In our forties, my identical twin sister looked years younger than me. The shock triggered a surprising second career.
I was born a twin and will always be one. That will never change. My twin sister Chrissy and I grew up sandwiched between an older and younger brother, dressed in matching dresses and sneakers. No one could tell us apart except that my mother dressed me in blue sneakers and Chrissy in red. It never made sense to us why we should wear different colors because we thought everyone should know who we were. Chrissy had a chipped tooth so we always had to show our smile – that got annoying after awhile.At high school graduation, we really followed our own divergent paths. She went to one college, I another. She pursued computers and a technology career, I worked with troubled families as a social worker. It turned out that although the world saw us as “identical”, we really were – as we always knew - very different, indeed.
In one area in particular, our differences really showed. Chrissy had always been the savvy, fashion-minded one who could sew beautiful clothes and apply makeup flawlessly. Growing up, she flipped through beauty magazines, studying the photos, imitating the styles and spending far more of her babysitting money on lotions and beauty balms. I envied the chic way she dressed and the way she made her appearance eye-catching. I always felt that when it came to beauty, Chris and I might look alike, but she nearly always outdid my simple style.
Our lives continued down different roads. Although we both married within a year of one another and had two children each during the same years, we lived in different states thousands of miles apart and saw each other only on holidays and during our annual summer family reunion. It was during one of those reunions that I got the shock that ultimately triggered my second career.
By the time we had turned 42, Chris had grown concerned about dark circles under her eyes and opted for a C02 laser treatment, a procedure which required several days bedrest, a follow-up facial gel and six weeks of recovery. To maintain the improvements in her appearance, Chris occasionally underwent microdermabrasion and glycolic peels as well as an IPL laser treatment to diminish rosecea on her neck. I, on the other hand, did practically nothing beyond wearing mascara and lipstick and getting a good haircut. It wasn’t that I didn’t take pride in how I looked, it was just that I wasn’t willing to go to the lengths that Chris was.
That was until Chris traveled 1400 miles to our summer family reunion and I came face to face with just how different our appearance had become. We were no longer “identical.” I remember it clear as day. I said to her, ‘Come on, let’s look ourselves in the mirror.’ I was shocked at what I saw. Her face was smooth and mine was wrinkled. Her skin seemed tight and mine sagged. I felt like she’s the beauty queen and I’m the crone.
Trying to help me, she shared what she knew about the benefits of teeth whitening, Retinol and glycolic acid. I have to admit, the shock of how old I looked and how young she looked spurred me to want to learn more. I began researching skin care and scrutinizing treatments, quantifying what works and what doesn’t with the proof of clinical studies. I pored over medical journals and scoured the internet, Hoovering up whatever information I could about the simplest, least invasive, and most effective products and treatments that could improve my appearance. It became a very time-consuming hobby for the better part of three years.
During that time I learned a great deal about anti-oxidents, glycolic acid and vitamin C. I did cost comparisons on products that had effective ingredients. Sometimes I bought inexpensive drugstore lotions that were far more effective than upscale and costly department store brands, but more and more frequently, I began to experiment with homemade recipes for masks, scrubs, moisturizers and toners that I could make for pennies using simple ingredients I had in my kitchen cupboards. I had always enjoyed cooking, but developing these kinds of anti-aging skincare recipes was satisfying in a whole new way. Ultimately, I realized that I had spent a lot of time gathering information that other women like me might benefit from and be interested in. So I compiled my findings, constructed a website www.skincareresourcenter.com and wrote and published a book Naturally Skinsational: Rejuvenating Skincare Recipes, which I learned was the only anti-aging skincare recipe book of its kind. (You can find the recipe for making your own Honey Almond Scrub here.)