Crazy about skincare!

Since I turned 18 I came to the conclusion that aging is inevitable.. and that no matter how young I was, it was NOT going to last forever. So from that point on I've been crazy about aging myself, especially where skin is concerned!

I just took this pic today, no makeup or concealer with a little mascara. I have moisturizer and lip balm on. I'm not sure how to compare my skin to other 27/28 year olds but I think it's okay. All I know is what I've believed since I was 18 and that is prevention is key! While other girls were tanning in the sun like nobody's business, I was wearing SPF 50 and hats. Today you won't catch me at the beach without a hat. My Mom told me not to make the same mistake she did and I took it to heart.

I've also searched for and used good moisturizers and eye creams religiously and over the years have developed (and learned by beauticians, estheticians, articles, etc) a set of rules that I try and live by and believe in. I thought I'd share them with you :)

A. Suncare

Here's the most important tip for being in the sun - don't get any!!! This is something that many celebrities lives by. Tan your body once in a while but not like a nut. I do but when it comes to my face down to my decolletage you better believe it's covered girlfriends! My husband loves a tan look and face but I say, "Sorry honey, You'll thank me when I'm older!" haha

SPF isn't enough unless you're in the water... you need a hat. Baseball caps, as cute as they are aren't good enough. You need a wide rimmed hat- they cover not only the bottom of your face and sides but your chest and neck.. sensitive areas that wrinkle easy in older age. Have fun with these hats.. they're cute and with glasses on you will look like Jackie O. I keep one always in the back of my car under the glass so it's out of the way. I also wear one while gardening. Joe makes fun of me and says I look like I'm going to the races, "Pooh pooh" I always say.. "and have fun with your wrinkles. "

If you go swimming, even if you are wearing waterproof sunscreen, try and take a second to reapply real quick. They actually suggest that anyway.

WEAR SUNGLASSES as much as you can outside and driving! Glasses prevent you from squinting which causes unnecessary creases over time while also protecting your eyes.

Lastly, when you want a tan face, it's best to go with a self tanner that is healthy for the skin and builds up over time, not a tanner that you smear on and wash off. Yuck. Also, great ways to have some color is a good bronzed mineral powder by Bare Minerals or others and/or tinted moisturizers. The best is Kiehl's Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15. Don't worry about the price too much, it lasts forever and is amazing. Your face will glow. This would be for low-maintenance people- a great daily moisturizer and a hint of color. Boom. Almost every make-up artist uses Kiehl's moisturizer as a base.

B. Healthcare

There are only a few things I'm going to mention before I go to internal care, which mainly focuses on what you put in your body.

1. Sleep

I cannot emphasize enough how important sleep is to your health, as well as your looks. There is nothing you can do that will more immediately make you look aged than lack of sleep. It will show in your face quickly and over time age you more and more rapidly. Why? Because your body is not getting a chance to recuperate and heal itself. Whether we are aware of it or not, because of toxins entering our bodies in various ways, our body are in a constant state of healing. While we sleep our bodies are able to channel the majority of our energy to this healing. Lack of sleep not only shows up in your face and depleted energy but we will find that we will get more easily sick with various infections, both internal and external, viruses, disease, etc. Do not underestimate sleep.

I know that with kids it can be hard to get adequate sleep. But with kids everything is hard. It really just has to do with your priorities. If it's important to you, you can find a way. Get creative; sleep when the kids sleep or nap, etc. When you are tired, your body is telling you it needs to sleep. Listen to your body, it knows best. And when you are tired constantly for too long periods, you should start to think you may need to change some things around. When Joey was born, he had a reflux problem... this caused him to projectile vomit after every feeding for 3 months. Needless, to say for the first 6 weeks or so I literally didn't get ANY sleep.. no exaggeration. I was paranoid and schitzo and beyond comprehension. I remember my Mother visiting one day and took a look at me.. her eyes widened and she said, "Taylor! You have aged literally 7 years!" She was right.. my eyes were blood shot and green and dark underneath and my skin looked aged. I will never forget how lack of sleep had that major effect on my appearance.

