Do you spend 15 minutes washing your face, putting on your night cream, eye cream, neck cream, bust cream, and then another 15 minutes setting your curls and wrapping your hair only to wake up with pillowcase creases on your face and bedhead? Well that picture just isn't pretty. Well blame your pillow! Cotton pillow cases, although comfy, can cause premature wrinkling and hair breakage. The solution? Sleep on silk! Silk won't absorb your face cream or hair oils leaving them perfectly moisturized. Hair effortlessly glides over the silk so you can say goodbye to frizzy, broken hair and hello to glamorous curls! Though I'm not getting much sleep these days, the little bit I do get still counts as "beauty sleep" thanks my silk pillow. Okay got to go ladies, baby needs to eat...again!
Well not my own since I've been blissfully wed for 8 years, but perhaps they're your wedding bells! Brides.com has some great idea's on how to incorporate some vintage Mad Men appeal to your wedding. Enjoy!
"Congratulations! It's a boy!" Oh what joy, what excitement, what bliss, what... what happened to my body! Now I'll be the first to admit that my body wasn't "pin-up" ready before pregnancy. In fact, I was still working on losing the baby fat from baby#2 when we found out about baby #3. So now, as I sit with my thoughts in my middle of the night breastfeedings, I started to wonder how the glamour girls of yesterday got their figures back. It was pretty tough finding out their secrets. Here is what I found out in my research as well as stuff that was popular at the time and advice from my grandma.
{Things the glamour girls probably did that we should do}
Wear a postpartum girdle -My grandma gave me a girdle after my 1st son, and I never wore it. Sadly I was left the the infamous "mommy pooch". With my 2nd son I wore a light support girdle and my tummy went down quickly, though I was still left with the pooch. So now after my 3rd son I took heed to my grandma's advice and wear a heavy-duty postpartum girdle. After 2 weeks I'm happy to report that my tummy has gone down to nearly normal and even my pooch is starting to disappear. Grandma does know best!
Cod liver oil - You might remember me recommending this supplement in a previous article. In the 40's & 50's, cod liver oil was considered so vital that it was given to children every morning in school and recommended for infants. So because of it's popularity (and it's nutritional value of course!), our pin-ups probably took cod liver oil to help get themselves back into shape.
Uterine Massage - Still recommended today, uterine massage helps to shrink the uterus back to it's normal size. Massaging also helps to stimulate blood flow to skin tissue to repair stretched skin. Try using a nourishing oil like Jackie O's favorite sweet almond oil for even more benefits!
Weight Training - We've all admired Marylin's famous pic of her weight training, and considering that Jayne Mansfield's husband was a weight trainer, she most likely weight trained as well. If it worked for them it'll work for me!
Minimal Processed Food - Need I explain ladies? They didn't eat protein bars, no red bulls, or soy shakes. They did however have fruit, yogurt, cheese, nuts, and milk. Basically, they ate real food!
{Things the glamour girls probably didn't do but should have done}
Breastfeed - Breastfeeding was at an all time low in the 50's. That is a shame because not only is it a super food for baby, but it also helps mom to lose baby fat and shrink the uterus to normal size quickly.
Hip Slimmer - Okay this one really isn't fair, it wasn't available in the 30's, 40's, or 50's. But we have it now baby! This nifty corset sits low at the hips to help your hips return to normal.
Pilates - Although Joseph Pilates was training and promoting his philosophy of body conditioning in the 50's, it was not nearly as popular as it is today. Pilates exercises fit the pin-up mentality of exercise to a T; it's enjoyable, energizing, no grunting or hard bodies, creates long muscles with lots of natural curves.
{Things the glamour girls might have done that we definitely should not}
Crash Diet - Even back then there were plenty starvation diets that were popular. Some starlets even resorted to "diet" pills. Not a good idea then, and not a good idea now.
Smoking - Cigarettes were advertised as a healthy way to lose or maintain your weight. Yuck. No thanks.
