Beauty: Skin Care

This post is part of the Gorgeous 50’s series inspired by a book given to me by one of my sisters on my 50th birthday – ‘Grown up and Gorgeous in your 50’s’ by Pamela Robson.  I will be sharing some of Pamela’s words and my own thoughts along the way.  To see all posts published as part of this series, go here.

Pamela says:

No amount of make-up will make up for a non-existent skincare routine!  Many factors determine how your skin will look and feel, day-to-day (think genetics, diet, the weather, stress), but if you follow a sensible skincare regimen that’s tailored to your needs you’ll notice a huge difference in your complexion.  Once, the golden rule of skincare was: cleanse, tone and moisturise.  Now it’s: cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise and protect, and protect, protect, protect.

Pamela then goes on to provide more detail on Cleanse, Exfoliate, Moisturise, and Protect!

Cleanse
Remove dead skin cells, dirt and pollutants with a cleanser (preferably twice a day).  Choose a cream or oil-based cleanser if your skin feels dry; foaming gel-based cleansers are great if your skin feels oily.  Never use body soap on your face. Today’s cleansers don’t require toner afterwards, and many dermatologists consider them to be drying, but if you like the feel of a toner, pick one without alcohol in it.

Exfoliate
Exfoliators are designed to help remove dead skin cells, which becomes very important as the cell renewal process slows down with age.  Exfoliation removes the top, dry layer of skin cells, stimulates cell turnover and revs up collagen production.  Cosmetic procedures such as chemical peels and dermabrasion are simply more aggressive forms of exfoliation.  Every three days or so, use a gentle facial exfoliant after you’ve cleansed.

Moisturise
Nothing will make you look fresher than well-hydrated skin.  Tackling dehydration from the inside out is essential, so drink plenty of water each day.  Externally, moisturisers will provide an immediate ‘plumping’ effect, while helping your skin to retain surface moisture.  Pick a lightweight lotion for daytime; a richer one for night (or whenever your skin feels drier, such as during winter).  Be careful when choosing expensive formulas with complicated claims (such as active vitamin C creams); some products work, others don’t.  Seek professional advice.

Protect
The easiest way to cover up is to choose foundation and moisturiser containing a broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen – SPF 30 is ideal for our Australian climate. While SPF is a measure of protection against UVB, the rays that cause sunburn, higher SPF sunscreens usually offer greater protection against UVA, the rays most responsible for premature ageing.  It is also claimed that a sunscreen with built-in antioxidants offers even more protection.

… And some final words of wisdom from Pamela …

Tough but true!

Having a 30-year-old-face and 80-year-old cleavage is not a good look.  Please protect your décolletage (and hands) with sunblock.  Sun-damage-minimising techniques such as exfoliation, peels, laser and dermabrasion don’t work as well on these areas as they don’t have the same number of sebaceous glands as the face, which means they don’t heal as quickly.

My thoughts:

I totally agree with Pamela that no amount of makeup will hide or disguise unhealthy skin.  I also agree that you should never use soap on your face – eww!  Soap is so drying!  I must say I am jubilant that toner is so yesterday and no longer recommended!  Toner too was very drying on the skin, stripping it of its natural oils.

Naturally, on the subject of skin care, my thoughts straight away go to the products I use and love so much that I also sell them!  These are of course the WomanOil8 Australia skin care ranges: Gorgeous Woman, Gorgeous Girl, and ManOil8.  You can see the link to my SHOP in the top menu and in the sidebar of my blog.  This is a new venture, just started this year, and one that I am excited and passionate about because as Julia Morris would say – I’m mad for these products darling!!  So please forgive me but I will be singing their praises all through this post!

I have to admit that prior to discovering these products I paid very little attention to the care of my skin.  I removed make-up with baby wipes and I applied Cetaphil moisturiser (bought in a big tub from the chemist) and that was all I did in the way of skin care.  Over the years I have dabbled in various skin care products but most were ridiculously expensive and not particularly effective and so I soon let it all slide as I was a busy working Mum who was very time poor and had more important priorities at the time.

These days, I’m a 53-year-old woman with dry, sensitive and aging skin.  I’m also prone to getting psoriasis (though it has been quite a while thankfully).  The care of my skin needs to take these points into account.  I want to try to keep my skin looking as young and healthy as possible for as long as I can.  Don’t we all?  To do this, I need natural, gentle and nourishing products for my skin and oh boy, have I found them!  My skin has never felt or looked so good!  These products are not only perfect for my skin though, they are perfect for all skin types. 

I could talk all day about how fabulous our products are but let’s now have a look at the next points that Pamela made.