If your body is able to heal and repair itself as it should, your face will be well rested and refreshed. Bottom line. Where do you think the term Beauty Sleep came from???

2. De-Stress

Stress shows in your face and life can be hectic.. find what relaxes you and try and take the time out to give it to yourself as regularly as possible. Whether it be meditation, yoga, reading a book while taking a bath, taking a walk alone, mani-pedis, whatever! Just try and do it for yourself. Any form of TV is hectic on the brain so I hope that isn't your form of relaxation. In fact, keep the TV watching to a minimum and you'll find that chaotic energy running through your house will diminish.

3. Weight Gain

Yo-yo dieting is very hard on your skin. Gaining and losing weight, especially RAPIDLY stretches out your skin and stresses it. Put simply, you lose elasticity. Try and maintain a healthy weight for you and stick to it. Go with a good sensible diet and exercise regimen that you can stick to. It's really that simple. You should do that anyway.

C. Internal Care

Taking care of what's inside manifests on the outside my friends. This is crucial and should not be overlooked when taking precautions with aging.

1. Supplements

You should regularly take at least Vitamin C & E supplements. These are strong antioxidants that will work from the inside out. Multivitamins in addition are good of course.

Some sort of anti-oxidant drink like those Mona-Vie drinks are always a good idea. I just use an Acai drink from Costco... These are great because it's potent and easy to get in your daily antioxidants. Pay attention to the ORAC units.. look for 3500 per serving. ORAC is the measurement for antioxidant levels in a food. The more you can get into your body, the better. Let me go over what happens real quick so you can understand why it's so important. Toxins are basically unstable molecules called free-radicals- they are unstable because they are missing a hydrogen atom. This instability causes them to search for hydrogen atoms anywhere they can find in your body. This is called the Oxidation-Reduction Reaction or the REDOX Reaction. Another word for it is AGING! Once the free-radical is successful, the molecule they took that atom from is now itself unstable. Once that cell reproduces it will do so as a degenerate cell.

Enough accumulated cells like these grouped together and this causes disease and cancer. But well before this the process is simply aging you (or turning over your cells), both naturally and prematurely, depending on how you take care of your body. This is why I always refer to foods high in antioxidants as anti-aging foods. (At least I was able to remember something from school!)

Here's a good ORAC Value site.

2. HYDRATE

Drink tons of water.. I think everyone knows how vital this is to your health and well-being, but also for our looks. Lack of hydration shows up in your face for sure. Hydrating also makes it possible for your skin to renew and look rejuvenated and supple.

Try and avoid sugary drinks or sodas... stick to water as much as possible.. does more harm and you may neglect drinking all the water you need.

3. Don't Smoke or Drink

Yeah, that's right I said don't smoke or drink. Smoking is such an obvious common sense thing for most people so I don't think I need to explain too much here... don't make yourself look ugly please. Smoking makes you look downright UGLY. Pock marks, pigmentation, bad teeth and breath, the whole enchilada. Like, don't be stupid.

Drinking for some reason just isn't as easy for people to get. Let me tell you that drinking rapidly ages you more than anything else, right up there with smoking and drugs. Nothing is worse. When people claim to eat healthy and organically but drink I just laugh to myself. Like who do they think they are kidding? Not me. I am educated enough to know that toxins are toxins are toxins. Whether they are coming from McDonald's crap food or Doritos or Diet Coke or a gin and tonic, they mean the same thing on a molecular level to your aging.. just in a MUCH higher potency. Bad fats and cholesterol are a different story that targets other health issues. We are talking about aging here. Even if you drink, eating healthy is still an important part of life for a myriad of other reasons, but I feel it's important to address drinking here so you aren't under any kind of assumption that you are taking care of internal care with respects to aging... only doing the opposite. Alcohol is pure poison, pure toxic. You're better off eating junkity junk foods.. they will never add up to the damages alcohol will do to your face!

