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Is Your Face Getting All the Attention?

It is important to put your best face forward, but if you’re not treating of the rest of your skin, it’s time to expand your beauty routine and make a full showing!

Here are a few skin-care tips for the rest of you-

Feet

Use Listerine (Yes, the mouthwash!) to soften dry, rough feet. WebMD says mix one part Listerine with two parts warm water and soak your feet for 15 minutes, twice-a-week. Family Savvy offers an alternative “Listerine and Vinegar foot soak” recipe. To remove dead skin, mix ¼ cup Listerine, ¼ cup vinegar and ½ cup warm water. Soak feet for 10 minutes. Also try warm water with tea to help fight bacteria and sweaty feet. And, when you’re done soaking, massage the rough areas with a pumice stone. Remember to apply a foot cream after the treatment to help prevent more rough spots and callouses.

Hands & Nails

Treat rough skin with a homemade olive oil and sugar scrub. Mix together ¼ teaspoon each sugar and olive oil and massage into the backs of hands once a week. Olive oil is a wonderful source of moisturizing omega-3 fatty acids, and the sugar buffs away rough patches. Always glove up when working outdoors or doing dishes.

If your hands look older than the rest of you, Oprah’s How to Make Your Hands Look Younger suggests Retin-A or products that contain antioxidants like Vitamin C or CoffeeBerry. Talk to your dermatologist about laser treatments for age spots or crepey skin. Retin-A and other products containing retinoids make skin more susceptible to sun damage, so protection of any treated areas from sun exposure is mandatory.

Nails can become brittle as we age, too. Use nail polish and removers free of formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate—also known as being “3-Free.” To moisturize your toenails, use a cuticle cream, petroleum jelly or Vitamin E oil.

Knees & Elbows

To lighten dark patches on your elbows and knees, rub a slice of lemon on them. Leave the juice on for 10 – 15 minutes than gently towel off. Don’t go out in the sun wearing lemon juice. It will have a reverse effect on your skin and cause it to darken further. As for saggy knees, Fitness Magazine and Truth In Aging offer some knee-toning exercises.

Neck

Thin skin on the neck can begin to lose its elasticity due to the breakdown of collagen bands below the skin’s surface, resulting in the well known “Turkey Waddle.” At-home treatments can help plump your skin, minimize wrinkles and even out discoloration. To clear the way for anti-aging creams, Allure’s 5 Ways to Get a Firm Younger Looking Neck advises extending your daily exfoliant all the way down to the top of your chest. Then use dedicated neck creams with tetrapeptides that can help slow collagen and elastic tissue loss. To help fade skin spots, use a bleaching cream that contains kojic acid or mushroom or licorice extract. Topical hydroquinone creams for use on areas of darkened pigmentation may also be prescribed by your dermatologist. With any topical skin-lightening treatment, you must be patient as results can take months and take special care in protecting the treated skin from sun exposure.

To deal more aggressively with neck wrinkles, tightening loose skin, improving discoloration and reducing neck rolls, talk with your doctor about in-office therapies available such as such as dermabrasion, chemical peels, B otox®, photofacials, fractionated laser resurfacing, and ultrasound or radio frequency firming procedures such as Ultherapy or Thermage;  or  surgical procedures such as liposuction and platysmaplasty (a “neck lift”).

The whole point is: Summer’s coming, so start now. Take a holistic approach to skin care and show off a healthy glow from head to toe!