Let's Face It

As Rita Rudner says in this fabulous little book I bought today called "I'm too young to be this darn old"..."I don't plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to have face-lifts till my ears meet."

Well, I didn't have a face-lift today...no radical surgery...but I did give my face a real lift...I went to have a facial...I had stalled long enough...my daughter had given me a gift certificate to the spa back in June...and I finally took the plunge...and it was so wonderful...my four month tension-filled face finally felt relaxed.

As I put on my towel wrap and prepared to slide under the warm covers on the massage table...I knew my 49 year old face was in for a treat...Donna, the facial therapist, put on soothing music and the scent of lavender filled the air...she examined my skin..."not too bad," she said, "but you have some breakout areas near your chin and around your mouth...are you having digestion problems?" she asked. (How could she tell from my face that I had irritable bowel syndrome...it was pure magic...she was a facial magician.)

"You should take acidophilus," she said, "to improve your flora and it will help that breakout area around your mouth and chin." (Imagine...from flora to face...and I thought it was the chocolate brownies I had eaten...or the other sweets I had consumed...when it really is the stress from my stomach that is causing my face to break out...I will have to keep eating my Activa yogurt that's supposed to fix my digestive woes...and then maybe my face will be fixed for good.)

Once Donna finished analyzing my face and dipensing flora advice...she moved on to exfoliate my skin, remove the impurities (as the brochure description said) and massage my face and neck...then there was the customized mask and treatment creams...it was simply divine...yes...my face felt like I was 49 going on 40...not 49 going on 50.

"You should have monthly facials," said Donna, "It will make your skin glow and your makeup will go on more smoothly." That's all I needed and I was sold...when the going gets tough...I'm going to get glowing...I went straight to the register...paid my bill and did something I always say I'm going to do, but never do...I made my next monthly appointment for November...and I'm going to promise my 49 year old self not to cancel it...or not to forget about it either...I'm going to put my facial appointment on my calendar...in big, bold letters..."Let's face it," I said to myself, "this 49 year old face has to keep glowing if it's going to look good when I'm 50."

And maybe next time I might even venture out and try another kind of facial...there are so many to choose from:

-the anti-aging hydration treatment...this is the one I want to try next...it incorporates a collagen veil for moisture & collagen stimulation with a warm paraffin mask appled over it for maximum penetration and hydration (my face could definitely use some stimulation...maybe if it was stimulated the wrinkles would fade away.)

- the lifting, firming and tightening treatment...this one sounds good too...maybe this is the next one I want to try...it's an intense facial that includes a medium retinal resurfacing treatment to soften facial expression lines. (I wonder what my face would look like if my facial expressions were softened?)

- Pumpkin Enzyme Peel...ooh, maybe I'll try this one next...wonder if they put pumpkin on your face...it says that this natural fruit enzyme has a powerful antioxidant and rich source of beta carotene.(I've eaten pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie...but I've never put it on my face...but I'm adventurous in my old age...I'm ready to try it.)

Oh, I think I'll just try them all...there are 12 months in a year...I have plenty of time for more facials.

Judi