As if there isn't enough to think about when we age ... but one dead giveaway that we often forget to pay attention to, because we don't see it when we glance in a mirror ... wrinkled elbows!
Our elbows are one of the first places to show aging. The skin is thicker and darker there due to dry skin, constantly leaning our weight on them, and leaving them unprotected from the sun’s harmful rays. My photographer friend says that even children need retouching for discoloration in this area!You have to have a little extra skin around the elbow or you wouldn't be able to bend it, but wrinkly elbows do not mean you're old - seen in this photo snapped at the MTV Video Music Awards recently, of 30 year old celebutante, Kim Kardashian.
 |
Photo credit HuffPost |
I did a fitness shoot last week and made sure I was not giving my photographer extra work in photoshop fighting with my elbow wrinkles. How? By cheating every photo a bit with a slight bend in my elbow. A modeling rule in posing is “if it bends, bend it.”And the best place to apply that rule is for your elbow! Never lock up the joint here, or you will have wrinkly elbows AND an awkward, unflattering pose!
 |
| photo credit HuffPost |
From the front, Kim gets it right with the bent skinny arm on the hip trick! Often photographers soften celebrity photos, but obviously not always.
Regardless, “you cannot walk into the room with photoshop” so here are some things to try for better results in your pictures and in real life:
- Exfoliate! Exfoliate! Exfoliate! ~ You want to make your skin glow again by removing all the piled up, dead, dry skin on your elbow that is making it discolored by using a scrub, loofah, or nubby washcloth in the shower.
- Lighten
- Try cutting a lemon in half and sinking your elbows into them for about 10-15 minutes to lighten the skin.
- Fade dark spots by using an over the counter hydroquinone to treat hyperpigmentation.
- When self tanning don't forget to moisturize your elbows first so that the color is not over- aborbed into the elbow
- Elbow Grease
- Vaseline, olive oil, shea butter, anti-aging creams!
- I use a product called AmLactin I buy at Costco for $18, a steal compared to other stores. It contains an alpha hydroxy acid, a naturally occurring skin humectant to relieve stubborn dry, rough skin. (Works great for feet too)
- Sunscreen
- SPF 15 or higher every day or you will sabatoge all the effort above because the sun promotes darkening and drying.
Guess who these elbows belong to? Hint: People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive cover boy, Brad Pitt used to rub elbows with her. Proof positive that not even a star is not immune to the wrinkled elbow of age.
 |
| photo credit TMZ |
0 comments
Post a Comment