the skin, I thought I’d try cutting them open and putting the oil directly on my face.

This way I could ingest the capsules, helping my skin from the inside out (when I remembered) and also put it on my skin, helping my skin from the outside in.  Hell, I’d probably inject it into my facial tissue also, if I wasn’t so squeamish. 

I was shocked at how well this worked as a topical oil. My skin immediately looked firmer and dewy, felt super soft and smooth, the fine lines had lessened, and my face had a healthy, pink glow. Dare I say it, but I think it actually made me look younger. 

So I started applying it to my skin both in the AM and PM.  It’s doing wonders, for what I thought was a hopeless case. 

I looked online to see if there were any topical, Omega 3-6-9 skincare products available. The only one I found was Philosophy’s “When Hope is Not Enough Omega 3-6-9 Replenishing Lotion”.    Has anyone tried this?

But don’t get just any Omega 3-6-9 oil, because most of them are fish-based

 
 and you’ll end up walking around smelling like the love child of the Gorton's Fisherman and Mrs. Paul.

Make sure to get a vegetarian variety, like Udo’s (which is made from flax seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, coconut oil, evening primrose oil and the bran of rice and oats).

I also tried to make a facial mask out of pulverized Centrum multi-vitamins.  That one did go so well. 

If you end up trying the Omega 3-6-9 oil, let me know what you think.

My Fair JuiceLady

I bought the JuiceLady juicer a couple of years back. But my desire to be healthy was quickly quelled by my desire not to do dishes.

Cleaning the thing is a biatch. Fruit and vegetable pulp coat every internal part. It looks like that wood chipper scene from Fargo, except with fruits and vegetables.

Thankfully, my new apartment has a dishwasher. (Not since the 1950s has a woman been so excited to see a kitchen appliance.)  Now that I can put my juicer parts in the dishwasher, I can be both healthy and lazy, simultaneously. A long time goal of mine.

For the last few days I’ve been making a 2 carrots, 1 apple, piece of ginger juice every morning for breakfast. I’m sorry, but no store bought juice can compare to the taste of fresh juice- so delicious.  It’s like my body can tell the difference, when I ingest something so fresh and healthy. I actually get a burst of energy and feel clean and light, mentally and physically.

So I guess what I’m babbling about is, if you happen to have a dishwasher, you might want to look into getting a juicer. You can probably get a used one off of Craigslist or Ebay cheap, because God knows I can’t be the only person to lazy to use it.

Sharp turn ahead. 

So, when I was emptying out the pulp bucket. I saw all that fresh, moist pulp. (Carrots are great for elasticity, apples brighten and ginger improves circulation.)  So I decided to scoop my hand in there, ball up some carrot, apple, ginger pulp and wipe it on my face, like a cotton ball. It was amazing.  It firmed up my skin like a mini facelift. At first there was a slight orange tinge to my face.

Like I’d received self tanning tips from Lindsay Lohan. 

But thankfully, the orange color rinsed off with water.

I’m pretty sure no matter what fruits or vegetables you decide to juice, you’ll end up with a pretty amazing fresh facial treatment. 

It's a juicer.  It's a facial machine. Looking and feeling great, has never been so easy (for people with a dishwasher).

Do you have any good juicer (aka facial) recipes for me?

prevent sagging neck skin

I saw Clint Eastwood on Letterman the other night. Turns out, he’s almost 80 years old.  He looks great. (I assume there was some anesthesia and a scalpel involved.) 

I love that even though he’s almost an octogenarian, he’s still beating the crap out of people in movies.  I’m not one for violence, but this kind is OK in my book, because it’s inspirational (and aspirational) for the aging crowd.

What I couldn’t help but notice about Clint’s Letterman appearance, was his neck.  He’s got a little gobble, gobble going on.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it got me thinking about how I might be able to prevent the “Butterball Effect”, as I age.

Then I found this tip online.  It’s very simple and easy to do anywhere, as long as no one is looking at you.

Simply extend your lower teeth over your upper teeth. Then push your tongue to the roof of your mouth for 10 seconds. 

Here’s Rene on the red carpet doing this exercise, or at least I can only hope that’s why she always has this expression on her face.

If you hold your hand to your neck area, you’ll feel the neck muscles being activated by this exercise.  The theory: firm neck muscles will help prevent sagging in that area.  I suppose it’s the same theory as, if you work out your biceps and triceps, you’ll be less likely to have loose, hanging skin on the upper arms.

While doing this exercise, you’ll look like an 80 year old with no teeth, but it just may prevent you from looking like an 80 year old with a sagging neck.  It’s kind of like a flu shot that way- you're given a little bit of the flu, in order not to get it. 

