Last week I reached for something while I was wearing short sleeves and was shocked to realize that I have crepey skin. Maybe it's been there a long time and I just noticed it because I've been wrapped up in cold weather clothes, but whoa--the sight of papery, wrinkly skin on the underside of my arms was kind of a surprise. To put it mildly. Because we all know we are getting older every single day, but then you see crepey skin and are briefly knocked breathless from shock.
I mean, theoretically I am okay with this. Some of my favorite people from childhood had crepey skin, (though they probably would have died if I'd pointed it out to them). My grandmothers, my great aunt Virginia, various teachers and mentors--I loved those women, even adored some of them. I don't have bad memories associated with wrinkly skin. I don't remember having specific thoughts about it at all, but if I did they probably ran along the lines of huh. that must be how older women's skin looks. Which is exactly right.
But on the other hand, also: who the hell thought of this? Because it is a really bad idea.
So of course I googled it, because sometimes you really do need information. Apparently the number one cause of crepey skin (which some sites elegantly spell "crépey" which made me laugh because my college French may be rusty, but isn't the french word actually "crêpe"? ) Anyway. The number one cause of elderly-female skin is sun overexposure, which is ridiculous, because the main place I've noticed it is the under side of my arms and I can guarantee you my under arms have never been overexposed to the sun. I mean, how would you even do that? Recline on your chaise lounge with your arms raised up over your head?
Other causes of *cough* that kind of skin -- tobacco use (no), hormonal changes (maybe), dehydration (maybe), excessive weight loss (definitely not), but mostly it's just a symptom of aging. And the main way you counteract it is with moisturizers. Have we talked about moisturizers? Because it is a fraught issue for me.
Some people have always had very dry skin. My younger sister is one of them. She's had dry skin since she was in her twenties. When I go for a massage, I have to go home and shower off the massage oil because it sits on top of my skin and makes me feel greasy. But if my sister goes for a massage, she tells me her skin soaks that massage oil right up. And if you have that kind of dry skin, you probably know all about the best moisturizers for dry skin because you've been dealing with it for years. The recommendations below are not for you.
But this is new for me. Until I was in my 50s, the only type of moisturizer I could use on my face was oil-free, because otherwise I would break out like a teenager. The one I use now has "SODIUM PEG-7 OLIVE OIL CARBOXYLATE" fairly far down on the ingredients list (I just looked) so maybe this has changed. I do clean it off at night, though, with a microfiber washcloth.
On the off chance that you are in the same situation as me, here's what's working for me, and please let me know if you have additional ideas. Besides Kiehl's, you will notice that I tend toward drugstore options because there are plenty of things I would rather spend money on than moisturizers. Seriously.
Daytime moisturizer: like everyone else I know, I use Olay Regenerist Micro-sculpting Cream Moisturizer with SPF-30. Great stuff, and not all that expensive compared to the department store options.
Night-time moisturizer: Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Moisturizer (I would use this during the day but it makes my face shiny)
Hands: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion (I have to rinse it off my palms after I apply it, but it works great)
Cleavage (if you don't know why you need cleavage lotion, move along): Kiehl's Creme de Corps
Why the hell do we need so much moisturizer?
Those are not affiliate links (i.e., I don't make money off them), but for the record, I have no problem with people who use affiliate links, I'm just too lazy/privileged to figure them out for myself.
Have a nice weekend. We are doing something super cool this weekend but I can't quite believe it's going to happen so I'll let you know next week how it turned out.
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