Author: HairWeavings Editorial Team

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A week has crawled by since we made it home after Hurricane Milton. Until this year, I considered myself storm-seasoned, living 35 years in Florida and most of it on the coast. I researched local history and published my first novel this year about the storm that took out Cortez, FL in 1921. I titled it “When Not If.” Now I know 2024 is the “when” … and the year of my first hurricane evacuation.

I wasn’t worried as Milton approached. Milton is a kind name, I thought, perhaps of a favorite uncle or an old school chum. Still, I did my chores: bank, gas, liquor store.

“You don’t want anything bigger than a twenty,” the teller said as she counted out my stack, five times thicker than usual. “When the power goes, this is what you’ll need.” She was the first to get my attention. Then I saw all the bare spots on the liquor store shelves. By the time I made my turn at the fuel pump and thanked Jesus for gas, I knew it was time to take Miltie seriously.

When I got home, my partner Richard had boarded the windows and secured the truck camper. My sister called him to say, “Get her out of there.” Anna Maria Island was bulldozed by Hurricane Helene about a week before. That storm only grazed our coast and left destruction unseen in my lifetime. Milton was coming right at us.

Attitude Makes a Difference

I’d been saying, “Have a good storm” all morning long. The comeback, “You, too,” was like sharing a wish. It lightened the mood. One friend asked, “How can you stay so positive about everything, even a disaster?” Truth is, I don’t know how I stay positive. But I know thoughts often come true, so I’ve trained myself not to manifest the negative ones.

We prepared the best we could, tried to get some rest and pulled out at 4:13 a.m. with two changes of clothes, random snacks and dog food. By daylight, traffic was still steady; and we stopped only to top the tank and relieve ourselves. I’d prepared myself for infrequent bathroom breaks, but it’s hard to explain to a puppy.

When we could travel no more, I started calling for campsites. There were none to be had in Florida, though Alabama had opened its state parks to campers as had the Atlanta Motor Speedway – options if we needed them. But now we needed rest, so we pulled into a state rest area west of Tallahassee.

Lucky Breaks Along the Road

I jogged to the restroom while Richie walked the pups. When I rejoined them, we had new friends and a place to camp for the night. Our new friends were sisters – both in their 60s, one the caregiver for the other who has Alzheimer’s Disease. They’d slept the night before in their car and spent the day at a picnic table under the rain shelter they invited us to share.

As we swapped food and stories, tents popped up and more campers claimed space. Caravans carrying every generation unloaded picnic dinners and babies to change. Cat cages came out for air, and dogs of every description created welcome distraction. Our own dogs Lassie and Bandit were on their best behavior and great comfort to the sisters and me.

The rest area became a well-secured, family-focused, pet-friendly Woodstock. Card games and catch, all types of music in varied languages, laughter and then quiet. I heard not one angry word all evening.

We slept surprisingly well but decided to travel on and left the sisters with our bug spray, baby wipes and trash bags. We’d prepared better than we knew. Plan B was to wait out Milton with storm-seasoned friends who’d waded through five feet of water in their home from Katrina.

Traveling west, we noticed more and more vintage cars. Sure enough, we were right in the thick of Cruising the Coast, one of the nation’s largest car events and a bucket list item for my sweetheart. Once the storm passed and boots on the ground assured us the house was standing, we enjoyed a few hours of classic cars, music and BBQ on the Mississippi coast before turning back home.

The Other Side

A common farewell before the storm was, “See you on the other side.” That’s where we were headed amid convoys of power workers and National Guard. We drove south until the solid red line on the dash screen stretched further than the gas tank could go. Against my Richie’s better judgement but trusting my gut, we off-roaded through flood waters and downed trees to the campsite I’d reserved early in the day.

We joined first responders, families who’d lost their homes, and lots of people with pets like us returning home to uncertainty. Unable to eat that evening or sleep well, we found gas early (thank you, Jesus) and made the last hundred miles home.

Sirens, chainsaws and heavy equipment have been the white noise of our community. Our neighborhood pooled money and manpower to haul away the fences that once separated our yards and the trees that cooled the ground for a hundred years.

Roads are tunnels of logs stacked high beside soggy couches and mattresses. About half the traffic lights work, and the chaos is disorienting. But our house is standing, and we are blessed.

An Unfamiliar Emotional Mix

In our county, thousands are newly homeless. Million-dollar beach homes are washed away. Whole trailer parks are condemned. We are just one county in one state. We look like zombies, experiencing storm fatigue which can last for weeks, months even. No undereye concealer can hide it. A good night’s sleep doesn’t cure it. Disaster ages us faster than everyday current events.

It feels impossible to relax or concentrate. Those of us who fared better than others feel “guiltitude,” an emotion coined on Facebook. I’ve never been so grateful to see my own driveway, but I admit feeling guilty about the title of my own book. We feel helpless. We want to help others, but we’re waiting on our own oxygen mask … and the roofer and the cable guy, the refrigerator repair tech and someone to fix the water line to the laundry.

When my mask is in place, I’ll make my plan to help clean up this mess. It’s going to take a lot of help and a long time. We plan to make the best of it.

Chin up.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s the most recent disaster you experienced? What was it like? Have you been through a hurricane mess? What did you do first to get things back in order?

Me and who?

How many times have you tried a makeup or skincare product that had amazing claims about reducing wrinkles, evening out our skin tone, reducing pores, etc. – but which ended up being a total bust? Well, I imagine it’s happened to all of us more than once, and it’s definitely happened to me more times than I’d like to admit.

My guess is that most of us now look at product claims with just a bit of healthy skepticism. And when a product actually does live up to its claims, I always feel like I want to shout it from the rooftops. So, today we’ll take a look at the results I’ve had testing four products to see if they actually live up to the hype.

