Why this last thing? O Vanity...

Doing great. Got rid of my shampoo and conditioner. No more petroleum-based stuff in plastic bottles. No more buying deodorant. I still wear make-up, but minimally, and I try to be good about it too. Hair product... well, could be better there but I'm trying. I like my spiky-ness. My "perfume" is essential oil based if I wear it at all. No more hair color. At all. So I'm doing OK. Pretty good. Great?


Nope, NOT an author portrait!

 So, why this one last hold-out? I stopped believing everything all "they" would have us believe about pretty much, well, everything. I do not need their products in my life. We've cut so much "store-bought" crap-chemical products from our life that it's hard to scale back any more. But one thing I kept right on using: Moisturizer.

I've read so many things... our skin does what it needs to do. Yeah OK. If you strip the oils from your skin, it will over-compensate and produce more oil. Yup, sure. Skin naturally will lose elasticity etc. Yes, for certain. Time marches across our faces. Miracle creams abound. All criticize the others for not really working. New ones come out every 2 seconds. (That might be a slight exaggeration. We women all know only mascaras actually come out every 2 seconds. Moisturizers might be every 5 seonds, really.) New, improved, better, this works that doesn't, new technology, new ingredients, better, stronger, gentler, SPACE AGE! I finally stopped to think: almost every other product is full of lies and false promises. Why should I believe the anti-wrinkle people above everyone else I have put to the side?

Hmm. Good question. I have openly embraced my grey hair. In fact, it's not turning white fast enough for me. I've never worn a ton of make-up so I'm OK with keeping to a minimum. So why the continued obsession with moisturizers? Why the worry that if I skip it, I'll burst out into severe wrinkles immediately? I use a very natural soap that doesn't strip the skin of its oils TOO badly... still feels a little dry right after the shower, but all in all, I've discovered that if I skip the stuff, I'm actually still OK - the same - all fine - by the end of the day. I feel no different. It's only been a short time now, and I'm not yet convinced I'm in the clear, but all in all I... cautiously... think I might be just fine. I have not exploded into crow's feet. I don't notice any difference at all. But really, should I care? I'm all for looking as good as I can. For sure, I am blessed with my naturally oily Italian skin that keeps some aging at bay... but really, have I held on to this last social hang-up for no good reason? Do I really care how wrinkled I get? Do I care who knows my age or guesses it or even cares?

I'm trying to get in better shape, I'm eating better, I'm exercising more... I do want to look good. I have sun damage/age spots that I know betray me, and I would like to fade them. They do bug me. I try fade creams. They seem to work. I try to not obsess too much. It is what it is, ya know? I know there are natural products out there, I saw most of them as I wandered through the Natural Products Expo. But I was still left to wondering, do I really NEED this? Might my skin be fine on its own? Unfortunately, only time will tell, and by then it will be too late. But I really am tempted to just STOP. Yeah, again, sure, I may be lucky with my skin type that still grants me zits at an age I thought I would be long past them, but, I really think I can plain old stop. Or cut back, at least. Because, yes, those wonderful all-natural (all EXPENSIVE) products out there may be the tits (and I'm thinking some of my etsy friends out there do have GREAT natural products and not crazy-pricey! You know who you are!! Pipe up in the comment section!), they still lots of them come in plastic containers that I prefer to not have to use in the first place. I want to simplify. I want to STOP.

Can I? Should I? Would you, could you? Meanwhile, I have a lot of soul-searching to do to figure out why I could continue to fall for this one last great lie...