#Anti-Aging Advice

Getting older is a drag! But it doesn't have to be. The best anti-aging advice:

Don't act your age!

Attitude is everything. It takes you farther, lifts or dampens your mood, and affects those around you. If you act youthful, you will feel more youthful. Teaching, I feel younger all day! Until I glimpse myself in the mirror. Ugh. SKIN is where aging shows the most.

So for the physical helpful hints, I turn to medical professionals, online and in magazines... While I was in the airport waiting forever this January, I picked up one of my favorite magazines for healthy advice: PREVENTION. It was packed with great tips.

Here's what Dermatologists said in it about Anti-Aging (Jan 2019, by Michelle Crouch):

• Sunscreen is #1, a given
• Retinol, in creams, should be applied nightly. They said it "brightens skin tone, improves brown spots, and makes skin feel smoother."
• A Gentle Touch - I try to remind myself to do this when I clean my face at night--skin around the eye is the most sensitive. If you rub too hard, "it can stretch out your eyelid skin, causing wrinkles..."
• Simple Washcloths - handy tools for "light exfoliation"
• Soap-Free Body Wash - soap can be drying. It removes natural oils, like "detergent gets rid of the oil in a frying pan"
• Apply while Wet - after shower or cleansing, apply moisturizers "to seal in the water."
• Neck & Chest - don't forget about that skin! Include it in your skin care regimen.
• Take a Break - You should create good skin care habits, but also take a break for a few days, especially if your skin seems irritated.
• Eye Gels & Patches - try them in the morning after a late or sleepless night before putting on makeup to soften lines and diminish puffiness.
• Avoid: bright lights, loofahs, drinking out of a straw (huh!), a dirty pillowcase
• Glove Treatment - I do this in the winter when my hands get extremely dry: after soaking my hands, I apply vaseline (they said a rich hand cream works too) and wear vinyl gloves overnight--for feet, use socks.

In the same issue, I read that Cocoa can help slow down the signs of aging. I went out to buy some to try... I'll let you know how it works out!

There were more tips, but I will save them for another post.

So 2 best Anti-Aging Tips: Think Young and Take Care of Your Skin!
Good luck to us!

#crafts and #hobbies

Fri: Crafts/hobbies
All week I’ve been focusing on essential oils. I use them for just about everything. They help focus me in my writing, they make my cooking yummy, and they give me activities to keep my kiddos busy. We like to make our own lip balm and lotions using essential oils. They are a bazillion times better for your skin since many conventional lotions contain chemicals and things I can’t pronounce.

I get my shea butter and beeswax on Amazon, along with cocoa butter, which is occasionally called for in these homemade recipes. The coconut oil, both solid and liquid, I find at the grocery story in the olive oil section. You can even play with the liquid oils until you find one that’s perfect for you. Almond oil, Jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil are some great alternatives.

My ten year old and four year old love to help me with these simple essential oil recipes:

Lotion 1 c solid coconut oil 1-2 T Shea Butter Melt Shea butter in microwave Pour into coconut oil  Whip with hand mixer Add 10 drops or a mix of 10 drops of essential oils. Pour into small tubs. Makes 4 jelly jar sized tubs.

Lip Balm 1 oz beeswax (About 3 T) 1 oz solid coconut oil (About 2 T) ½ oz shea butter (About 1 T) ½ oz cocoa butter (About 1 T) 30 drops of essential oils—your choice (peppermint/orange) Melt all but EOs in double boiler. Let cool 2-3 minutes. Add Eo’s.  Mix. Pour into lip balm containers. Makes about 18.

So, I talked this week a little more about my oil business than I did about my writing, so I’ll give you that part of my life condensed: I write books for teens.

There’s not much to do growing up in a small town in Western, NY, so J. Andersen wrote stories and won high school writing contests. But in college her writing was limited to term papers. While teaching middle school she began to read young adult books and got serious about writing. J now writes full time, volunteers at the town library, helps to run a School of the Arts at her church, and sings in the church band. She enjoys good coffee—read: home roasted by her husband—crafts, baking, running a small essential oil business, and chasing after her children. You’ll rarely see J without a book in her hands, and that’s the way she’d like to keep it.

(author of THE BREEDING TREE)

Website -- Facebook -- Twitter -- Goodreads -- Instagram -- Pinterest

It was a refreshing week having J. Andersen here and learning about essential oils. So glad we had her over! It sounds wonderful to make money doing something you enjoy!