I think ideas for skin care should be next...
Did you know that regardless of their income, our French sisters go to the salon four times on average a week? Our Italian sisters also visit about once a week! Wouldn't that be lovely? I am huge on skin care, here's some ideas
- I make sure that I scrub my skin, head to toe, every other day! Other women constantly tell me I have beautiful skin, I think it is my routine, I've had it all my life!
I scrub my skin every other day to get dead skin cells off and moisterize HEAVILY afterwards. I am so used to sloughing off dead cells that I use a scrub brush!
I use a moisterizer every single day on my whole body, head to toe. I never miss a day! I feel like I give of myself when I work, or in some way, every single day so I will take good care of myself first! I use a dermatoligist recommended lotion for my skin which is sensitive so I don't use all the expensive lotions which is unlike me! I use lubriderm, and I use Eucerin creme over that to make sure I'm soft skinned!
I was my face with a good cleanser. I pay decent money for my face wash because it needs to be treated specially. My face is what everyone sees first! I use a moisterizer that is approved by a derm too. I don't take a chance of having my face misbehave.
- There are only two REAL ways to rid yourself of wrinkles. I use one. There is plastic surgery and there is Retin-A cream or it's sister cream Renova. I use Retin-A for strength and let my face peel away many times a year. It keeps my face from having any discolorations brown or red. It keeps my skin even and I think I have fewer wrinkles because I use it. I try to have my face peeled now and again to help out too.
- Depuffing eyes is a biggie! I use a product that lasts for days when I use it but there are daily products that work very well. If you depuff your eyes, there is less chance of those hanging under eyes when we are older. I make sure my eyes don't get too puffy!
- we all are brushing our lips, right? If you are getting really good at it and your lips don't hurt, you can use your electric toothbrush like I do. lol.
- There are inexpensive facial peels available at salons that are EXCELLENT for taking some of that dead skin off and even reducing wrinkles. I'll let you know what they are called if you are interested!
-wash that make up off every single night! I've never missed a night so if that has to do with my skin being nice, I do it! Take off make up and use moisterizer for your face!
- Use a mask on your face whenever you have time, it reduces pores. (The cream above, Retin A is superb for reducing pores!) A mask reduces pores, deep cleans and give you a new slate. It takes off more dead skin cells than scrubing and hurts less! Use a clay mask no matter what they tell you!
- To see an immediate change in your skin, start to use a scrub with something in it to gently exfoliate your skin, and use a moisterizer afterwards. You should get a good exfoliater and use it often. We cannot over do it unless we leave our skin red. Remember: faces cannot be moisterized really, from the outside, we can only keep water on our skin. This means that if we exfoliate we are not drying out our skin, we are exposing new skin to make softer with whatever moisture we put on it!
To be your own botox:
don't squint, use sunglasses,
don't put an angry face on, it WILL stay!
keep your face relaxed more, it will stop wrinkles!
(Yoga relaxes the face and you will start doing it naturally!)
remember that laugh lines are ok, they go away when we smile!
stop raising your eyes at things.
LOL, the less you use your facial muscles, (botox freezes them,) the less you will wrinkle. Ballerinas wrinkle slowly because we must keep our face without expression!
don't spend a fortune on a cream because it does this or that, see above, only two things really change the surface of the skin, well, three, a facial peel does too!

And remember to use perfume because the French say:

"A woman without perfume has no future!"

LOL,
dancer9

D9, you are very generous with your tips, and with your time to write them all here for us! Thank you so much! I've used retin A, and it does wonders, but don't we need a prescription for that? Right now I am using TriLuma to reduce hyper pigmentation. I did not know that ballerinas had to be without expression. I could never use my Soni care toothbrush on my lips. They would bleed! D9, from what I see in your pictures, your skin looks poreless, and fair, and light. Yet you use a scrub brush? I stopped buying expensive creams. I now use Cetaphil wash and lotion. This is what the doctors used when cleansing me before and after surgeries. D9, you washed the makeup off your face even after late-night events? What do you think about adding collagen, and what about glycolic? Please, tell us more. I like that you said "when we are older" indicating that we are not yet older! PL

For those who have asked me how to de-puff your eyes, I can
give you the three magic products that work, one being very inexpensive.
I did not post them here for fear of a run on them and I use them myself, I don't want a price increas!

PM me if you are really concerned with puffy undereyes!
dancer has secret info...

I love that you share so much information, Dancer. I believe that you were born with beautiful skin and have enhanced it with all you do.

I'm redhaired with freckles and green eyes and have never had great skin. I can see all of my pores. My dermatologist told me to get an inside job because I have so much sun damage (and I was bad in my 20s). He did a biopsy just under my collarbone on the left side and the lab confirmed that it's precancerous so I have an appointment next week to have it burned off.

Saundra,
You are very kind. I was sorry to see that you have pre-canceous cells! Still, I was heartened to see that they are PRE and that you have caught it at a good time! One sees a lot of skin cancer here in AZ, on my grandfather and my mother as well! So long as you are on top of it, you should be fine. I'm sorry you have to go through this though, very sorry.
How large is the area, may I ask?
dancer9

Dancer, it's a small spot just below my collarbone on the left side. He'll use that blow torch thingy, as if I'm a creme brulee, and burn it off. If I don't relate this to food, I'll get upset. Thank you for asking.

Good luck with it, Saundra. It's over before you know it!
I'll keep you in my thoughts!
dancer9

Princess,
I did wash my face after EVERY gig, no matter what! After a gig I am so tired I could just drop off!

Lyrics by Bob Seger:

" Here I am, on the road again,
Here I am, up on stage,
Here I am, playin' star again,
Here I am, turn the page.

Later in the evening
when I lie awake in bed,
the echoes of the amplifiers
ringin' in my head,
I smoke the days last cigerette,
rememberin' what I said."

That about sums it up.

Acid peels are something I get from time to time
but not deep peels where my face has to heal.

I do not like the idea of injectables. I live
in a world of women that are SCARY when you see
them in "real life," because of the work they have
had done and the puffed up lips that look, well,
alien! It is REALLY ugly to see up close and in
life! The face is painted, literally painted, to
not show the scars or mistakes done on eyes or
lips or other places! You should SEE the women I
see daily! If they were photographed in soft light,
and with full make up, they might look like
a dolls face, but as far as day light and
looking at them in the light, Ah goodness, what a
mistake it is!
Alien is about what I'd say the effect is! This
is why most actresses who have had work done don't
work a lot, they have to be shot in half light and
with a screen over the lens! If you age as you age,
you will get roles for older women but at least you
look human!

I know some beautiful women who have aged and their
wrinkles are BEAUTIFUL, almost accenting their features!

I feel we all will get old. If we do manage to make it to
the later years, then let's show it. We didn't get there being stupid, after all!

IF there was a good face lift that really worked, we'd
see more faces that want to stay on the screen. We'd see
Cher, we'd see close up's of other people, but we don't!

There is one complete lift that you can have that is "polite," and lasts awhile but it's more natural looking.
Other than that, I wouldn't mess with this area or that!
You should see the mismatched faces and necks!

I could go on and on!
dancer

I used a mask by Avon that I loved, but they reformulated it. I know "reformulated" is code for it's more expensive, different, and not as good. I have a scrub I love that I use when I remember. This post will remind me to take better care of my face, wrinkles and all. Thanks.

Ah, this is such a great topic. I will come back and take notes when I have more time. Getting ready to head out the door.

I use Arbonne. I got hooked on it by Danita!

What do you know about those products?

I also have some questions about Retin-A so I'll be back.

Thanks for encouraging us to take better care of our skin.