SKINCARE- On my soapbox again...

For those people who've known for me for a long time know that I did a short stint of modeling when I was a teenager. I had the opportunity to travel to New York a couple of times and I learned things about make-up and skin-care that most teenage girls only dream of or at least hope Seventeen magazine will provide for them. The funny thing is, the two main things I learned are not mainstream and my friends would never and have never done.

One, don't wash your hair every day. To me this is common sense. For some of my friends, they think I'm "fowl" that I don't wash my hair everyday or every other day for that matter. So let me see...what's grosser- my oily scalp or your dried-out, straw-like, over processed, burnt hair? I'm gonna go with burnt out. And which do you think holds-up better when you do need to style it (i.e. blow dry and then roll or straighten with a flat iron)? Mine? Or your burnt out hair? And which do you think makes it through a Summer of chlorine? Mine or yours? And what kills me is any hairdresser in the business worth their salt will tell you the same thing. Do you think putting spray leave-in conditioner or store-bought conditioners full of alcohol and parabens are healthier for your hair and scalp than your own natural oils? Seriously. Don't underestimate Mother Nature and give more credence to synthetic, cheap projects that are made in a lab. Your a major cosmetic company's wet dream. You're a sucker.

The other thing I learned while modeling is you don't wear make-up every day. This ages you and never lets your skin breathe. How does it age you, you ask? If you tug on your face every single day of your life putting your foundation on (rubbing down instead of upwards) and you "pat" concealer around your eyes (even with your index finger) every day and then you also powder-up the delicate tissue on your eyelids every single day and then put titanium dioxide on your eyelashes every single day, what exactly do you think happens over time? All of this can age your skin faster than the sun. But ironically, my friends who wear make-up every day also tend to be my sun-worshipping friends as well so they don't stand a chance. I don't have the heart to tell them that the sun damage they have already accrued from their many, many days in the sun tanning have caught-up with them already in their '30's. What the hell are they gonna look like in their '50's????? The damage is way past microdermabrasion too.

I'm getting to my main point to bare with me. See, I'm far more into skincare than I am my weight. Why? Because my weight isn't permanent, but my face is it. It's all I've got. I also have a lot of Irish blood in me and it shows. I also grew-up in West Texas with a pool and on a lake. I was a lifeguard and a water sports fanatic. Though I did use sunscreen way more than my friends (thanks Mom) the aftermath is rearing it's ugly head here in my '30's. Especially on my chest and my hands. Plus, the ladies I know who are hell-bent on staying a size 6 shouldn't really care about their size so much when their skin looks like they smoke a pack a day and the sun spots look like continents across their foreheads. Who cares about your True Religion jeans when professional t.v. make-up couldn't give you good skin? PRIORITIES PEOPLE.

All that being said, I wanted to share with you my new beauty find. My closest friends know I'm a beauty product junkie, but only for stuff that actually works and see results from. I rarely endorse products unless I've used them myself for awhile and I'm addicted. So here I go. Write this down. ROC DAILY RESURFACING DISKS. They are little pads that come in a gold-ish plastic tub. They are pretty potent and since I have sensitive skin, I can't use them every day. Heck, I can't even use them every other day. Point is, they are the first product I have used where I can actually see a major difference on my decollete area (the massive amount of sun spots and damage). I get naked and use them on my chest right before I step into the shower (while I'm waiting for the water to heat-up). I also have started using them on my hands only to see a major texture difference. Everyone should go get these suckers. Now if your pregnant, or plan on becoming pregnant, I might hold off. One, they are too potent for sensitive pregnancy skin and two, I'm pretty certain there might be Vitamin A and retinol in them. Two things not recommended for pregnant women. Go out and get yourselves some of these, ladies. Trust me.

But I also wanted to encourage you all to start really evaluating your beauty routine. All the chemicals, all the parabens, all the additives that you put on your skin every day. YUCK. You don't need to wash your hair every day. You don't need to wear make-up every day. What you should be doing is concentrating on your supplements, your diet (raw, fresh foods) and changing the products you use. I'd first like to challenge everyone to throw away your body lotions and go the nearest healthfood store and by some jojoba oil. This is the closest substance to your own body's natural sebum (oil). It is amazing. Put it on after a shower and your set. That, and drink lots and lots of water and take a good oil supplement like flaxseed! Nourish your skin from the inside out. Again, going against everything that you've ever been taught through the media (devil). If women started actually doing that, who's going to keep Loreal, etc. in business????