Everything I learned, I learned from my mother – beauty secrets included

Recently, my mother spent an entire week with my son while I was traveling for work. One of the biggest signs of L-O-V-E. :) Not that he’s difficult at all – because he’s not – but the fact that she sacrificed her time and energy to be me for a week really meant the world to me. (LOVE YOU, MOM!)

Once I was back in town, though, we had a chance to catch up on family, friends, next stages in life, random topics, etc. Then out of the blue, I asked her what she would do differently (beauty-wise) if she had it to do all over again. Seeing that this is 50+ years of wisdom from a beautiful woman, I didn’t want to keep her wise musings all to myself. So here you go:

1. Take care of your teeth. You only get one pair. Brush twice a day, and floss, floss, floss! Gum disease is real.

2. Make sure your bra and panties match. It’s a small thing that can go a long way.

3. Instead of all the facial cleansers out there today, I should’ve just washed with a mild cleanser and used Vaseline on my face at night.

4. Get 8 hours of sleep and drink plenty of water. Seriously.

5. Don’t smoke or drink too much alcohol. It will dry out your skin and cause premature wrinkles in the long run.

6. Stay out of direct sunlight, especially in your 20s. Use moisturizer with SPF daily.

7. Don’t eat too much red meat or a big dinner.

8. Use Summer’s Eve douche after “that time of the month” to cleanse your woman area. :)

9. If you don’t know how to take care of your hair, find a good stylist that does and go religiously. Your hair and skin say a lot about you.

10. Stress isn’t worth it and can reek havoc on your skin. If you stress over cleaning the house, get a maid. Don’t want to mow the yard? Hire someone to cut your grass. Find ways to eliminate stress and save yourself time and worry (and frown lines).

11. Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you worry over every little thing, it will start to show on the outside.

12. To trick your body about stress, stop what you’re doing and take deep breaths. Your skin will love you for it.

13. Don’t get fake nails. I had them for years and they’re just not worth it. Natural is always best.

14. Don’t worry about the fads of today. Just dress in what accentuates your particular body type. And if you have it, flaunt it!

15. Before you go to bed at night, put lotion or Vaseline on your feet. Then cover them with thick socks. You’ll wake up in the morning with moisturized heels that don’t look dry and ashy.

16. Wash your face and brush your teeth before you go to bed. Don’t let make-up sit on your face overnight.

17. Wrap your hair EVERY NIGHT.

18. Love your body. Be good to it. You only get one temple.

Hope that helped!