Many of us experience some very definite changes to our eyebrows and eyelashes since age and changes in oestrogen make the follicles weaker – which leads to lighter, thinner, shorter and less dense eyelashes. So, the thought of having long, full lashes again and eyebrows that are no longer invisible is pretty darn enticing.

But unfortunately, my experience in the past with an eyebrow and eyelash growth serum was definitely not a positive one. Don’t get me wrong, the serum definitely helped my lashes look longer and my brows look fuller. But, there was another issue. When a couple of small blood vessels in my eye broke, I didn’t pay much attention, but one day I actually heard a loud pop in my eye when a large blood vessel broke.

That got my attention. So, I immediately decided to stop using the eyelash grow serum that I’d purchased, did some research and found out it contained prostaglandins which can cause some problems. It was so hard to discontinue using that product since I’d had such great results, but I thought discretion was the better part of valor.

A Product That Works

I recently decided to try the Eyelash growth serum from the Swedish company Sweed Beauty since it’s a clean beauty brand. This eyelash growth serum definitely packs a powerful punch. And by that, I mean it works! Sweed Beauty actually tested it on a group of 50-year-old women and found it does work for those of us with mature skin. In fact, they actually won an award for “the serum that actually works” as a result of this study.

According to the company literature, the Sweed Pro Eyelash serum promotes the appearance of visibly longer and fuller looking eyelashes in only 4-6 weeks. And – it can also be used on eyebrows. Best of all – the clean ingredients are vegan and free from prostaglandin analogues. 99% of the serums on the market do contain prostaglandins which can cause pigmentation or irritation as I found out.

Since I’ve had four eye surgeries in the past year, I decided to test it only on one eyebrow – rather than on my eyelashes – since I feel I need to be extra careful around my eyes. After about five weeks, I definitely saw more brow hairs growing in on my left eyebrow and the hair that did grow in was dark brown and not grey or white. So I can personally attest to the fact that it does live up to its claims and does work on eyebrows. And if any of you have tried it on your eyelashes, I’d love to hear your results.

It’s definitely a product that you need to keep using to maintain good results. However, the company does say that once you get the amount of growth you want on your lashes or brows, you only need to apply the serum three to four times a week rather than every night.

Two Other Good Eyelash Products

In addition to the Pro Eyelash Serum, Sweed also has two award-winning mascaras which are staples in many makeup artist kits. And I can understand why after trying them. Their Lash Lift Mascara lifts, lengthens and separates and unlike most mascara brushes that leave the first third of your lash roots bare, the skinny brush starts coating each individual lash from root to tip.

Their Cloud Mascara creates maximum volume as well as beautiful length. And the unique wand precisely separates each and every lash from root to tip for a dramatic fan-like effect. I love both of these mascaras and they work beautifully on my super sensitive eyes.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Another Good Help for Eyelashes

And I also want to share with you another product that’s recently come on the market to help our lashes. As we all know, false eyelashes have been around for years – in fact, since 1911. They can certainly look beautiful but there’s definitely a learning curve with the application process. Plus, as I’ve gotten older, I often feel like a full band of eyelashes really looks too heavy on my eyes and actually makes them look smaller.

But the latest false eyelash product definitely piqued my interest since it has an adhesive band which can simply be pressed onto our lashes. I have the impress press on falsies from the brand Kiss. Each box contains 12 mini eyelash clusters – six are a medium length and six are a bit longer – that are self-adhesive which can be applied in a one-step process. There’s no glue or special magnetic eyeliner required. And they supposedly have 24-hour hold.

When applying them, you have to be careful to avoid touching the band area on the top of the lash that has the adhesive on it. Then you place the clusters underneath your natural lashes, being careful to make sure they’re applied to the bottom of your lashes and not to your waterline.

I have to confess that I really loved how they looked. However, it took me about 30 minutes to get three lash clusters attached to my lashes. First, I learned the hard way that even though the instructions on the back of the box say to remove the lashes by using the applicator, that does not work. At least I couldn’t get it to work. Instead, I had to remove them with my fingers. One cluster that I applied was actually touching the waterline and I could definitely feel it since it was a little irritating.

Overall, I’d say that if you have the patience to practice a bit with these, they do look gorgeous. The individual lash clusters also look more natural than traditional false eyelashes. But personally, I think I’m going to just stick to eyelash primer and two coats of mascara since patience is not my long suit.

Does This Product Reduce Fine Lines and Wrinkles?

Founded by David Bean, a mechanical engineer who built his career on developing laser technologies, Nira launched its flagship product, the Nira Precision Laser tool, in 2019. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this device, it’s the first and only painless at-home laser device with a small enough tip to target hard to treat areas around the eyes and mouth.

It’s FDA cleared and is clinically proven to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It works by stimulating natural collagen production to create younger looking skin in 90 days. It takes time for the collagen to rebuild, but the company says that you can expect to see visible wrinkle improvements within 60 days and dramatic results after 90 days with regular use. In the accompanying video, I’ll show you how the NIRA device works.

The Results

To be honest, since I’m 76 – which is considerably older than most other beauty YouTubers – I wasn’t expecting to see dramatic results. But the results I have seen have really surprised me. After 57 days, the 11 lines between my eyebrows have almost disappeared, my nasal labial folds are less pronounced, the vertical lines around my mouth have also become much less pronounced and even the lines under my eyes and my cheekbones are less noticeable. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing my three-month results since that’s the period of time needed to see the most dramatic outcome.

It’s definitely nice to know that there are interesting and innovative products out there in the beauty world that do indeed work!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you tried any beauty tools such as micro current devices or lasers? If so, what’s been your experience with them? Have you tried false eyelashes or an eyebrow growth serum? If so, how did these products work for you?

It’s the most wonderful and streamable time of the year!