CLEANSE:  Pamela says to use a cream or oil-based cleanser.  So glad she mentioned the oil-based cleanser!  I had never used an oil-based cleanser before discovering the Gorgeous Woman Skin Care range.  I have been missing out!  Oh my goodness – the Gorgeous Woman Face Cleanser is now the love of my life!  The thing about the oil cleansing method (well the Gorgeous Woman experience anyway) is that it thoroughly cleanses and prepares the skin with luxurious moisturising oils – rather than cleansing with harsh detergents, surfactants and chemicals which leave skin dried out, stripped of moisture, red and inflamed.  You will be amazed at the difference.  It is such a decadent experience – I love it!  So yes I think cleansing is wonderful and I’m all for the oil-based cleanser!  I wrote a post recently for Skin Care Saturday about our cleanser – here it is.

EXFOLIATE:  Exfoliating makes an enormous difference to the texture and feel of your skin!  I’d recommend exfoliating 1-3 times per week – however often feels best for you.  As Pamela said, it is done after cleansing.  Of course I adore our Gorgeous Woman Gentle Exfoliant.  It is just as it says – gentle – but very effective!  It contains beautiful calming and soothing ingredients, including Jojoba micro beads that are soft, smooth and round that effectively exfoliate your skin without causing micro tears or damage.  It leaves your skin feeling silky smooth, nourished and moisturised.  As Pamela says, removing dead skin cells is very important as the cell renewal process slows down with age (as do a lot of other things big sigh).  If you’d like to know more about our Gorgeous Woman Gentle Exfoliant, a post about it is due to publish here on the blog this coming Saturday for Skin Care Saturday, so pop back then for a read!

MOISTURISE:  Pamela is correct in saying that a huge part of good hydration is to drink plenty of water.  We are made up of around 60% water and we need to keep it that way in order to function at our best.  Then there is what we apply to our skin for beautiful hydrated skin.  You know what I’m going to say don’t you?  Yes – I’m going to sing the praises of the Gorgeous Woman Skin Care products again … but I am doing so because hand on heart … my skin has never in my entire life ever felt so soft and silky, supple, and beautifully nourished and hydrated!  After I cleanse in the mornings I apply the Gorgeous Woman Face Oil and after I cleanse in the evenings I apply Gorgeous Woman Potent Infusion.  A good face oil, like ours, are brimming full of antioxidants, vitamins and omega fatty acids which are healing, restoring and calming. Using pure quality oils in well balanced blends for your skincare is an absolute must if you want fresh, plump, youthful skin. Face oils penetrate deep into the dermis which is the skin’s thickest layer, and that’s what makes them so effective. Another really great property of face oils is that they make the absolutely very best primer for makeup. You will not need to use as much foundation!

PROTECT:  Most foundations these days contain some SPF protection.  I use Arbonne Perfecting Liquid Foundation (Honey Beige) which contains SPF 15 protection.  Note that the price quoted at the link provided is in $US.  I buy mine from an old neighbour (and friend) who is an Arbonne Consultant.  I’ve been using this product for many, many years so it’s probably time I reviewed my foundation choice.  I’d love to hear what you use!  It’s also important to note that many of the natural plant oils contained with our Gorgeous Woman Skin Care range actually assist in protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the UV rays (I’m not claiming they fully protect but they ‘assist’).  If you’re interested, this is an interesting read about ‘The best face oils for summer‘, written by Anne McBride (co-founder & developer of the WomanOil8 Australia products).  Of course when you’re out in the sun for any length in time it’s best to apply a good Sunscreen.  I’m a big fan of SunSense who provide an awesome range of SPF 50+ (UVA & UVB protection) products to suit everyone in the family!  The range is fragrance free, dermatologically tested, non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores) and contains moisturising Vitamin B3 (Nicotinamide) to help hydrate skin and improve the appearance of skin tone and texture.  I agree with Pamela’s advice with regards to our décolletage and hands, though it comes a little late for me!

Pamela’s words “if you follow a sensible skincare regimen that’s tailored to your needs you’ll notice a huge difference in your complexion” hit the nail on the head.  Since I have been using the right products for my skin, my skin is looking and feeling amazing.  Fine lines and wrinkles have even disappeared!  Don’t start me or I might be here all day!  I love these beautiful natural plant oil products that I have discovered.  If you want to learn more about these products you can visit my shop and my brand new Gorgeous Woman Skin Care Facebook page.  However, you might already be using another skin care range that makes you happy and that’s ok.  Promise I won’t bite your head off! lol

Are you following a skin care regimen?  Do you cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise and protect?  Are you glad to see the back of toner’s too?  What foundation do you use, and does it have SPF protection?

Ciao for now,

This post is linked up with Sue of Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond and Leanne of Cresting the Hill for #MidlifeShareTheLove