Stuff that works for me

Part of being diabetic is skin care, especially on the feet and legs, where ulcers can develop. Wound healing on the feet is especially problematic---at the five-day diabetes education clinic my doctor enrolled me in when I was first diagnosed (my god, January 1995?!) an operating room nurse who had joined the program told us that people with diabetes with gangrenous ulcers on their feet or legs made up six or seven out of every 10 amputations done at the hospital. Inspecting your feet daily, washing carefully in warm water, drying carefully between your toes, and NOT moisturizing between your toes where skin can get and stay damp (the bacteria spa!) are all recommended.

Despite all the "beauty" advice my mother has given me ("Oh, you'd look so nice with streaks in your hair; why don't you wear green eyeshadow; Dove is the best soap to use everyday, the doctor said so"), I STILL don't listen to her. I've always liked my greying hair, only wash it once a week or so, and get it cut two or three times a year at the local beauty school for a cheap and careful blunt cut. Dove bath bars actually make my skin dryer, and I've actually needed a prescription lotion for dry patches on my arms until I stopped using Dove. I don't wear makeup at all (well, a little lipstick once in a while). I was a faithful Mary Kay user for a number of years, but got tired of contacting the representative --- and of the cost, though I do have to say I LOVED their products.


But now I go with Olay. Daily moisturizer with sunscreen (SPF15), daily facial cleaning cloths (my oily skin has never been clearer, though I don't like tossing one in the garbage every day) or the Regenerist facial cleanser and body wash (their Ribbons product makes me slip in the shower though, so I can't recommend everything they make), and bath bars, along with a few other things I might splurge on and use sparingly. Olay is skin-effective and cost-effective --- for ME. And their Quench hand moisturizer is amazing on my hands when I don't wear gloves, which is most of the winter. I'm not real vain. I can't find their compact powder foundation anymore, but I have at least a year's supply.


I also got some free Aveeno products (which my mother also swears by now --- "The Doctor Says...") that are nice but not as addicting. But I'll try to use everything up before I buy more.