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The
Friday Five O'clock Blues
by
Jonathan Dare
It's
probably happened to you more times than you care to remember.
You started out the week feeling refreshed and relaxed after a
weekend of rest, good food, and outdoor activities. You had a
chance to spend a couple hours hiking, or playing tennis, or
maybe even swimming a few laps in the pool at the gym. At some
point you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you
thought, "I'm looking good". You've got good color and
your face looks healthy and strong. If only life was like this
all the time. Then suddenly you're hit with the dreaded
realization that you have to go back to work on Monday.
<<
Watch carefully for changes in skin tone and texture. Image
repeats every 15 seconds.
For
the next several days you find yourself sleeping less and
guzzling caffeine drinks just to keep going. If you're like me,
you missed lunch more than once during the week and had to snack
on whatever was convenient. You even promised yourself that you
would fit in a workout at the gym sometime mid week but somehow
that never happened. By 5:00 Friday you catch another glimpse of
yourself in the mirror, only this time you're not so happy about
what you see. Are your eyes playing tricks on you or do you
really look that bad? The real clincher comes when someone asks
you if you're feeling OK because you look so tired. The sad
thing is that you feel better than you look. It's Friday after
all and the weekend is here so what's the problem?
The
problem is that our modern life-style is harder on us than we
think and our bodies aren't designed for it. If things begin to
go wrong on the inside, the first signs often appear on the
outside on the face. Stress, lack of sleep and exercise,
dehydration, and poor diet all adversely affect our facial
appearances dramatically. In a way this is good because we see
first hand what our life-style is doing to us before it takes a
permanent toll on our physical well being. If we pay attention
to the clues we can make the necessary changes to avert further
damage. Most of us don't have the time or the money to visit a
spa so we rely on relaxation and play-time during the weekend to
pull us out of our physical ruts. There is a problem with this
kind of routine however. Five days out of the week we neglect
our bodies and on the remaining two days we repair the damage,
or try to. If only it was the other way around… work for
two and play for five. The "if only" list is a long
one. If only there weren't bills to pay, schedules to meet,
bosses to please, traffic jams, checkout lines, etc. … you
get the picture. If you're an image conscious man and you're
bothered by what you see occasionally in the mirror, you realize
that the blame game needs to end and a "take charge"
attitude must replace it.
If
you study the facial changes that occur after a long and
stressful week, here is what you may find. By Friday it's common
to see the appearance of dark circles, skin blotches, paleness,
droopy eyes and eyebrows, frown lines on the forehead and around
the eyes, puffiness, and a 7:00 am razor nick here and there.
Add them all up and their cumulative effect spells trouble. The
good thing is that most of them are treatable with proper sleep,
aerobic activity, healthy food, adequate water intake, effective
skin care and men's cosmetics. While it isn't my place to direct
you on how to eat right and sleep well, I can certainly coach
you on the skin care and cosmetic side of things. I have always
had a rule in life and as I get older I find it applies even
more. If you can't treat it or don't have time to, cover it up!
I also believe that "we are our faces". In other
words, the way we project strength, confidence, happiness and
the like is through our face. It's the first thing people see
and it always makes a first, and usually lasting, impression.
Do
what it takes to look good! Spend an extra five minutes in the
mirror and apply some useful cosmetics. Try a little Concealer
under your eyes to hide dark circles. Put some Bronzing Powder
on your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin for some added color.
Together these two products can do wonders for lifting a tired,
aged, or stressed face. If you apply them right, no one will
know you're using them. I always use a beard-shading product to
fill in my sideburns, and subtly lift and strengthen my
eyebrows. I noticed as I've aged that my pores have become
larger, so every Saturday morning I use an extraction masque
containing Bentonite and Kaolin to help refine and tighten them.
I follow that with a second masque, which uses Liposomes to
replenish some of the water and nutrients that the first masque
removed during the extraction process. Each morning and night
without fail I cleanse my skin and apply moisturizer. I look for
brands that contain Sodium PCA (NaPCA), which is a humectant,
and Tocopheryl Acetate and Linoleate, which are cosmetic terms
for vitamin E. These ingredients help diminish fine lines and
wrinkles and improve skin texture. To eliminate razor burn and
lessen the risk of an occasional nick, I prep my beard with a
Face Scrub. It all sounds a bit complicated but it isn't really.
It's just good common sense.
I
read many of the men's fitness magazines from cover to cover and
I find that the bottom line always seems to be the same. Whether
it's eating a balanced meal three times a day or exercising
regularly, the message I always hear is "take the time to
take care of yourself". It's a laudable goal, but
realistically it's difficult to follow through with all the
time. I've taken their advice one step further and regularly
indulge in weekly home facials and morning cosmetic
applications. I was a klutz at first but I got the hang of it in
no time. "Makeup and me? … No way" I use to say.
Then I said "screw it", I deserve to look good and
I've never regretted my decision.
Male
vanity is a powerful tool for self-improvement, but complacency
and intimidation work against positive change. I still skip
lunch on a regular basis and drink way too much coffee. I make
it to the gym more often, but I still can't always maintain a
regular workout schedule. I'm trying, really I am! I do know
this however, if I didn't give myself weekly facials or use
cosmetics to cover a weeks worth of abuse, I'd still have the
Friday 5:00 blues face… but I don't.
There
have been times when I've heard a voice from someone behind the
bathroom door saying "Hey Jonathan, are you giving yourself
an overhaul in there?" But you know something, I'm not
getting any younger by not taking the time to care for my face.
I would definitely look older if I stopped and it wouldn't make
me any wiser.
Copyright
2001 Jonathan
Dare
Image
provided by Studio5ive.
The
opinions and recommendations expressed in this article are the
sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the views of Studio5ive Skin System and its employees. Consult
your doctor before starting an exercise program or changing your
diet.
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