As I near my 30's my happy go lucky outlook on aging is harder to keep. I used to say whole hardheartedly that I didn't dread aging. That gray hair was beautiful and wrinkly skin told a story of laughter and smiles and yes some hardships. But as I look around I see less and less people aging gracefully and I look in the mirror and am sad to think one day, no matter what I do, this face will look drastically different. There is no stopping aging or death for that matter. Modern medicine and technology tries everything they can to stall this process but there is no cure. So we are better off embracing it and vow to do our best to take care of our bodies the best we can while we have them. On that note, there is nothing wrong with doing what we can, to help our bodies, especially our faces, age more gracefully.
I look at my mom today and finally see what all the many people in our past have seen. Damn woman you look amazing for your age and SEVEN kids!!!!! I'm mean just look at this face!
My Mom in 2007 at age 49
Isn't she beautiful??!! I think it is also important to note that at 19 my mom was in a horrible car accident where glass cut and was embedded all over her face. If you ask she can point out a few of the scars but for how horrible it was there is basically no sign of it now.
Sadly a year after this picture was taken I saw both my parents age years in just a few months after the tragic death of my brother. While my mother's skin is still flawless there is a heaviness there that I've never seen before. She still looks beautiful and younger than her years by the way!!! (but that's the beauty of the face/eyes they are a road map to all the places you have been, good and bad).
So how has my mom maintained such brilliant, almost wrinkle free skin???? While she may have a few more tips then I have here, here are the things that I have seen my mother always slathering her body with.
Number 1: Oil!!! specifically wheat germ or olive oil are what my mom uses. I personally don't like smelling either on my skin but the key point is oil. The main reason we wrinkle is because with age our bodies stop producing natural oils, specifically Vitamin E. Have you ever noticed that ethnicities with generally more oily skin don't wrinkle as much!!??! (oh you African American woman how I envy you in so many ways- born to dance, sing and never have wrinkles!!) So since I'd rather not smell like something you're about to cook I am sticking with Coconut oil and Vitamin E
Number 2: Face Soap???!! While I've seen my mom wash her face, I have no clue with what. That's because it is not part of her routine and she definitely does't use any store bought chemically laden crap (sorry this is a new frustration of mine) A quick rinse with some water or some grape seed wash and you're good to go.
Number 3: This stuff!! Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. Never heard of it??!! Well welcome my friend to one of the most rewarding yet irritating beauty secrets. This stuff is AWESOME and yet I don't use it as often as I'd like, cause it does take some time to dry and to wash off and my son insists on asking me every 2 minutes "what's on your face mommy" But every time I use it, I think I really need to do this more often. My mom has used this since I can remember. Green face and all walking around the house. She used to put it on us kids (directions recommend using it for the whole family) and we used to lay under a fan trying to make each other laugh so that the clay would crack and stretch as it dried (ouch!) I think this goes hand in hand with the not washing your face daily. Your body needs to keep it's natural oils, yes, but sometimes you just need a clean slate and all that gunk pulled out of there.
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(Me with clay mask on)
Number 4: Dry Skin brushing. Among these many benefits Dry Skin Brushing helps the inevitable toxins to circulate like they are supposed to and hopefully not end up as often in your face
Number 5: Eating Healthy and Drinking lots of water (my moms favorites are to add lemon juice or raw Apple Cider Vinegar to her water) . Isn't this the cure for everything!!?? These days it's so hard to know if you are eating healthy, even if you are trying to shop wise. I find myself making more and more of everything from scratch just cause I'm so tired of reading labels and being unsure if I remember if that ingredient was ok or not. In general if you try to eat mostly raw unprocessed foods, organic and GMO free if you can, you are pretty well covered. Our bodies are actually pretty amazing things and are designed to get rid of foreign bodies and toxins, it's just this overload of toxins and cells our bodies can't recognize that end up hurting us. Today there are hundreds of Natural diets out there and they are great stepping stones and guidelines for people. But part of taking care of our bodies is making sure that we have enjoyment in our lives. We don't have to over indulge but if sticking too, lets say, a Paleo or Vegan diet stresses you out, don't do it!! Don't eat a pint of ice cream a day either, just cause it makes you happy, but my philosophy on everything in life is BALANCE IS EVERYTHING. Take for instance water, one of the best things for your body right? Well yea but if I decided to drink 5 Gallons of water in one sitting it would be like poison to my body. You can't go around being scared to breath because the air is polluted (did you know the air inside your home is often more polluted than the air outside!?) This world is not perfect and there is no way to escape all evils but the more we try to keep the evils on the lower end the better off we will be.
Number 6: Multi Vitamins. My mom will tell you how to eat healthy all day long and then she will tell you the importance of vitamins. Sadly no matter how great the food or how healthy the body our bodies just are more often not able to get all the nutrients they need solely through our food anymore. So invest in your future and find a quality every day vitamin and take it.
Number 7: and this is general, use as many natural cosmetic products as possible. You will rarely see my mom with makeup and she'd probably tell you to invest in something made with natural ingredients. You will never see my mom put on aluminum laden deodorant!! I've got an awesome homemade recipe for that!! ( I will share on another post of all my homemade recipes that I have been working on). And generally anything else she puts on her body smells like earth or maybe lavender or sage.
Number 8: Exercise.. yea yea yea .. we all here it but that's because it's true! We all know the benefits to exercise but do you take into account that it is great for your skin? Pushing all those toxins out helps it to not store up in places like your face. It tones your muscles and skin, gives you a natural glow and produces endorphins that keep you uplifted and those worry wrinkles at bay! And probably more!! So get up and get moving!
The important thing to take from all of this is that there is no one way. I am still working on intruding all natural soaps and products into my life. It's neither easy nor cheap but my mom is proof that the more natural way does result in gracefully aging. So will you join me as I slather my body with oil and sit at the computer typing away while the clay slowly dries and tightens around my lips??!! I hope so! and then we can all enjoy as we stare into the mirror at age 50 and think "damn I look hot!"
