The Skin You're In

Take care of your skin, it’s important. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way.

Growing up in the ’50’s and ’60’s, the only line of defense against the sun’s rays was a hat and clothing, unless you lived in an area that had “winter”. At least that way you were inside or fully clothed for most of the year. As for me, living in Houston Texas, I spent most of my days outside year-round. When we went to Galveston or to the deserts of the southwest on vacation, my mom tried her best for us to wear hats and clothing that covered us.

I didn't get sunburned until I was in high school living in NJ and it was my own fault. I went to the shore for the Memorial Day weekend and fell asleep on the beach face down for about an hour. It was too cool to swim, but I did have on shorts and a sleeveless top. A good part of the back half of my body was exposed to the pre-summer sun and I ended up with the worst sunburn ever.

My mother was so pissed off…

Before I left for the shore that weekend, my mother said to me: “Don't come home with a sunburn!!!!”. So when I walked in the door barely able to walk with blistering on the back of my legs…plus arms, shoulders, upper back and neck…my mother said, “I told you! You’re on your own”. She was so angry with me in a way I had never seen her before. Luckily my older brother was home from college for a few days and felt sorry for me. He rubbed Noxzema on my legs and all the spots that were badly burned. I couldn’t even turn over in bed. I missed a couple of days of school because of not being able to move with my body so painfully blistered.

After the peeling stopped and I had an all new layer of skin, I couldn't go in the sun for of a minute the rest of the summer without my skin bubbling up. It was very weird, but I had to be careful. At the end of the summer while at the family lake cottage in Ontario, I was finally able to be outside without blistering. Round Lake in mid-August is already looking and feeling like fall, so the sun isn’t so intense.

Then came the backlash…

By the time I was 30, the signs of the sun damage began to show. The years I was in college at Arizona State hadn't helped either. Even though I was much better about protecting my skin by then. Plus, sunscreens just weren’t what they are now. The only choice was the white stuff. Yuck!

Essential Oils to the rescue!

I had my first basal cell in my early 30’s and then a squamous cell carcinoma removed when I was in my early 40’s. By the time I hit 50 the numbers improved greatly. This was mainly due to the essential oils I had started using daily for about 8-10 years earlier. I had been introduced to essential oils and became a distributor with Young Living Essential Oils.

My teacher/mentor advised me to add sandalwood along with the lavender, geranium, frankincense, and rosewood to my moisturizer. (can't get rosewood any more) Sandalwood guards against skin cancer and adding that one EO has made a huge difference. They have also helped to keep my skin from being severely wrinkled.

Some of the lines on our faces are good and best to be honored. For example, the joy lines on the outer corners of the eyes and the all important purpose lines coming down from the nose to the outer edges of the mouth. I’ve got those, but not deeply, and proud that I do. 

My DIY skin saver

Now, I not only continue to add my essential oils to my skin products, I make my own face cream as well. Thanks to my daughter Melody, who owns and operates just the business I needed. I get some of the supplies from her to make my totally natural skin cream. But, not the soap. There’s much more involved to make a good soap, so I leave the soap making to her. It's the best!

Melody’s DIY kits, which includes a lotions & creams kit can be found here on Etsy. She also sells her soaps.

While I love essential oils and them in many ways, but what's most important when it comes to EO's is that they be therapeutic grade only. Any EO not therapeutic grade doesn't belong on your skin or in your body. Save those for candles and room fresheners.

Plus…

Be sure to moisture your neck and chest with what you use on your face. Those areas age 7x’s faster than your face! Yikes! It’s that thin layer of skin in those areas…eyes lids too.

I also recommend Boom products. While they are advertised for older women, you can never start too early when it comes to taking care of your skin.

Remember…

Our skin is the largest organ in the body and a complete replacement of the epidermis layer only takes 47-48 days, wow! All the more reason to nourish it with love and respect through healthy eating, keeping yourself well hydrated and being careful of your sun exposure. See your dermatologist once a year, or twice if you’ve got sun damage issues like me. Prevention and catching the little things early before they become big things is the only way to go. Be smart about your skin!

AND most important....Love the skin you're in. :-)

Namaste’

Stephanie