My Secret to Soft, Sexy Skin
January 18, 2007
Filed in: From the Beauty Editor
I’ve begun a new beauty regimen to soften my skin, particularly my white, ashy legs and my hard, calloused feet. This is because the balls of my feet are very gross, and every time I go in for a pedicure the little Vietnamese man says, “Oh, been a long time since last pedicure?” and then I have to admit that, yes, unfortunately it only happens about four times a year and even then it’s only spaced between a three-month period.
I try to laugh it off, as if it is acceptable to neglect my poor feet for so long. The little Vietnamese man does not laugh.
Instead, he makes a comment about how fat his daughter is because she eats American food, and how he stays thin by eating only Vietnamese food, which happens to be my favorite cuisine. Though you would never know by looking at my thighs spreading across the black seat, gently swaying as my back is massaged by the leather chair.
My beauty regimen does not consist of lotioning my legs and feet – no, that would be too easy – rather, I’m oiling them. Slathering them up like a turkey for the oven.
A certain person recommended to me that I use olive oil, furthering the analogy of the turkey in the oven, because she uses olive oil and loves it.
Her feet have never been so soft, she says.
Her husband has noticed a significant difference, she says.
And he likey-likeys very much.
I won’t say who she is, except she’s the same person who used to chase me around with an apple cider vinegar concoction for my teenaged pimply face. But that’s neither here nor there.
I cocked an eyebrow the first time she told me about the olive oil, and I’m sorry, Mom, but I just can’t bring myself to use it. Particularly because it costs $16 a bottle, but also because: on my legs? No. I draw the line at homemade vinegar remedies. What’s next? Bacon grease? Jarred capers?
I scoured my bathroom cabinets for an olive oil substitute, grabbing every bottle of liquid I could find hidden beneath the water pipes.
Jasmine Vanilla massage oil? Seems too extravagant.
Pink grapefruit lotion? Not the right texture.
Astroglide? I actually pondered this option for a while, and then decided No, that would probably be gross.
I finally settled on Neutrogena’s Body Oil, though I have no idea how it even got in our cabinet, because I don’t remember buying it. Did you leave it in my home recently? If so, I like it and you’re not getting it back.
I only put it on after I shower, because my skin is still a little damp and the moisture gets locked in by all the oil. In fact, even as I sit here, I’m massaging the oil into my legs. Except, oooooh. Slippery keyboard. Maybe I shouldn’t try that again.
The Neutrogena Body Oil (Light Sesame Formula) absorbs fairly quickly, which only means to me that I’m not left wandering around my apartment after Roger goes to bed, waiting for the oil to absorb so I can crawl under the covers without leaving an oily residue on the sheets. That? Would be gross.
(Though it would be impossibly nastier if the oily residue was in the shape of my entire body and made by a personal lubricant, so I guess there’s that.)
Comments
Body Butter from The Body Shop. You can thank me later.
Posted by: CPA Mom | January 18, 2007 09:41 AM
That sound, yep that's me dry heaving to that little extra comment you added there at the end . . . oh and you actually considering using astroglide for anything other than its intended purpose.
JESSICA two words . . . Baby Oil.
Cheap and it comes in a gel now. Use it at the end of the shower when you're still a little damp (and after you have washed your hair because baby oil and hair make for one big set of dreds). Trust me on this.
Posted by: Katie | January 18, 2007 10:09 AM
Hi Jes! Wow, my first-ever comment on Chirky and I'm only here to recommend Almond Glow. For an oil, that is. You can find it in Whole Foods, etc. I still personally haven't found the secret to smooth feet - but scrubbing the hell out of them with a pumice stone (a synthetic one works best), then slathering them with something and putting on some socks over the whole shebang seems to keep the funk at bay for a few days, at least ;)
Posted by: rosie | January 18, 2007 10:11 AM
Jes, the ancient Greeks used olive oil for the skin. They also used it to bathe. It's a remedy that's been around for a long time, so it might be worth something. I mean, I'm not going to grease myself up right before getting into bed (my sheets are not blotting paper, thank you), but that's not to say that it won't work very well.
Posted by: JLR | January 18, 2007 11:26 AM
I LOVE Neutrogena light sesame oil lotion too. It is light and smells great.
Posted by: Erinn | January 18, 2007 11:37 AM
I have to agree with the Body Butter recommendation from the Body Shop. I like Mango. I've tried everything, including the sesame oil from Neutrogena-- love the smell, but the moisturizing is much better from the body butter....
Posted by: Jenn | January 18, 2007 11:41 AM
Sesame oil? Really? You don't sit there smelling like stir-fry?
Posted by: Lawyerish | January 18, 2007 04:49 PM
HA. Stir-fry.
I actually don't smell like anything. Just me. No stir-fry.
(It's not like I was rubbing garlic and bok choy on my legs!)
Posted by: jes | January 18, 2007 05:04 PM
Actually, olive ol is great for everything- skin, hair, feet.
I know it sounds gross- I thought so, too, the first time my mother suggested it- but after I did start using it, my hair's never been silkier and skins never been smoother. You just have to wash VERY thoroughly after the oil sits into your hair/skin after an hour or two.
if you won't try THIS, there are olive oil-based products that are not as nearly as oily.
Posted by: Tasbee | January 18, 2007 08:16 PM
I've been using baby oil for a couple months now! K totally noticed a difference, too. It's really nice to use with it being so cold out.