Lastly, remember that though yesterdays glamour girls seemed practically perfect after baby, but they weren't. If you look closely at Jayne's picture above, you can see her stretched out tummy. Is she any less hot? Of course not! So let's shoot for "better", not "perfect".
Last week I shared with you the many things that contribute to saggy breasts. And by now you have hopefully decided to put an end to crash dieting, quit smoking and come to terms with the effects of gravity. But what's next? We fight the good fight of course! So here's the plan to keep (or reclaim) our breasts fabulously firm! ~Find a bra that fits~ Much easier said than done I know. Shopping for a bra is sorta' like shopping for jeans...exhausting and depressing. To make it easier on yourself get professionally fitted, and I don't mean the sales girl in the lingerie department. Find a boutique that specializes in undergarments, have them fit you and try on a million bras. Tedious? Yes. Worth it? Definitely!
~Give the girls a good rub down~ Massaging your breasts on a daily basis help to increase circulation and relieve lymphatic build up. Here's a nice video clip that demonstrates how to drain the lymph from your breasts.
When you massage your breasts, concentrate on lifting and molding your breast tissue in the way you feel they should be, up and out. Remember that an ill-fitting bra probably pushed your boobies towards your underarms so you have to coax it back where it belongs. Although you can use any lotion or oil to massage, I prefer to use oils that are packed with skin healing properties such as virgin coconut oil, camelina oil, pumpkin seed oil and emu oil, or you can also use a firming bust cream (more on that later).
~Nourish your boobies from the inside out~
1. Cod Liver Oil with High Vitamin Butter Oil: Cod Liver oil is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids that help to keep the skin moisturized and plump. Vitamin A in cod liver oil helps to regenerate healthy breast tissue keeping it smooth and supple. Take it along with the butter oil to boosts the effects.
3. Virgin Coconut Oil: Virgin Coconut Oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat rather than the dry hull. It smells just like fresh coconut milk too! It's loaded with enzymes, antioxidants and essential fatty acids (in the perfect proportions). Most importantly it has saturated fat which it vital for healthy, hydrated skin cells.
Don't believe fat is important for healthy skin? This is what skin looks like when deprived of fat...
Teri Hatcher's skin looks dry, flaky, thin and fragile
Ava Gardner's skin on the other hand still looks plump, dewy and smooth though she is much older in this picture than Teri is in the picture above.
~Bust Creams...and I don't mean the ones that claim to grow your peaches into watermelons!~
Use a bust cream with peptides. Here some info on the science behind peptides, but basically they firm up your skin. You can use this cream to massage your breasts or mix in a little oil to give it more slip.
~Exercise Your Boobies, or rather the muscles underneath them~
Here's exercise that is done with light weights. Pay no mind to those "bigger bosom" ads, I like you just the way you are!
A reshaping bra claims to retrain the breast tissue back to it's correct position,up and out. There are two brands , Jeunique and Ardyss, that I have found. I was very curious about these bras so I bought 4 from Jeunique and decided to give it a go. I used it for about 2 weeks and was pleased with the immediate "perky" results. They definitely gave me that sweater girl look. At the moment however, I'm living in nursing tank tops and sleeping nursing bras, so I will have to revisit the reshaping bra and give you a more thorough review later.
So there you have it ladies, your plan to win the fight against Saggy Boob Syndrome! Good luck and make sure you give me an update on your results.
A special delivery indeed! Monday morning, a whole month before my due date, bouncing baby boy # 3 made his debut. Though he weighed in at a mere 5lbs 1 oz, he is determined to gain weight fast! Our marathon breastfeedings leave me with very little time and energy to do much writing at the moment, but it does give me plenty of time to ponder about my next vintage beauty series. And the top one on my list is "How did those silver screen sirens and pin-up hotties get their figures back after pregnancy?". I'm sure you can understand why this is at the top of my list!
But what about our boobies? Don't worry darlings, I'll be posting our plan of action to take our breasts from pitiful to perky on Wednesday.
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