It’s got to be said, Beautiful People. It’s got to be said because I stood in line next to a priest at the deli today and he smelled like sweaty scalp.
Smelling like sweaty scalp is adorable if you’re my two-year old nephew and have just awakened from a nap. For anyone over the age of ten, it’s just yeeshy.
Summer air is gross. It is humid and makes us all look a little slick and dirty, like we’ve just had a hard work-out even if we’ve exerted no more effort that day than editing a few sermons (I just edited my Ash Wednesday sermon and have to say, it was a Jim Dandy!).
If your idea of bathing is to do a 30-second lather, you may need to bring out the bigger guns for the summer.
It just doesn’t do to be greasy and filmy, people of God. Shampoo. Lather, rinse and repeat if you have oily hair. Get out that washcloth and really scrub. Better yet, take a bath first to soak off all the dead skin (you must soak for at least ten minutes before you scrub if you really want to loosen the dead skin) followed by a tepid shower. Scrub your feet with a brush! Get rid of callouses if you’re a sandal-wearer. Moisturize at night with cotton socks over a nice foot balm. Aquaphor is absolutely marvelous, even if it is mostly just petrolatum. Burt’s Bees makes a wonderful, natural coconut foot balm, too, and then there’s the very swanky, lovely foot balm given me as a gift by Perigrinato — what was it, James? Something scented with cardamom that makes the cat all romantic and foot-licky. Nicest stuff I ever used.
Back to summer:
Keep that clean hankie in your pocket to mop delicatly at a perspiring face, and keep up with your skin care! Exfoliate! Moisturize (yes, even in the summer — try a serum if regular moisturizers feel too heavy)! Keep drinking water!
Be a cool glass of water on a hot day. Be the living waters to your parched people. Be nice to be near.
(But don’t use baby powder near your delicate parts, ladies. Stick with corn starch, not talc, products).
Lapses in personal hygiene that may be overlooked in the winter are not as easily forgiven in the summer. And that goes for your crusty elbows, too. Remember, you’re in short-sleeved shirts now.
PeaceBang recommends:
Sunshine Spa Herbal Salt Rub in Lavender or Rosemary/Mint for your feet and elbows:
Available at Amazon.com, Target and Trader Joe’s.
St. Ives Apricot Scrub (not for the face!! Body only!)
Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme, available at Drugstore.com.
Davies Gate Cardamom Foot Butter (absolutely hedonistic and scrumptious!): http://tinyurl.com/mzcy4
Johnson & Johnson Pure Cornstarch Baby Powder.
A good, old-fashioned wash cloth and soap. PeaceBang’s favorite is Luxo Banho Creme: http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/page458.html