A True Way To Tell A Women's Age

According to folklore, the true way to tell a women's age is to look at her knees or elbows. Whether plump and dimpled or dry as the bones in a Georgia O'Keefe landscape, these areas are a dead giveaway. The skin on the elbows and knees is some of the thickest and most neglected on the body, which, in most cases, means the dead skin just keeps piling up until it resembles your pet lizard's hide.

The first line of attack is to exfoliate them with a dry brush. Should they need extra help, you can use a body scrub, kosher salt, or dry oatmeal and a loofah will do just fine.

If your elbows and knees have attained true lizard status, use an AHA body lotion. AHA moisturizers work well to exfoliate calluses and get those areas up to speed, especially in the spring when you're ready to bare them after a winter of being covered up.

The best way to keep elbows and knees looking smooth is with balm, which is just a prettier name for ointment or salve. A balm soothes and softens even the body's roughest terrain, despite the fact that it's thick, waxy texture - a blend of semisold wax and sweetly scented oils - bears an uncanny resemblance to Crisco. Balms don't contain water, so they don't need preservatives - a plus 4 those with sensitive skin. Most have a moisturizing blend of sweet almond, lavender, jojoba, neroli, and rose oils.

The following are some of the best "elbow" grease products I've found: Bag Balm, Decleor Baume Aromatique Harmonie for Sensitive Skin ( African shea butter, neroli, and sweet almond oil), Guerlain Lipbalm (almond oil), Origins Rough Skin Soother, L'Occitane 100% Shea Butter, Natural Bisse Glyco-Skin Exfoliator Lotion (AHA), Common Sense Chamomile and Primerose Balm.

About the author:

Samantha shares her skin care secrets and beauty tips on A Chardan's World of Organics & Beauty. For more skin care tips and free beauty information visit http://www.chardanbeauty.com © 2001-2005 All Right Reserved