Lenny Kravitz loved his Mum sooo much he named an album after her…Mama Said – True / False ?
For Lenny lovers,we all know this to be False. ‘Mama Said’ wasn’t an album filled with helpful tips like – don’t pick your face or always take a jumper with you just in case the weather changes. It was an album he made after his divorce from actress Lisa Bonet in 1993 .
Spanning cultures, over centuries, Mothers have been dispensing skin care advice.
Like generational recipes, our first initiation into the world of skin care and cosmetics is commonly by our mothers, whose mother’s before them, have dispensed the same advice; sound or otherwise.
My Mother Val was a vast consumer of skin care products, with a bathroom cabinet rivalling any major city department store beauty counter. Mum introduced me to the importance of caring for your skin and developing healthy skin care habits. However she may have been a little too relaxed when it came to sunscreen!
Researching this blog ( coffee with girlfriends ), I discovered overwhelmingly, the most common skin care tip given by the wise sages that are our Mothers, was to always take your makeup off before going to bed – sound advice !
Rate or Slate – Ten skin care tips our Mothers shared. Have they survived the test of time and what, if any, do they still rate in today’s age of innovative and active skin care ?
1 . Aerin Lauder-Granddaughter of Estee Lauder – My Grandmother always said “You only have one face; take care of it. No matter how tired you are, cleanse and moisturise , stay out of the sun and drink water”
✔ Rate – aside from the excellent skin care pedigree, Estee’s advice covers all of the fundamentals of good skin care- Cleanse /Treat /Protect and Hydration!
2. Veronica – It wasn’t the best advice I got from my Grandma…she used to tell me to pinch my cheeks to add colour to them (talk about broken capillaries which I have a few) , then she said bite, pinch & lick my lips to add colour & shine to them………….
✗ Slate The repetitive injury of pinching the cheeks would certainly have caused the diffuse redness or telangiectasia you mention, especially susceptible in a fragile skin. A less injurious method of creating an healthy glow might have been the application of good ole fashioned rouge! The continual licking of the lips to add shine creates a drying environment…nothing a slick of lipstick wouldn’t fix!
3. Nicole – The best beauty advice my Mum gave me is to be sun smart and protect my skin by wearing a broad spectrum moisturiser or sunscreen, hat and covering up at the beach!
✔ Rate – can’t argue with this advice. Nicole’s Mum is super sunsmart!
4. Rebecca Judd, Television personality / Blogger – The best beauty advice my mum stressed was to be wary of wasting money on expensive ‘wonder’ products and instead invest in quality skin treatments from time-to-time. Our family favourites include QV Skincare’s Cream and Musq Cosmetics Clay and Rice face scrub.”
✔ Rate Rebecca’s Mum is spot on! A cream doesn’t have to be expensive to be efficacious, it just needs to have ingredients that work!
5. Melanie – My mother taught me not to squeeze pimples instead steam face and put a hot face cloth on it to bring it to a head and then apply toothpaste to dry it out.
✗ Slate This at-home method is one to avoid! Toothpaste can contain ingredients such as Triclosan, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and menthol, which can inflame, irritate and sensitise the skin. Steaming the face when there is active infection and inflammation further exacerbates an already irritated skin. Stick instead to anti inflammatory/antibacterial products containing Salicylic acid.
Dr Nina Wines of Northern Sydney Dermatology says. “Don’t pick or squeeze!“
Our hands and nails carry millions of bugs – some good, some bad,” dermatologist “When the skin is touched, scratched or picked constantly, these are transmitted to the face and usually makes acne worse.” Mum was also right about not squeezing, as it will cause scarring. “Squeezing causes the debris in the already inflamed follicle to penetrate even deeper into the dermis,” Dr Wines says. This can lead to permanent scarring.
✔ Rate Go with the advice of Dr Wines and your Mum on this one!
6. Simone – My Mum taught me to use lemons for their bleaching effect – for the dark skin on your elbows, on freckles and sunspots on your face, – add lemon in your hair and the sun will give you that bleached sunkissed look.
✗ Slate Whilst lemons have long been known to have lightening properties, some people may develop a condition known as phytophotodermatitis after lemon juice has been applied to the skin and exposed to the sun. Explore other treatment options such as lPL which are more effective in the removal of brown spots and ephilides (freckles).
7. Sam – Eating chocolate gives you pimples!
✗ Slate Scientists and researchers have tried to find a link between breakouts and eating chocolate, but there’s no evidence to support the claim. Some studies have shown diets high in protein, fat, sugar and dairy have an adverse effect and since chocolate contains all of these ingredients,it’s best to avoid but it’s not the only factor in contributing to pimples.
8. Carolyn – Mum always said that cucumber is great for puffy or sore eyes
✔ Rate Chilled cucumber is a great natural way to treat puffy and swollen eyes. The enzymes and astringent properties contained in cucumber helps to reduce inflammation. Cucumbers contain vitamins A,C,K and Pantothenic acid which helps your skin retain moisture.
9. Camilla – My mum says “why spend all your money on those expensive products, all you need is a bath and soap”!
✗ Slate Good hygiene is important.Using a soap which is not PH balanced can be very drying to the skin. Skin’s surface has a naturally acidic nature balanced between 4.5 – 5.5 where soap is very alkaline upsetting the acid mantle of skin which has a natural protective flora preventing infection.This flora is stripped by soap exposing it to infection. It’s best to stick to a cleanser that is slightly acidic maintaining the protective acid mantle of the skin.
10. Kate – My Nan told me to rub Vaseline on my eyelashes to make them grow.
✗ Slate Sorry Kate your Nan did get this one wrong.There is no benefit in rubbing any kind of lubricant into the eyelashes for accelerating growth!
Finally I asked my daughters what skin care tips they have absorbed from me?
A resounding and unanimous ‘sunscreen Mum’……a proud moment!
ASkinSolutions x
