Mom Zombie and Dehydrated Dead

If you're like me, you are probably somewhat a Zombie or as I say Momzombie.
They all say before having children, get your sleep now but honestly it's not like a bank account that you can stockpile and save and withdrawal from when you need replenishment. Then you end up crying your eyes out rocking your baby who won't sleep all night and needs to get fed every few hours and literally suck the life out of you. You think it's bad while you're in the thick of it and baby number two comes and has colic, and not regular colic but 8-12 hours a day or screaming, one who sleeps in 20-40 minute increments. You feel like you are barely going to survive. Then they get a little older and .....still no sleep! I cringe when I read the other moms posts on mom sites how amazing their kids sleep, eat everything you give them, never yell or talk back and are well hehaved, ok you're amazing and totally lucky. Those are the moms that look perky in the morning with Starbucks in hand walking into the preschool and you're a dissheveld mess with a cold cup of coffee sitting in the car that you lost 5 times this mornings while getting the kids ready, you're running in late with them pulling your hair and screaming.
Ok, so we can't fix all this and they grow up fast but while you're in the trenches you can try a few things to help you look and feel a little better.

The first question people always ask me is how do I look so young at almost 45 years old or how can they change their skin and make it look fresher or more alive. I'm not going to lie, some of it is lifestyle and some is genetics but there are other tricks. I'm the first one to say don't drink alcohol but I get it, some of you look forward to that glass of wine at the end of a long day. For those of you who need that, it's fine but you have to keep yourself balanced. 1 glass of wine, I say you need 12-16 oz of water to replace the hydration, if you have a second glass be ready to double up on the H2O. In general we all under drink water. Your body % varies a little in the amount of water it is made up of but safely it's around 70%. It is so easy throughout the long days we all have to run around using up enegry and grabbing lattes and diet cokes but less caffine more hydration. I'm guilty myself of getting a refresh on my "cold" cup to warm it before I head out the door but I do always remember my ginormous container that is 40oz filled with ice water before I run out the door and keep 2 steel cups that hold 30oz a piece to bed at night. I usually finishing one and sometimes moving on to the second one because yes, I wake up and drink water at night.
I'm not telling you to stay up all night drinking water but make sure you are drinking plenty and keeping fresh water with you all day.
I also love to spritz the skin with water in the day, naturally I use a special water that I make for myself and maybe down the road if I have people requesting I will put it out there but for now, you can use a small mist container and fill with fresh distilled water and if you have a favorite essential oil add a few drops. It’s a nice pick me up and it just feels good!

I can't help you with the amount of sleep but one trick I learned from my Shiseido rep, back in my Minnesota days, was to sleep on my back. This is harder than you think if you're a pillow hugger at night. I had been sleeping on my stomach forever and the thought of this boggled me. I use to wake up in the morning with bags under my eyes, pillow case creases on my face and a stiff neck. Changing that made a huge difference. I woke up more refreshed and looking better, the stiff neck thing....sadly I still have but oh well. I sometimes will lay on my side with my pillow between my knees but will flip to my back always with a pillow resting under my knees.
I hope you try this and see if this makes any changes in your skin. Sleeping on your face means you are rubbing, tugging and pulling the skin and getting friction on the face while and not get proper circulation to the skin, so overall it is just better for you.

Last but not least, MOISTURIZE your skin! I cannot believe how many people tell me they do not moisturize at all....EVER! I'm blown away by the amount of people who don't and do not properly take care of their face too. Ok, this is the same as drinking water. You need to hydrate your skin, period. I don't care what you choose to use but it needs a drink of water. If you don't moisturize and you look amazing, you are beyond blessed.
You hear me say all the time the skin is the largest organ right? You truly should be hydrating it twice daily, as well as your face. Your face is not excluded from hydration. You water your plants and if you don't what happens, they dry up. Sometimes you are able to save them by just adding water and they come back to life. Think of your skin as a plant, it can get dry and look lifeless if not taken care of. I will also tell you that protecting your skin from sun damage is important and taking precautions when you are outdoor as well as indoor from elements around you is important but lets start slow.

Wash your skin twice daily, I use my Nosh Body Gentle Wash because it’s so luscious and foamy, it’s infused with oatmeal and I love the way my skin feels. I use it on my face as well. After you was you should replace the moisture, at the very minimum. And please use one designed for your face and a different one for your eyes. Your eyes 100% need hydration as well and you do need to use a different cream for your eyes than for your face.
Why? Because the skin is extremely delicate around the eye area and if you use the wrong thing it will irritate your eyes. I have the most sensitive eyes and am very limited on what I can put around my eyes.
Everyone is different and we all have different skincare needs but the one thing in common we all have is we need to properly care for it. It's the only skin we have so do your best to take care of it.

On that note...I'm headed upstairs to remove my makeup (a must), take a shower and rehydrate.

Shalene Bain
​Nosh Body