Oh, yeah, if I happen to suddenly disappear, it was probably Clint Eastwood.   And he’ll probably try to use the excuse that I was on his lawn. 

I think this is one of the touching scenes from Gran Torino, right before or after he shoots someone. 

a shampoo that gives you younger-looking hair?

"What is younger-looking hair", you ask? It’s that really soft, healthy hair that kids have.

And apparently some dogs. (Is it wrong to see Jesus in an Afghan?)

The hair you had way back, before you started using products in your hair, then harsh shampoos to strip out all the products, then more products to fix your hair, because it’d been stripped of its natural oils.  Well, you get the idea.

Soapnuts & Amla Shampoo Powder is the perfect way to break this vicious, hair-destroying cycle.
It deeply hydrates, strengthens, adds tons of softness, volume, shine and makes your hair so youthful-looking, you’ll feel like you should be playing in a sandbox (instead of the adult version- scooping out a litter box).

Soapnuts & Amla Shampoo Powder has a low pH and is extremely mild. It also detangles and combats dandruff.  Plus, it’s completely all natural and eco-friendly. 

One of the main ingredients, soapnuts (who knew they had nuts), is the fruit of the soapnut tree.  Soapnuts were used in ancient India for soap, shampoo and laundering fine silks and linen. (FYI: This shampoo also contains henna -so it’s probably not great for light-colored hair.)

Here’s how it works- just mix 2 tablespoons of the shampoo powder with some water to create a paste. Then massage the paste into the scalp and wet hair. 

Since this paste kind of looks and smells like dirt, it’ll strike you as counterintuitive. But from the second you start to rinse it out, your hair will feel amazingly soft and decades younger.

In case, you were thinking, “hey, why not use a baby shampoo for child-like hair?” It’s too gentle and doesn’t have enough detergent to get all the products out. 

I would use this shampoo every time I washed my hair, if it wasn't slightly inconvenient to have to mix it into a paste. But for a once-in-a-while, "strip all the products out, without stripping my hair of its natural oils" usage, this stuff is amazing.

And oh, yeah, all the net proceeds go to charity. 

I love the way you can see the branch behind the jar cap, helping to prop it up.
Guess when you have a great product, you don't need to spend money on fancy photography.

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone!  Yeah!!!!

dry, winter skin has met its match

It’s so cold in NYC, that when I pour boiling water into a “room temperature” (aka freezing) tea cup, what looks like dry ice smoke, starts spewing out of the top of it. I half expect an 80's hair band to emerge from the cloud and start yelling, “ Are you ready to rock?”

Yes, it’s that cold.

It’s so cold that even dogs are wearing hoodies inside.

Thanks to the fact that I end my showers with a 60-second blast of cold water, my torso and limb epidermis are doing OK.

But the parts of my body that are exposed to the elements, my hands and face, look like they’ve just crawled out from under an avalanche.

(Random tip: If you ever get buried in an avalanche, clear some room in front of your face and spit.  Gravity will take the saliva down, so you know to dig the other way, to get up and out.)

But, I digress (into the plot of “Aspen Extreme”). So, I’ve been reading reviews of Weleda Skin Food on Amazon. Pretty much everyone, gave it 5 out of 5 stars, claiming that for dry skin, there’s nothing better.

It’s made with extracts of Viola, Chamomile and Calendula (soothes skin), and it’s free of synthetic fragrances, colors and preservatives. 

I applied Weleda Skin Food to ½ my face. It wasn’t greasy or of a pore-clogging consistency. I then dressed in as many layers as I could muster (while still being able to move my limbs) and ventured out into the cold, to run some errands. 

When I returned to my apartment, I looked in the mirror. The Skin Food side of my face had a nice healthy glow and was still nicely hydrated (like I’d actually been drinking the 8 glasses of water a day, I swore I would). The other side of my face, looked dull and dry. 

You can use Skin Food on the face, body or anywhere that’s rough and dry, like the elbows, feet or hands.

So, if you too are somewhere shivering right now, and your skin feels like it’s starting to develop freezer-burn, you might want to check out Weleda Skin Food.

I have to go put on something with a hood now.    

I’ve never tried any other Weleda products.  Are any of them worth checking out?

Feel free to use the Google "search the web" box to the right, to help track it down at the cheapest price.

my kind of facial exfoliant

When it comes to facial exfoliants, let’s just say I’m no delicate flower.  I’ve actually written that I would use gravel as an exfoliant, if they put it in pretty enough packaging and charged me enough for it. 

I know that gouging away at your skin with tiny sharp objects can maybe cause some damage, but every once in a while, I do enjoy an exfoliant that isn’t afraid to get in there and remove some dead skin. 

“Be fine food skin care exfoliating cleanser with brown sugar, sweet almond and oats” is that kind of  exfoliant.