Do you know what is happening when you drink? When you drink, alcohol is running through your entire blood stream as you know, wreaking havoc. Being buzzed means the alcohol or toxins or unstable molecules are literally aging you all over. That is essentially what is happening. It is oxidizing your body.

A few years ago when I was 25 I met a few girls at a get together.. after a few minutes we realized that we all went to Newport Harbor High School. I didn't know them and I am usually pretty good with age, I estimated they were about 30 and thought they might have graduated in 95'. When they told me they graduated in 2000 with ME, I couldn't believe it! They easily looked 30. They were normal girls, definitely didn't get into any drugs, had good jobs and didn't smoke. They only thing that was different between us was the years of casual/social drinking they had on their side.. it all adds up baby. Even just a few drinks a week will add up in the years to come. Eat all the anti-aging food you want, you can't undo (fight off with food) what alcohol does to your body.

There have been two times in my life I lost my mind and went on a silly partying rampage. I did nothing that is out of the ordinary - just social drinking. They both lasted just three months and at the end of both of them I noticed a HUGE different in my face from before I started drinking. Needless to say I freaked out.. I couldn't believe what I saw and what I was doing to my body! I did major damage control and was able to fight off the lines around my eyes.. boy am I happy I was able to notice that. Huge difference.

Don't give me the "But I drink a glass of wine for my heart and anti-oxidants." Save it for someone stupid. Yes, the antioxidants in the wine are good for you but it doesn't change the ALCOHOL also contained in the wine.. still oxidizing, aging you in the process... Obviously.

I have to say I enjoy the comments I get about looking young for my age, even though I'm only 27 (28 in a few months).. and I attribute a lot of it to NOT drinking. Do your youth a favor and keep it by not putting poison in your body. Don't be fooled by beautiful partying celebrities.. you better believe they REGULARLY get botox, vitamin and collagen injections as well as face work. They also spend A LOT of money on professional facials.

4. Diet

Food is so important... here's another awesome reason to eat healthy- it keeps you looking young! (As long as you're not drinking). Foods high in anti-oxidants as I have already noted, will help your body stay young by fighting off what ages you. You will feel better and look better as a result. Go and check out this site or another one like it to remember the foods that are best for you. I used to bring baggies of an antioxidant medley to work with me every day. They were of red and blue berries, prunes, grapes and red bell peppers. I just snacked on them at my desk.

Organic is the way to go! Anything that is artificial or refined or chemically is in some way or another toxic. It's really that simple.. I don't think I need to explain much here. If in the ingredients are things you can't pronounce, skip it. Skip refined flours and sugars and breads and pastas.. stick to whole wheat. White means refined and bleached. By now honestly I think the majority of people are pretty well educated to know what is healthy and what is junk!

Eat healthy fruits and veggies.. fresh is best! The more the merrier.

D. SkinCare

Aaahhh, what you've probably been waiting for! My favorite.. I love my products! I'm going to go over the best regimen to prevent professional and expensive sessions. I'm not going to push products as much as I'm going to give an outline to guide you. This will be categorized with the key steps for a beautiful face.

1. Exfoliating

Exfoliating is VERY important. This is too often overlooked. It refines your face and scrubs off dead skin cells to rejuvenate your cells and stimulate renewal. There are two forms that both need to be used. Do not use either form of exfoliation while you are using any Retinol or Retin-A products.

a. Chemical peels - some peels might say "fruit enzyme" peel and that's okay.. it's all (glycolic) acid. You want this! Rule of thumb is you never want to use a peel that is used over night or for any period of time over 10 minutes. You are looking for something that tingles a little (even itches slightly) and needs to be washed off in about 3 minutes. Anything more doesn't WORK. Some peels can be used every other day and some should only be used once a week. Either is okay as long as the time period doesn't last over 10 minutes. If you don't feel anything when the product is on, use it up and move on to another product. You want to feel something. After at least a few times using this you should see a noticeable result.. skin should be a little glowy and/or smoother complexion.

