This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The sixties were a time of floating about dressed in seriously groovy clothes made from cheese cloth with voluminous sleeves, fabulously flared velvet loons, chiffon scarves wrapped around hennaed hair, reeking of patchouli oil and wearing a market stall’s worth of jewellery with the peace sign being the main design theme. Now let’s talk about the girls.
The aroma of a wet afghan coat is not one that leaves the mind easily especially when mingled with joss sticks so beloved of every middle class teenager pretending to be a drop out.
Not every one could be a free thinker waxing lyrical about ‘the man’ earnestly fumbling through the creation of a roll up cigarette.
With the revolutionary existence of girls who went to work after school, with more ambition than to just get married, there was money to be spent with all the freedom that went with it. The fashion and beauty industry set about making sure it was spent in their direction.
Advertising was becoming one of the most powerful industries worldwide. The beauty industry hit an all time high with more products being developed every day, keeping up with the science was a race against time to get the new creams ready to launch before more technology made them outdated.
It was finally allowable to care about your appearance and spend money on it.
Fashion became something that men could join in for the first time. Instead of being copy cats of their fathers wearing leather elbow patched sweaters and a plain tie, their shirt sleeves rolled up being the only way to make a rebellious difference, they had choice and lots of it.
Colour and pattern were rioting and forcing their way into every garment from shirts to shoes. It was fun to be young and resented by your parents for your freedom that they HAD missed themselves by only seconds.
Legendary shops such as Biba, Granny Takes a Trip and Chelsea Girl popped up and kept these girls and boys satisfied with new clothes arriving in the shops weekly to match the cravings for something new to wear at the weekends. Vast stocks of surplus military clothes became the everyday basics of many a serious guitar player and drummer. If you could say ‘I’m with the band’ you had arrived.
Butterflies adorned everything from clothes to shoes to faces. The whole fantasy about being ethereal and free was key to the mood of the times.
Quick pop quiz – how many 60’s songs can you name with the word free in the lyrics!
Throughout history this little creature has captured the imagination and found its way into art and literature virtually in every century that we have a record of.
The way the butterfly arrives in the world is of equal fascination and without the caterpillar and its journey to a new life there would be a distinct lack of children’s books.
When people take a break from socialising they are said to be hibernating. If you want to be alone you are said to be in a cocoon.
A cocoon can be any state where you are wrapped up somewhere nice and warm with nothing arduous to do.
If you want to take a break from your beauty routine and hide inside a cocoon of big jumper and boots to disguise the lack of grooming then at least make sure you emerge like a butterfly unfolding its beautiful wings and not like a sloth on day release.
The beautiful insect we so admire must be doing something more than just sleeping to be so gorgeous when it finally breaks free of the cocoon.
Likewise we should always be ready for our unveiling.
Best of all would be to keep up all your regular beauty routines for the entire year. Yes, you may not be wearing short skirts and flip-flops for a while but do you really want to look like a wild boar that is in need of a pedicure?
The more you wax your legs the less the hair grows back. Same for the other ubiquitous areas of course. Keeping your depilation up makes perfect sense.
Obviously your skin suffers from a different set of criteria in the autumn and winter months. Central heating, cold wind, scratchy fabrics and a diet based more around carbohydrates and less around healthy bowls of salad. all contribute to a skin that is dry and unbalanced.
We are always protecting ourselves from the weather whether it is hot or cold. Our skin is a very fragile organ and the slightest thing that can send it crashing out of control. Moisturiser is probably the most important ‘cocoon’ product.
The air is drier in winter and combined with the wind your skin loses moisture very quickly. The body produces a layer of warm air over the skin, which is called the boundary layer, when the wind blows this layer away we feel the cold air outside it and feel chilly. This layer is created through our sweat and we sweat all the time whatever the temperature around us. This leads to dry itchy skin that may look red, irritated or kick start your eczema or psoriasis problems. The skin looks thinner and you may develop more wrinkles or an unexplained rash.
First step is control the damage:
Make sure you still apply your SPF protection and increase your use of moisturiser.
Avoid frequent temperature changes.
Keep the heating down low – save money and save your skin!
Wear suitable clothes when out and about limiting exposure to the cold air.
Use moisturising masks – make one at home with equal parts of honey and yoghurt.
If your gloves or socks get wet take them off as soon as possible to stop damage like cracking or sore patches.
Keep up your exfoliating – an exfoliated skin absorbs more moisture.
Stay away from toners that contain alcohol and masks that contain clay.
No super hot baths and short showers. More money saved!
If your skin is flaking this indicates extreme dryness. Low humidity levels seep out all the moisture in your skin leaving it dry and lifeless. If the outer layer becomes damaged it loses pliability so the cells flake off.
Your skin can become flushed from frequent temperature changes and this is because the blood capillaries dilate and contract to adapt to the ambient temperature and the capillary walls eventually lose elasticity and increase the look of redness. Outdoor air parches the skin and indoor air toasts it.
It is not just your face that will be suffering – think about your hands too.
The skin on the hands is very thin and does not contain a lot of fat cells to protect it so keep applying the hand cream. With our fear of germs at this time of the year we wash our hands more often with anti bacterial soaps that are frighteningly drying – especially the soap in public bathrooms. Carry hand cream in a tube in your bag so you can massage some in right after washing.
Seasonal congestion – i.e. colds and flu – make us breathe through our mouths more, creating dry cracked lips. Licking your lips when they are dry is not a good idea as the evaporating saliva can cause cracks. Basic Chap Stick is your very friend, so don’t go out without it.
So what is a good moisturiser for this time of year? Moisturiser comes in two basic options.
1.Water based, which means ingredients that are humectants such as hyaluronic acid and glycerine attract water molecules to the skin. These are usually in a lotion form.
2.Oil based, which means ingredients such as mineral oil, Shea butter or petroleum, which soften the skin and form a protective layer on top.
These are usually in a cream form.
Water based creams are good for daytime as they are light and sink in quickly.
Oil based creams are more likely to be sold as night creams as they may take longer to absorb.
Body lotions are important as the clothes you are cocooning your self in wick away moisture from the skin increasing this dry and flaky situation.
Don’t waste your precious potions by applying over skin that has not just been freshly washed and do exfoliate once a week with a handful of brown sugar mixed with oil. If you can find coconut or avocado oil then use these.
With all the money you are saving on hot water and heat you can afford to splash out on a more expensive moisturiser as a treat.
Happy Trails Readers, Happy Trails.
First published October 2011 By the Dart