This stuff is like having a go at your own face with a mini sandblaster. This probably shouldn’t be surprising, considering one of the ingredients is hydrated Silica.  (Isn’t Silica in sand and glass?) Oh yeah, bring it on. 

As per the directions, I wet my face and massaged this product in a circular motion.  Then rinsed.  No wonder they call it an exfoliating cleanser.  It sure does leave skin clean.  Not surprising considering, it's hard for skin, that much beneath the surface, to have gotten dirty. 

My pores looked smaller.  My skin felt super clean, taut, smooth and soft. Kind of like I’d removed enough layers to have unearthed a fresh-faced Ivory Girl, who'd been trapped beneath the rubble of my dead skin cells. 

My skin was a little red after.  I suppose I didn’t have to ram the stuff quite so hard into my face.  (I get a bit over zealous with the scrubs- like the harder I rub, the younger I’ll look.)

I really, really liked this scrub.  It comes in single serve packets and you can find it in lots of drug stores.  It’s probably not ideal for sensitive skin.

I don’t even think, I’d use it every week. But for a good spring cleaning, every once in a while, I think it’s superb.   Although next time, I probably won’t rub with the same pressure, that I do to sand my kitchen cabinets. 

Hopefully, you're better at showing some restraint, than me, when it comes to exfoliation and you won't end up looking like the Great Sphinx.  

To find out where you can get Be fine products at the cheapest price, feel free to use the "search the web" box to the right.

how to avoid granny eyelids

When I was younger I had horrible allergies. My eyes itched 24/7.  My mother got me prescription eye drops, but they stung, so I never used them. Instead I would press the base of my palm to my eyes and rub in circles all day long.

Needless to say, I can now carry my lunch to work in the folds of my eyelids. (Great for keeping my hands free for texting.)

Thankfully, a New York yoga teacher named, Annelise Hagen has come up with a series of facial poses, to help our faces stay younger-looking.  She calls it “Face Yoga”. (I suppose if you do it next to a heater, you’d be doing Bikram Face Yoga.)

I’ll admit it. At first, I thought she just stole Jim Carey’s facial expressions from the movie Pet Detective.

But I figured it was worth a gander, so I found her Face Yoga for the eye area video on Youtube. 

The first half of it is for crow’s feet, it involves using both your fingers and your eyes. (A little too strenuous of a workout for me.)  The second part of the video, is an exercise that helps lift the brow and tighten the eyelid area. 

It makes sense in theory, if you strengthen the muscles under the skin, it will create a more firm foundation, helping to keep skin from sagging.

The eye lift yoga exercise, entails gluing your upper eyelid down to your lower eyelid (not literally), while keeping your face completely relaxed. You’re supposed to seal the lid closed for 5 to 10 seconds, at least twice a week. I know this sounds odd, but when I'm doing it, I actually feel a little workout burn going on under my eyelids and when I touch my finger to my inner, upper eyelid, I can feel the little eyelid muscle flexing, like it’s pumping iron.

I’m not sure if it’s helping or not (I’ve only been doing it for a week) but seeing as 10 seconds of power-blinking doesn’t seem like too much to ask for potentially younger-looking eyelids, I’m going to stick with it.

Hopefully, I won’t end up being the Schwarzenegger of eyelids.  

OJ as a facial toner?

So, this is the official start of a new, weekly series on Babyassface.  The series will be called, “Jenny has no "income" right now, only "outgo", so she’s going to start smearing random stuff on her face to see if it’s a good skincare product”. 

There’ll be some method (and research) to the madness, as well as lots of cruising grocery store aisles and digging around in kitchen cabinets.  (Yes, I did think of using Comet as a facial exfoliant, but I won’t go there.)

The following product was recommended on thegreenbeautyguide.com.  It’s a rather brilliant idea.  Apparently, the author’s mother used to use oranges on her face, as a facial toner. 

Since it’s not too expensive and I can always drink it, if it doesn’t work out, I’m already loving it.

Orange juice contains Alpha Hydroxy Acids.  According to an article in “Journal Watch Dermatology” (see how well researched this is), “Treatment with Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) appears to decrease wrinkles and reverse the changes caused by chronic sun exposure.”

Alpha Hydroxy Acids have also been proven effective for treating dry skin, acne, liver or sun spots, as well as loosening and removing dead skin cells.

Citrus fruit juices are also a natural astringent, so OJ tones and tightens as well. 

I bought some Tropicana Pure Premium 100% orange juice- not from concentrate, no sugar added.  (I guess that’s the product I’m reviewing?) I then doused a cotton ball with it and wiped it on my face.

(Thankfully, my skin is about as sensitive as Mickey Rourke’s luggage-like visage, so I can do anything to it, without it revolting.)