I use Peter Thomas Roth Unwrinkle Peel Pads. These are great pads I can use every other day.

I've also used L'Oreal Glycolic Anti-aging Peel Kit and it works awesome. I was highly impressed, can't find it here on Kauai. You will save money with this one (should be able to find it at any pharmacy type store). You can use it every two or three months. I'm gonna order this and use it every three months with the Peter Thomas Roth pads in between.

b. Microdermabrasion - Oooh.. this is good. Great news is you don't need to pay for $200 sessions. Neutrogena Microdermabrasion At Home Kit is amazing. 5 times using this equals one professional use. You use this initially for 5 days in a row then every other day or as much as you like. This really works! I've used this for years and swear by it. It really makes a noticeable difference. (I've seen it for cheaper than Amazon at Walmart and those stores so I don't know what to say about that.) Use this on your hands, neck and decolletage as well.

c. Daily Scrubs - Find a daily face wash/scrub that you like and use it in the morning. I use Philosophy Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash.. Best I've ever used. By far. One bottle has lasted me about 7 months.

2. Daily Regimen

a. Face Wash

This is easy.. Find a wash you like that is clean and makes your face feel fresh and pure when rinsed. The best I've ever used is Philosophy Purity Made Simple. Just luxurious. This bottle will last me over 7 months.. haven't finished it yet. Goes a long way. Wash at night and use your scrub in the morning.

Do NOT use any astringents.. they dry out your face which is the worst thing you can do, unless you want wrinkles. They are damaging more than anything.. if you need to balance your ph out cause you're breaking out, astringents will put you in a never ending cycle. Instead, try and find the right products that aren't causing breakouts and work with your skin tone. If you do break out once in a while, the best skin clearing medication is The Body Shop's Tea Tree Blemish Night Fade Lotion... Zaps em'. Toners are a waste of money.. skip them.

b. Moisturizing

This is absolutely KEY! Your skin MUST be hydrated at all times!!!

In the morning use your daily moisturizer with an SPF 15 at least. Daily moisturizer should be a moisturizer primarily and you don't need to think of it as a treatment. This should keep you hydrated all day, which is key. Do not ever skip out on your daily moisturizer. There are many good ones out there but I use Olay Regenerist UV Cream SPF 25. Olay has the least expensive for the best anti-aging products.

Night time moisturizer should be thicker, like a cream. If you have any treatment-like products that you like to use, night is the time, under your cream. I use Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream.

Key: Try and find a moisturizer or cream with collagen and elastin it. Very important to prevent and repair aging skin.

Truly there are so many moisturizers and creams out there these days that do a wonderful job. But if you are going to go with something besides Olay, you will need to go with a higher line to beat or meet the effects. My friend just told me that she's been using Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme and that she's seen real results fast with it.

Now I'm nuts about moisturizing and in addition to my anti-aging serum, my organic coconut oil and my cream, I use Replens... yes that's right, the 'long lasting personal lubricant' on my face! I smear that stuff on top of my cream like no one's business. Now where did I get this crazy idea you say? Oprah, like 5 years ago.. it was a special with women in their 50's who looked amazing with no work done. The most beautiful woman of them all was 50 (she looked a great 40) and was suggested by her dermatologist to use Replens since she was 20. She swore by it and I can honestly say that it works. It leaves a thick layer on your face but for some odd reason it doesn't break you out ever. It's so thick. Because of that layer, it's not for everyone but what this product is essentially is high concentrations of plain moisturizing ingredients.. nothing more. Just in case, I called a friend who worked at a dermatologists office and went through every single ingredient with her - all harmless and unweird.

c. Serums

A good anti-aging serum is one thing you should spend money on. I use one by a line called SkinMedica. A high line used by a lot of estheticians. Another good line is Perricone MD. Philosophy and other well known high lines like Estee Lauder and others will also have great serums. Check ratings online before you commit. If you will absolutely not fork out for one, Garnier and Olay both have good ones. If you can afford to use the higher line product in the morning and evening, great, if not, use it at night and a less expensive one like Olay in the morning under your moisturizer.

