Skin is our largest organ weighing in on average 8 pounds and covers 18-22 square feet of our body. There are so many options to care for our skin. What’s a woman to do to figure it out so we have the youthful looking skin for as long as possible? Thankfully we’ve come a long way from the “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” approach to having to stand up rain showers or big bathtubs and spas to wash our skin in.
18-22 square feet is a pretty large area! Shedding the top layer naturally on a daily basis. With the help of exfoliation, we may be able to speed up the process. Rumor has it the natural shedding of the epidermis slows down as we age. Oh boy, does that explain wrinkles? Nah, I think it is more about losing elasticity as we age. We can, however, help our skin by using poufs or luffas.
I remember when growing up, my mom had a luffa. I never really asked what it was or why she had it? She never really sat me down and said, “Dear, this is what you use to exfoliate your skin.” To me, it just looked creepy hanging there on the shower caddy. I was young, so I stayed clear of it.
When I turned 50, I figured it was time to help speed the shedding process. I decided to take the plunge and join the ranks of women speeding up the dead cell removal. I was a bit naive, thinking to myself, “Who could be wrong by buying something that looks good in the bathroom?” I simply bought my first pouf based upon a color. A non-creepy color to hang from the shower caddy. Matching my bathroom decor seemed particularly important. It’s all about coordinating right?
My daughters, with their youthful skin, had been using poufs way before me. It had to be the exfoliating as the reason right? Score, lucky me, Wal-Mart had the pretty poufs for $1.00. Finally, in my arsenal of youth, a cheap way to get the dirty deed done and look younger in the process.
The Wal-Mart poufs are pretty cool…at first. The longer you use them though, the faster they unravel, grow and just seem like they aren’t doing the trick. How disappointing is that? I was complaining about needing a new one to my daughter and how I wasn’t sure if they really worked. She said, “Maybe you’re not using the right one? If it is too soft, it isn’t exfoliating.” What? They all look the same, and mine feels softer than the one she was showing me. They were all mixed in one of those center aisle bargain bins. I assumed they were all the same. She had one with an eco-friendly tag too. Ahh…that must mean it is better for me and the environment.
Hmmm…so I compared them thinking more about her exfoliating comment. It did make more sense. A little rougher texture might be the thing I was missing? I tried it. Even though I was a bit apprehensive. It was hard to get past how rough it felt just holding it. I simply reminded myself exfoliating is the goal.
“I regret taking such good care of my skin” — said no one ever
The Winner Is
The eco-friendly pouf won hands down. In the picture, it is the one on the right. No surprise, I can’t visually see any more youthful skin. Oh darn. But, my skin does feel softer and the rougher pouf did the trick. I love it when my daughters teach me new things, especially about beauty tips. What about you, do you think women should pouf or not? What poufs or luffas do you use?
