Back when I noticed the first fading of youth, I began to take really good care of the skin on my face and neck. I remember the day clearly. I held my 3 month old in my arms, cheek to cheek in front of a mirror. My oh my, my skin looked dull and lifeless next to his full pink cheeks.  I was 21 years old.

Fast forward several decades and at least that many skin-care products later.  Not too bad.  [tweetthis]No one is buying me face cream and declaring,”I thought of you when I saw this.[/tweetthis]” Okay, there’s that happy note.  Read Lee Gaiten’s Gee, You shouldn’t have….Really! You’ll love her Erma Bombeck style of humor.  I laughed out loud.

My grandson, Mr. C, observing me massage moisturizer into my skin, did ask me,

“What are you doing?”

“Putting moisturizer on.”

“Why?”

“To help prevent wrinkles.”

He looked at me quizzically for a moment.

“Oh Grandma, you better put some around back.”

I grabbed my hand mirror to check the back.  Sure enough, wrinkles on the back of my neck.  Drat!

I’m a sucker for the best in skin care.  So, when I heard about this new product that will not only do wonders for my face and neck, women swore it improves the elasticity of the skin on their upper arms and hands, I threw caution to the wind and bought 3 jars. Besides, it cost less than what I usually spend.

So here’s the experiment:

• I will put the cream on one hand, two times a day.
• Each week, I’ll take a picture.
• At the end of six weeks, you tell me if it works.
•  I’ll reveal the product at the end of six weeks.
• I’ll control the experiment by taking the picture in the same place, time, and same clothes.

I’ll be putting the cream on my face, as directed, two times a day.  You can tell me if my face looks any different, too.  My face is a littler more difficult experiment because, it’s allergy season.  In a month, after the first frost, I’ll just naturally look a little different.  In other words, I don’t have as much scientific control over my face.

My hands will be the real experiment.  You see, I’ve had old-looking hands forever.  I might have been born with them. I can pull the skin up, let go, and the fold just stays there, like some sort of origami mishap.

Okay so here’s the first picture of my hands, followed by my face, same day, same place. 1:40 p.m. No re-touching of any photos.