Weird Beauty Tips, Vol. 1

It is not lost on me that this title is incredibly presumptuous, particularly considering that I am a 40-year-old woman with the same hairstyle I’ve had since ninth grade. I’ve never been up on beauty trends, and I don’t hide from that. However, the realization that my late 30s and early 40s hair, skin, and body are just a tad different than my 20s has recently had me exploring practical ways to dip into the fountain of youth and age with some kind of grace. So, here I am, offering up some weird beauty tips that I think are working for me, and are outside of the typical “Botox and eight hours of sleep” recommendations.

Let’s talk age spots. These little cuties started popping up on my face when I was pregnant, as is common when your hormones get all out of whack. However, they didn’t really disappear when I was unpregnant. The caked-on foundation look to cover these things up wasn’t my favorite LEWK, so to Google I went to figure out what to do to get these brown splotches out of my life.

Wear sunscreen (and don’t forget your hands)

First and foremost, if you’re not wearing sunscreen every day, what the hell are you even doing reading a post about beauty tips? We live in Florida, and the sun is ever-present, even in the winter. Wear sunscreen daily. There are plenty of moisturizers that have SPF in them, get one that has no less than SPF 30 and you’re not even adding a step into your skincare routine. Just slap it on your face and hit the door.

Here’s the part you may not think of when it comes to sunscreen. The second most common place to get age spots is the back of your hands. I remember the day I looked down at my hands and thought, “When did my mom’s hands become attached to my body?” The point being, apply sunscreen to the back of your hands, too!

Get your car windows tinted

Now for the weird tip part. For the age spots on my face, I noticed that the left side of my face was much worse than the right. I went to my dermatologist appointment recently and mentioned this, and she casually called it “the driving side.” It took me a full day or two to realize what she meant. The left side of our face gets more sun than the right when we’re driving because of the sun coming through the window. So, here’s a little beauty tool that you can’t pick up at Walgreens. Tint the front windows of your car.

Even if your windows come tinted from the dealership, take it to one of those sketchy places where you pay cash to go darker than limo tint and get them redone. This will stop the sun from blasting the left side of your face every time you’re in the car and slow down the age spots.

Hit up a med spa

Even with sunscreen and limo tint, brown spots will likely still pop up (again, Florida = The Sunshine State), so every now and then, go get IPL (intense pulsed light therapy) to get them blasted off. At a med spa, it typically costs about $350 to $500. I spoil myself and go once a year. This is absolutely a splurge for me, but the dramatic results are definitely worth it.

Be aware that if you get IPL, the spots on your face will be much darker for a week or so after you get the treatment, so plan accordingly and don’t do it the day before you go on a romantic weekend getaway.

I hope this helps all you fellow age-spot sufferers, and I look forward to sharing more weird beauty tips as I figure them out! Now, back to not styling my hair.

Katie Jones
Originally an ATLien, Katie Jones has lived in Jacksonville since 2009. Katie is a momma of two young girls and the Captain of a 31’ Barbie dream camper that she bought for them last year. When Katie is not celebrating her love of sarcasm and humor or writing posts for her design and lifestyle blog, she’s busy with her full-time job as Director of Operations and Design for a custom homebuilder, or working with clients through her design studio, RiverHouse Design Collective. She loves the camaraderie of the Jacksonville Mom team and is thrilled to be part of a community where we can laugh and figure this whole life and motherhood thing out together!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here