Kimberly

Age: Mid-50s

Location: Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Skin Type: Combination

Skin Concerns: Wrinkles and sagging with some blotchiness on my cheeks, keeping my neck from getting increasingly saggy/crepey-looking.

My precious grandmother raised me with her words of grace and wisdom. I will always remember her saying to me, "No matter where you are going, you should always be clean and  look your best. Put a smile on your face, stand up straight, throw your shoulders back, and know that you are somebody special! If you look good, you'll feel good too."  Yeah, yeah, Grams.

I didn't have any special beauty regimen in my earlier years, just Dove soap. My teenage acne cleared up in my late teens, and my skin was pretty clear.  While in college, I always kept my skin clean and began using a generic type of moisturizer when I remembered.  My only anti-aging skin care was an OTC Neutrogena retinol cream which I started using in my early 30s and continued through my 40s. Having been a nurse for years, I just didn't have the time to spend on a proper beauty regimen, and so I didn't. I was blessed with good skin genes and didn't give it much thought.

The "good skin years" went by, and I made the fateful mistake of using a tanning bed for three to four years in my late 30s/early 40s. It didn't seem to age me until I turned 50. Suddenly, there was no essence of that "girl with the good genes" looking back at me in the mirror, but rather a very mature woman with newly developing skin concerns.

Horrified, I tried every crazy beauty scam out there to no avail. My skin was getting lines faster than the highway system, and my skin's structure was losing its scaffolding like it was kicked out from under me. I had always been pleased to have had good genes, but they were failing fast.  I tried every highly touted skin care product out there without a thought to what might be in the products. Alas, nothing was helping.

During one of my frantic internet searches for the magic bullet, I found the Truth In Aging website, and the TIA community has been my "Beauty Encyclopedia" since that very day. I have learned so much here about scientifically proven skin care ingredients, ingredient safety, nature's own skin care and the necessity of a proper skin care routine. I can actually say, that now when I look in the mirror, I can still catch a glimpse of that girl I used to see. I know there is no magic bullet, but I feel more confident about aging gracefully now, and swear by the wonderful, scientifically proven and TIA reviewed skin care products I am using. I am still working on that "turkey neck" and fighting wrinkles, but feel more confident about myself once again.  I thank Marta and the TIA community for that. And I can't wait to see what wonderful skin care ingredients and procedures that Mother Nature, science and Marta bring to us in the future.

I am not embarrassed to go out in public like I was a couple of years ago. Hey Grams, I am still working on looking my best and I have my smile back, too! For sure, finding the best products for my skin here at TIA makes me look my best and that makes me feel great about myself.  After all, the best compliment we mature women can hope for is that young women will look at us and say, "I hope I look like that when I am her age".  I'm going to enjoy working on that with TIA!