Key: If you can, try and find a serum with hyaluronic acid.. the best moisturizing ingredient out there. Epicuren has one! Moisture Surge it's called. And Peter Thomas Roth has one.

I use SkinMedica TNS Recovery Complex. I get it on eBay for $100. This little bottle you see here gets rid of fine lines.. they use this amazing patented stuff called Nutricel MD. Wow. I use it at night and Olay in the am. SkinMedica is a wonderful line.. all of their products are great! You really can't go wrong. I just use this one cause I don't want to spend so much money. I'm going to use this in conjunction with a hyaluronic acid serum.

d. Antioxidants

For the face, this is also important.. try and find either a product that contains vitamins C and E or get an oil. Philosophy is all over this. They have a Vitamin C Powder you mix with whatever you want. They also have omega oils (I really liked this stuff) for the face.. I use both of these, not regularly though, and use organic coconut oil that I put in an oil vial that was used up. Coconut oil is wonderful for anti-aging!!!

e. Masks

Use a good hydrating mask once a week. I use Peter Thomas Roth Super Rish Moisture Mask.

In addition, if you like you can use other kinds of mask that you may like. There are so many types; refining, clarifying, detoxing, etc. Detoxing might be a good idea but I really don't see the need for others.

f. Eyes

Apply eye cream as if your life depended on it day and night... like it is nobody's business! Just smear that baby on!!! I don't have a favorite here.. right now I'm just using the Olay Regenerist eye cream. Read reviews for the best products.. there are a lot of good eye creams out there. If you have the dough, use SkinMedica or Perricone MD.

g. Lips

Lips are important too cause if you let them go dry and chapped and never use sunscreen you will find little wrinkles at the top edge of your lips before you know it. Use a long lasting balm at night and one with an SPF during the day. Or just use the day one at night if it lasts, that's what I do. If you do this regularly, you shouldn't have to reapply during the day.

So let's recap your skincare regimen:

1. Exfoliate regularly

2. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

3. Invest in a good anti-aging serum

4. Use antioxidants

5. Use SUNSCREAN and cover your face in the sun!

6. Use a daily scrub and clean face wash

7. Don't forget EYES and lips

SOME DONTS:

Do not use products such as Strivectin SD that miraculously work wonders instantly... this also applies to "line fillers". Soon after applying Strivectin SD and others like it, your skin will look noticeably smoother, supple and filled out, even getting rid of wrinkles. So what's the problem? It's very temporary.. lasts only a while so this might be a good idea for an event where you want to look really good. But essentially what is happening is your skin is getting filled in and stretching out, causing your skin to lose elasticity. Over a period of time, not long, you will only make your wrinkles worse!

Do not use cheap cheap products.. you are wasting your money honey. I promise you. PROMISE. I know it makes you feel good at the cash register but it ain't doing squat so save your $8 for something that will actually work.

Don't use all natural products.... um, real sorry to break it to you but they don't work!

Watch out for an ingredient called Mineral Oil. It tells you the product is very cheap and will most definitely break you out.

Boy, I hope someone read this.

Don't be overwhelmed by this list.. I've accumulated these things over a period of time and a lot of bad purchases. The best thing to do is start somewhere.. just choose what you think will best suit your needs and start with that one thing.. then build up slowly over time.

Top Performer of 2009!I

I'm so proud of my husband... 2009 was hard for a lot of people and Joe was able to rise above a lot of negativity through it all. We have so much to be thankful for and I'm so thankful to Joe for working so hard for our family.. and to God for making it possible and his grace. For the award ceremony at his site, he took EVERY SINGLE sales award, number 1. Joe put a lot of hours into work... hard work and good attitude pays off. It's that simple.

Today he brought home this framed letter from the president of Marriott.

Hopefully if you want to read it you can if you click on it.

Proud of my Hubby... he deserves this credit!