An expert on skin care I am not. Like most older women, I've tried a smorgasbord of products over the years. Expensive moisturizers, soaps, eye creams, anti-aging drops and capsules. I've paid a bundle for some of them, and purchased over-the-counter products as well. Some promised to make my skin look years younger. Others promised to smooth out wrinkles and fill in those folds that run down the side of my face.
But women in skin care ads look like they are in their 30s. And, surprise, surprise, they are. Any hope of older women reversing the effects of aging is as possible as sliding into the size 6 jeans some of wore when juniors in high school. (Full disclosure: I passed the size 6 racks and trudged over to the size 12s. The only time I wore such a teeny, weeny size was when I went on a liquid diet for three months. Three months later, I was back to a size 12.)
Two summers ago, I spent a week end with fifteen women from my college sorority. For a bunch of women in their early 70s, they looked damn good. Maybe it was a sociological thing: all of the women had degrees and enjoyed middle-to-upper-class lives. They had followed their professional passions and, while several (including me) had been divorced (some, like me, remarried) the majority were happy in their personal lives. Most of the women had at least one child who had made their mothers proud.
But when it came to skin care, there was no consensus. A thorough wash before bedtime? Some yes, many no. A thermal spray for dry skin or during summer and other dry times of the year? Again, it was a split decision. Some kind of serum to fill in the folds and wrinkles? Maybe.
So, here I am attempting to write a blog post about beauty and skin care. Not my bailiwick. What's a blogger to do? Simple: find an expert who can share her secrets. That's what I've done.
Sheila Hansen opened a shop called If a Goddess Wore Makeup. It was one of the first stores of its kind in Chicago. Sheila now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and has launched "Green Your Beauty Routine," skin care for women over 60 that touts non-toxic products, makeup, vegan brushes, handmade soaps, and essential oils. (She is not a rep for any brand and is free to make recommendations based on effectiveness, not a paycheck.) Sheila and I talked by phone today and, by the end of the conversation, I had a roadmap to follow, products to buy, and a step-by-step beauty routine.
From time to time, Sheila will be a guest blogger on seventynme.com. She will share tips, product reviews, and articles about green beauty and self-care. I'm excited.
I expect her first post in the middle of this month. Stay tuned. If you have any questions for Sheila, please add them to this post's discussion, and Sheila will do her best to address them.
We older women don't expect to look like we're decades younger. But taking care of our skin like we take care of our diet (hopefully), exercise, and a meditative attitude that helps us weather stresses in our lives makes sense and makes us feel damn good.
Oh, it's time to begin my nighttime regimen. I'll let you know how it goes.