Soap Bubble by squigglycircle on Flickr

Do you wash your face before bed or do you sleep with your makeup on? TSK TSK! Yes, these are some judgmental eyes looking at you as I ask that. But ONLY out of judgmental love! I swear. Because it’s not just makeup you’re leaving on your face… it’s GRIME and OIL! Who wants that soaking into their face for 8 hours? Not me. And not you. I know you don’t, because you’re smart and sweet and you always lend a dollar to your friend at the office for a Diet Coke. See, I know you. And I used to be you. *Cue cheesy music*

It’s true, I used to not wash my face before bed. You couldn’t pay me too. I actually eliminated mascara from my routine because that was the one reason that would make me feel like I HAD to wash my face at night. Otherwise I would just go around doing this and that, and then poof down into bed and sleep while listening to Sarah McLachlan music. But I’ve made the change – I’ve been washing my face before bed these days, even on the days where I’m not wearing any makeup. Why? Because it feels so much nicer to lay a clean face on a pillow. You know what else? when I’m super tired, if I wash my face, sometimes it wakes me up and I can watch an extra hour of TV! So, it’s just an all around WIN.

Sometimes you don't to deal with it all! By pyxopotamus on Flickr.

But I UNDERSTAND how hard it feels to make that change – to actually go through the process of washing your face before bed, especially if you haven’t been doing it for years. Well, you already know all of the reasons why it’s bad, and maybe you think your pores aren’t a priority. That’s fine. But what if I had a suggestion to help? Maybe you would consider it? GOOD!

I haven’t tried these, but what about makeup wipes? Like Revlon Makeup Remover Towelettes that you’d find at any old drugstore? Makeup remover wipes seem worth trying. The thing holding me back has been the idea of leaving soap on my face. But the makeup towlettes from Neutrogena say “Leaves skin thoroughly clean with no heavy residue; no rinsing necessary” so…that’s a pretty big PRO for me.

Beauty Tips: Use a makeup removing wipe!

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes 25 towelettes @ Amazon $8 (They’re calling it a refill pack but it just lacks a box.)

Sephora Brand FACE 25 Makeup Removing Wipes – Face, Eyes & Lips @ Amazon $8

Pond’s Clean Sweep, Cleansing & Make-up Removing Towelettes 30 ea @ Amazon $4

"How young do I look now?!" Picture by madcitycat on Flickr.

I happen to LOATHE Dr. Oz. Most of his shows are about freaking people out on a daily basis about toxic mold or whatever else ‘could’ be affecting your health but usually isn’t. Unless you want to live in a perpetual state of fear, I suggest staying away from watching his show daily. But that’s just me. And today I watched his show, anyway. (Nothing else was on!)

Today he had a segment on his show about how to look younger in nine days. I have no idea why he picked nine days, so I’m saying ten – it’s a better number. What tips did he offer? He had Dr. Amy Wechsler on the show talking about her book The Mind-Beauty Connection: 9 Days to Less Stress, Gorgeous Skin, and a Whole New You. What tips did she offer? She clarified some beauty myths about what can work, and also discussed the best way to care for your face.

Beauty Tips! The three easy steps for making your face look younger: Use a gentle face wash that won’t take too many oils from your face. Moisturize your face! AND it should have SPF. Finally, occasionally use an exfoliate.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, For All Skin Types 4 fl oz (118 ml) @ Amazon $4 (Dermatologists recommend the Cetaphil brand a lot because it is so gentle for skin – whether it’s the lotions or face wash.)

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer, SPF 15, Fragrance Free – 4 fl oz @ Amazon $11

St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub Jar for Sensitive Skin – 10 Oz @ Amazon $10

Now, you may already feel young in your 20′s, but you’ll want to make this a constant routine so that you never have to wake up when you’re 40 and realize you have dropped the ball about taking care of your face. Beauty experts in magazines are always talking about how you should start taking care of your face very early on.

What in your fridge can help your skin? Cucumber, Water, Chocolate, Safflower Oil… Are they all good for your skin?

Cucumbers for your skin: Yes, you can put a cucumber on your eye (or any soft, cold item) can help the bags under your skin. They also smell good and then you can eat them afterward. Yum. Mmm… I love cucumber sandwiches.

Water for your skin: Surprisingly, water does not help your skin. Your skin is mostly affected by what you do to the top of it. But this is NO reason to stop drinking lots of water. Because I’m sure Dr. Oz will have a show tomorrow about how water will save your life!

Chocolate for your skin: Ah, they think they can trick us with this one? Well, we already know that chocolate apparently does have anti-oxidants that are good for you – but I think only dark chocolate. And we do know that dark chocolate does not taste as good as milk chocolate… (and Halloween is coming up…there will be so much candy!) but I think that if you get into the groove of only indulging in dark chocolate you’ll grow accustomed to liking it.

Safflower Oil for your skin: I’ve never heard of this. Safflower Oil is like olive oil, but it’s colorless and odorless and you can use it as a moisturizer. I’ve used vegetable oil when I made my own foot scrub! I worked so hard in high school to never have an oily face, and now they want me to put oil on my body. Psh. But I’d do it at night after a bath or something, I think. Especially with the dry winter months trying to make my skin cry.