5 Simple, Powerful Midlife Beauty Secrets

Since I crossed over into that feared territory called “after-50-land.” I have become more and more of an optimist!  That’s right, as I go toward the end of life I want to enjoy each day to its fullest.  Being depressed about aging doesn’t stop the process; but only robs of us joy.  Therefore, I choose to look back at the difficulties in my life and view them with positivity and see how they have fashioned me into the woman I am today.

Finally, I can see how the difficult life of a little girl has resulted in one of the best and simplest beauty secrets I practice!  The home I grew up in was a “loud” one.  Constant fighting, yelling, anger and abuses in both the emotional and physical categories.  At five years of age, when the screaming would break out, I began to rock myself and pull out every eyelash on my eyes.  I did this the ENTIRE time I lived at home.

My parents were perplexed.  They thought my eyelashes were falling out from a disease.  They took me to doctors who also were perplexed.  But, when I began to live in a dorm on the college campus and spend less time at home my eyelashes began to grow back.  During one doctor’s visit, he recommended I put petroleum jelly on my eyes every night for lubrication.  So, I began to do this at age 18 and still do it today.  (Have to add, I love my lashes!)

I remove my eye make up with petroleum jelly and I always will.  I believe this is the major reason why the area around my eyes has been slow to wrinkle.  So, I can rejoice that Vaseline became a part of my life and choose not to focus on why it did.

I do use a quality, incredible skincare line, IOMA-Paris from Saks Fifth Ave.  It is worth every penny and really magic in how it works on skin.  But, there are also some other very simple things I do.  Vaseline is the first, and here are the other four midlife beauty secrets:

2. White Washcloths

The IOMA-Paris consultant was the one who recommended for my over-60 skincare that I stop using the electric brush and instead clean my face with a warm, white washcloth.  I began this a year ago and noticed a difference.  Then in the October issue of MORE MAGAZINE, I saw this comment by Manhattan dermatologist, Dr. Paul J. Frank for women over sixty, “Your skin doesn’t bounce back the way it once did so stop power blasting your face with gritty scrubs, electric brushes and microdermabrasion.”

The article recommends a warm, damp washcloth with your cleanser and an enzyme or glycolic acid peel once a week.  I feel validated!

3. Water

I know you have heard it before…but HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE.  I have to make sure this is a priority, but again you will see a difference once you begin to add more water to your day.  When I get to my classroom in the morning, the first thing I do is fill two 24-ounce bottles of water to drink throughout the day.  I have discovered the more water I drink, the easier it becomes to drink even more.  It was difficult at first.   Now, I find myself drinking beyond my daily goals and actually preferring water to anything else.

4. Olive Oil

I believe all of us have at least ten to fifteen minutes a day we sit and watch something on television…whether it is news or something fun.  I try to make sure I sit at least once or twice a week with my hands in olive oil…just to soften those cuticles.

5. Finally, let’s end where we began. The simplest, best beauty secret is a SMILE! I know life gets tough. It is not easy. But, we can choose to smile through it or grimace through it.  Remember Mrs. Snow from Pollyanna ? I do not want to be the old crotchety Mrs. Snow, but the one who made the decision to smile through life and make a difference in the world. Now that is the Mrs. Snow I can aspire to.

The little girl on the front porch was in need of peace, joy and love.  She found all of those eventually and they are the best beauty secrets we can have.

What are your simple secrets?  Would you like to share with us?  Pull up a chair at the Joy Boutique corner and let’s talk!  Then have a great week, everyone!