Yes, Even I Have A "Deep, Dark Secret"...

I hate to wash my face. And I hate brushing my teeth, too.

Ooooooooooooh, now you know.

I try to convince myself how "good it is for me" to do these things -- particularly washing my face each evening, after being out in the "gook" that is now our airborne environment. And of course especially on days that I have worn makeup or a sunscreen -- it's just awful to leave that stuff on during the night.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

I think a lot of women really like these "rituals." To me, they are preventative and stop-gap. And I just don't like it. It's something I "have to do" every day and I'm not so great with "have to dos" -- I tell you.

So I've made it as painless as possible...I have made sure that I don't have a toothpaste with SLS in it (go read Dangerous Beauty if you wonder why), I have one of those "rotating toothbrushes" (so I don't even have to move my doggone hand up and down). As for the face cleaner, I finally found one I like (I actually sell it on www.mooncrafting.com -- it's a foaming facial wash that seems to actually do the job) -- I have set it up so that I put a yoga headband around my hair and have a clip RIGHT THERE to hold the rest of the hair back...I put on the water to warm up and I promise myself something nice -- chocolate! chocolate! -- if I will just DO IT...I just hate it.

Don't ask. I have no idea why. I KNOW I have to do it. I think it's the "hafta" part.

As for the whole lotion/makeup "thing" -- I said this before I will say it again -- get congruent. You need a "system" that works together, as they all have chemicals and the idea is to make sure that you're not using one with chemicals after another brand with different chemicals, that are making a toxic wasteland somehow on your skin. I ran the whole shebang through the gal who does my facials/waxing -- she actually took the bottles and ingredients, and told me which ones not to get again, which to replace with what, etc. I was one of those incorrigible "buy the trendy thing" gals -- now, I'm cured. I want to have good skin until I'm 90.

Part of this is sunscreen -- you know that, right? But the problem is the actual "good ones" (with at least 7% zinc) turn your face white or greasy. The best I've seemed to find is Peter Thomas Roth, SPF 30, Titanium-something but if you turn it around and read the back, it has the zinc in it. You can also get SPF in your cover/base make up -- Chanel pressed powder has it, as does Jane Iredale.

Again -- cleanser, night cream, day cream, eye cream, lip cream --oy. I don't want to do ANY OF IT. But my facialist the other day "scared me sober" showing me how dry my skin is. This is what you have to do -- look in the mirror. Now GRIN as hard as you can (really make your cheeks go up). What does it do to the skin of your cheeks that's right next to your nose? Do you see little lines? Is it really fat and happy there? If not, you are dehydrated.

I know, I know, I'm also supposed to be drinking like a gallon of water a day -- you, too. But I don't. Oh boy, confession day. She doesn't like to clean her FACE, she doesn't like to brush her TEETH, she doesn't like to go to the GYM, she doesn't like to drink WATER....

It's the "hafta" of all this.

I will say though, my skin looks phenomenal these days. I promised my facialist (and actually promised because I knew I would be recommending regimes in this book, and didn't want to be a reprobate and not do them myself). That promise was that for 30 days, I would clean my face 2x a day -- morning and evening -- and each time put on moisturizer. In the morning, I put on the Peter Thomas Roth sunscreen -- in the evening, I use a thick night cream, and eye cream, and one specifically for lips. I am still working on getting 'congruent' with my lotions and potions -- tho my facialist only took one of them away from me (an exfoliator she said was too harsh for face skin). She also made sure I'm applying the night moisturizer to my "decolletage" area (such that it is). She did the "pinch test" on the skin on my upper arms -- oh my -- looks like I'm 90. So now I just slather moisturizer everywhere.

The key to some of this is that your moisturizer should not have water as the first ingredient -- remember high school Biology? If water is the first ingredient, it's going to draw water OUT OF your skin. You want something like Aloe, etc. as the first ingredient. Next, it should not have Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate in it -- I have mentioned this before, and it's everywhere. Last, some people (my dad for example) have a big allergy to anything with "-paraben" or 'parabon' -- this is a plastic that's added to a lot of lotions (and NOW they are coating potato chips with plastic too -- acrylamide -- to keep them 'fresh' -- did you know THAT one)? You want to be sure you're actually GETTING some good out of your lotion -- and if you're buying something cheap, it's probably cheap because the first ingredient is water. Remember, water's pretty much free, grrls.

OK, gotta run. Big weekend of various theatre/etc. And my fashionista best friend helped me actually buy a few things yesterday, one of which I will wear tomorrow to the theatre. I like that. The bare closet is getting a little meatier again -- piece by carefully selected Bond Grrl piece :-)

Now I will go wash my face and brush my teeth. Honest. :-)