I left the OJ on for around 5 minutes.  Then rinsed it off.  My skin felt toned, had a nice glow, and I swear my pores looked a little smaller.

From now on OJ is going to be a staple in my morning ritual.  Pour some in a glass.  Pour some on my face. And I'm ready to go.

First Crisco, now orange juice, Bon Appetit, want to  buy some ad space on my skincare blog?

 Not to state the obvious, but if you have sensitive skin, it’s best to do a test patch first. 

a facial peel that'll burn fine lines right off your face

I don’t know about you, but 90% of the facial masks I try don’t impress me. So when I find a mask that actually does make a noticeable difference, I get all happy inside. (It’s kind of like a non-alcoholic version of a martini.)

Ren Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask is one of those products. 

I’ve never particularly been drawn to the Ren brand. “Ren” means “clean” in Swedish. 

Unfortunately, it’s also the name of Dracula’s sycophant, bug-eating assistant, and that’s who I think of when I hear the name. 

Ren says that their products contain no synthetic fragrances, no petrochemicals, no sulfate detergents, no synthetic colors, no animal ingredients, and no parabens, but believe me they’re getting some crap around the web for acting all pure and holy, when they have ingredients that aren’t exactly darlings of the “natural” skincare product world.

I don’t mind that it’s not all natural, God knows I use plenty of “un-natural” skin care products. I just don’t like that they’re acting "so salt of the earth". Tirade over. 

This peel mask is made with natural fruit acids and papaya enzymes. They describe it as a “gentle but potent exfoliating peel, that renews the complexion, reduces fine lines and dramatically improve skin tone, firmness and radiance”. I concur with all those claims.

They also state it’s “especially recommended for dull, mature, and congested skin prone to blemishes and blackheads”. (OMG, are they sure they’re haven’t named the brand after Dracula’s Ren?)

The saleswoman at Sephora said not to leave it on for more than the recommended 10 minutes, because acid peels can damage the skin on a cellular level, if left on too long. 

I’m glad she told me that, because I usually leave it on longer, thinking it'll burn its way down to newly formed, infant-like skin. (I know it’s in there somewhere.)

Ren gives, 2.5 percent of their profits to the environment, which is nice, but at $55, it’s not cheap.

That said, I’ve never used a peel that so impressively burned the fine lines right off my face.  Therefore, I highly recommend getting a free sample at Sephora. If you like the results, it might be worth the splurge. 

 Ren answers, "yes, master" to your request for younger-looking skin. (Hey Ren, feel free to use that line in your brochures;)

Anyone have any favorite peels to recommend?

tiger balm- this year's botox?

OK. So, I’ve heard that women, as young as 18 years old, are being encouraged to get Botox.  Dermatologist claim that paralyzing facial muscles, at a young age, will prevent the habitual, repetitive facial expressions, that cause facial wrinkles and creases.

(I just picture a typical teenage girl, screaming at her mother, and the girl has absolutely no facial expression. I’m frightened.)

Anyway, my most common, repetitive facial expression, which will soon be forever etched in my face, if I’m not careful, is the “Whatca talkin bout Willis?” look.

I often make this expression in meetings and apparently, no one finds it cute, like they did, when Gary Coleman did it.

The way I see it, the next best thing to facial paralysis (does that sound as odd to you, as it does to me) would be to relax the muscles so much, that they are too relaxed to move. 

This logic (if you can call it that) then led me to the topical muscle relaxant- Tiger Balm. (The cream version, in the tube, doesn’t smell super strong, like the one in the jar does.)

The active ingredients in Tiger Balm Muscle Rub are Menthol and Camphor. Menthol contains pain-killing properties and induces a cooling sensation. Camphor creates heat, which rushes blood to the area and numbs it. Numbs it? You mean temporarily paralyzes it? Fabulous.

I tried putting the tiniest dab of Tiger Balm Cream on the crease between my brows.  Within seconds, the muscles there relaxed and the line was gone. I’m not kidding. (I mean it’s not like I have a super deep line or anything, but it was definitely there and then it wasn’t.)

The muscle numbing effect lasts for around 4 hours at best (not bad for a date or job interview), but by using it every day, for a week, I figure it’ll help break my habitual muscle-creasing pattern.

I now wear Frownies at night and then I apply a dab of Tiger Balm to my “brow cleavage” (I’ll make this part of the American vernacular if it kills me) on days when my facial expressions are acting up.  

(I try to use only a tiny dab, as infrequently as possible- wouldn't want it to seep into my brain or anything.)

Thanks, Tiger Balm.  Now, I can attend a meeting, without worrying that I'm going to be fired after it.

Will someone please try this and let me know if it works for you too? 
 

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