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​Granny’s Beauty Advice—Does it Work?

Posted by Posted by Dana Ramos, author of the best-selling book: The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin. See purchasing information below. on Feb 10, 2016

Should you pay attention to beauty advice from a woman who told you not to kiss a boy on a first date? Yes, sometimes…

Posted by Dana Ramos, author of the best-selling book: The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin. See below for purchasing info.

My dear Granny was probably a lot like yours and you might have heard advice such as, “No kissing on a first date,” and, “Always wear clean underwear.” (However, your mother might have gone to Woodstock and you could have heard some very different advice about boys—and wearing underwear was considered optional, considering that she might have burned her bras at a feminist rally).

We can talk about Mom and her fondness for the Grateful Dead and special brownies recipe for another day: Today, we’ll focus on some of Grandma’s beauty tips to see if they still hold up.

1. “Don’t over-pluck your eyebrows, they won’t grow back.” This is true to a degree: Eyebrow hair plucked too often will end up with distorted roots and might stop growing or grow back crooked. Whatever you do, never pluck the tops of your eyebrows—you don’t want to lose the arch lines; and keep in mind that full eyebrows provide wonderful frames for the eyes and look youthful.

2. “Mix some vinegar with cold water to use as a final rinse after shampooing.” This, as well as rinsing with the coldest water possible, is said to give you shiny hair, and yes—it works! Vinegar helps remove dulling residue and cold water does indeed promote shiny hair.

3. “All you need is cold cream to remove makeup and cleanse your skin.” No, Granny—not if you have oily and/or acne-prone skin or if you don’t want to leave behind greasy residue. Cold cream can also clog the pores. Granny, you would have loved the Gentle Cleansing Lotion for cleansing your skin. And if your skin needed a little extra exfoliating, using the Basics 3-in-1 Cleanser with fruit acids and scrubbing crystals would have made a much bigger difference in your skin than cold cream.

4. “Always wear a big sun hat outside to keep your skin from getting old.” Oh Wise Old Woman, you knew before the scientists did that the sun was very bad for your skin, so you wore an ugly old gardening hat all summer—that’s because you didn’t have great sunscreens like the  Cotz Face with 40 SPF to protect from premature aging and discoloration spots.

And for those lines and spots that came aboard anyway, you poor sweet thing, you didn’t have fabulous peels to reverse the damage, like  the 1-4-All Peel that you could layer to make a mild or stronger peel. And your doctor didn’t even know about medical-grade peels like the Jessners or TCA 13%, or the new-fangled Internet where you could order them to use at home. Because you were so wise and practical, how excited you would have been to save so much money by doing these peels at home—and you surely would have read the directions very carefully before using those strong products.

5. “Sleep on a satin pillowcase to prevent wrinkles.” Granny, it doesn’t work, sorry. But you didn’t have many choices: Now we have the incomparable  Retinol Molecular Serums, a go-to choice for dermatologists world-wide.

6. “You can fade discolored skin or age spots with lemon juice.” Again, Granny—this won’t work, but kudos to you for having the right idea of using fruit acids to improve and even-out skin tone. In fact, most of our modern skin acids designed to give us smooth, glowing skin, like  Glycolic Acid, are fruit-acid based and much stronger. As for the spots, try Fade Bright Lightening, which is far more effective than lemons.

7. “Put cold, used teabags on your eyes to reduce puffiness.” Thanks for the tip, Grandma—that is actually really soothing! But for real puff-reduction, roll on a bit of  Eyelift Xpress and top that with Platinum Eyes Restoration Therapy. It works so much better! Another excellent, and natural ingredient to reduce puffiness and swelling is pure Emu Oil

8. “ Homemade egg and mayonnaise masks will nourish your skin.” The  Apple Stem Cell Caviar Extract Hydration Mask is much better for nourishing, Granny. And also, the Antioxidant Enzyme Mask provides gentle exfoliation with fruit enzyme extracts that help dissolve dead skin and restore radiance.

Please don’t be offended if we don’t always heed your counsel, Grandma. We surely appreciate your telling us, “Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses,” and “Always let a boy win at playing chess or checkers,”—goodness, how would we have ever found Prince Charming without such valuable guidance? Your wisdom will always be appreciated, even if just for a good laugh—sometimes. And when it comes to beauty and skincare, just remember that you’re never too old to learn about—and try— a new thing or two!

Where can I buy Dana's Book?

The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin, available as a Kindle download or Buy paperback to buy your paperback copy from Platinum Skin Care. You can also read the first chapter--FREE--by click here to read 1st chapter.

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