Posted by: my life is brilliant | January 18, 2007 09:58 PM
Ah, the Beauty Editor strikes again.
Try Herbacin Kamille plus Glycerine. It smells great and is thick and rich and not at all olive-oily. I get mine at a beauty supply.
Posted by: Suebob | January 19, 2007 03:34 PM
I stopped reading at Astroglide ...
~Jef
Posted by: Edge | January 20, 2007 06:16 AM
I've used the Neutrogena oil before! It's pretty good. This stuff also rocks, and it's not greasy at all: http://www.johnsonsforyou.com/products_long.jsp?id=1#spot
Posted by: metalia | January 20, 2007 07:40 PM
I just tried Body Butter and OMG. Love it.
Posted by: Julianna | January 20, 2007 07:56 PM
Ooooh, I love that oil. That reminds me...I should get some. Also? Don't you love finding new product in your cupboards? LOVE. It's like a little present from the Pretty Fairy!
Posted by: Jurgen Nation | January 21, 2007 02:15 PM
Um... you just used Astroglide in this post...that's all I have to say.
Posted by: eddo | January 22, 2007 09:13 AM
I don't know about foot products, but it's a little known tip that crushed capers are great for removing stray moustache and chin hairs. Proven fact, some might say.
Posted by: kris | January 22, 2007 11:14 AM
My face and scalp ARE SO VERY OILY.
Why can't it make its way to my feet?
I used to use the Neutrogena Body Oil. I like the scent.
Posted by: AmStaff Mom | January 23, 2007 10:05 PM
I recently started using olive oil on my hair and skin. Eveyone keeps telling me I have beautiful skin. THATS NEW. I have never had beautiful skin. I think that you should also try using LYE SOAP. I gotta tell you, when I wash my face with it, it has nver been cleaner. The LYE SOAP will dry your face out but you must apply Extra Virgin Olive oil right after you pat dry your face. I too am in love with Neutrogena Body Oil. I started showering with the LYE SOAP and I cleans the heck out of your skin but it dry it so I slather on tha Body oil.
Try the Lye Soap. I order mine from Mo Soap online.
Posted by: Cuca | February 22, 2007 11:34 PM
I recently started using olive oil on my hair and skin. Eveyone keeps telling me I have beautiful skin. THATS NEW. I have never had beautiful skin. I think that you should also try using LYE SOAP. I gotta tell you, when I wash my face with it, it has nver been cleaner. The LYE SOAP will dry your face out but you must apply Extra Virgin Olive oil right after you pat dry your face. I too am in love with Neutrogena Body Oil. I started showering with the LYE SOAP and I cleans the heck out of your skin but it dry it so I slather on tha Body oil.
Try the Lye Soap. I order mine from Mo Soap online.
Posted by: Cuca | February 22, 2007 11:35 PM
Let me just start by saying that all soap is lye soap. If you don't have lye, you don't have soap. The difference is in the fat that is used. Soap is the result of a chemical reaction called saponification between lye (also known as potash, caustic potash, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide) and fat. Mo Soap uses tallow or lard (the cheapest alternative)as the fat in their soap. Tallow is the hard fat from sheep, cattle, etc. that is melted to seperate it from the fibrous membranes.(and some of you are squeemish about olive oil?) Any way, that fat is added to water and lye and then heated. The process neutralizes the lye and voila, you have soap.
Secondly, that Neutogena body oil may smell wonderful, but what price are you really paying? Speaking of price, the complaint above was that olive oil costs $16.00 a bottle. Well, I looked around at the price of Neutrogena's oil. Two 8.5 0z bottles ranged in price from $15 - $20. A litre or quart of olive oil is twice that amount for about the same price. I use extra virgin olive oil after my bath or shower while I'm still wet. It works great! If you don't like the smell of olive oil, just add a few drops of an essential oil. Your skin (and the rest of you) will thank you for it. Have a look at the ingredients on the bottle of body oil. Isopropyl Myristate, sesame oil, peg 40 Sorbitan Peroleate, propyparaben, BHT, and fragrance. The only ingredient that isn't synthetic is the sesame oil, but you can bet that it was chemically extracted from those little seeds and heated to the point that any nutrients were destroyed! Those synthetic chemicals are linked to cancer, impaired fertility, sense organ, neurological, gastro, liver, kidney, skin and respiratory toxicity.
Okay, I don't want to rant on and on, but I hate to see how many of us are sucked in by marketing tactics and risking the health of ourselves and our children. Please, educate yourself about what you're using on your body. Check out this site called skin deep http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php?key=nosign provided by the Environmental Working Group. You can search by product group, your exact product, or by ingredient. For more info on the many uses and benefits of olive oil, visit www.amazingoliveoil.com
Posted by: Lynn | May 8, 2007 11:57 AM
I just used the Neutogena body oil for the first time. I have a skin condition called serrohbicc dermatitis my skin get flacky, dry, cracks, and peels. If I take a shower to long my skin burns. Yeah, it's that bad. I cannot use perfumes. Neutogena body oil made my skin feel so amazing. I feel like I have suffered needlessly for years. I love this stuff. I paid $7.00 for the bottle @ walmart. That's a good price and I can save money on useless lotions that just make matters worse for me. I never thought one product could make such a differnce. I have paid so much money for perscriptions that burn, sting, and made me have to stay out of the sun. Why don't doctors recommend this stuff!!!
Posted by: miramey | July 10, 2007 03:03 AM