Old-fashioned??  What could be around longer than the wonderfully English Pears glycerine soap that has been around since the late 1700s - pure ingredients, rosemary, thyme, and that touch of something unknown and wonderful that makes me think of an English garden.  You will always find it in my bathrooms - and it holds its shape - you know, like it hasn’t had wear and tear. 

Pears was my secret until now - my touch of England that not only soothes skin, looks great in its pretty soap dish, but always gets questions and raves by guests … and I figure that if it remains popular after 200 years, it has passed the test of time!

Here are a few brands and remedies I still rely on:

Jergens Lotion in the original cherry-almond scent; great as a leg-shaving aid, and you smell great afterward.

Ponds Cold Cream slathered on, then removed with a face cloth and hot water - especially soothing in the winter.

Apple cider vinegar as a hair-rinse. I use it every so often to remove the dreaded "product buildup" that seems (if we are to believe the beauty experts) to be one of the major threats to life as we know it.

Acqua Net hairspray - I always feel secure when I have a can nearby, although I rarely use it. It’s more of a link to my late mother, Dorothy, who was a dedicated schpritzer. Once, on a cruise, our ship steamed through the tail-end of a major tropical storm. Photos taken on deck that day show all female passengers with hair standing on end in the gale … except Dorothy’s. Hers was just perfect.

There’s a bath-sized bar of Pears in my shower, Joan! And a collection of evil-looking loofahs to "remove dead skin cells and rev up the circulation", a piece of wisdom imparted to me by my Scottish dad, who believed that a certain amount of pain, suffering and haggis was required to develop character. Aside from the haggis, he was correct.

Vaseline. It does absolutely everything from removing make-up to softening chapped hands to soothing dry, itchy skin. Drawback? A vaguely unsettling after-scent similar to a hot car engine. Oh, well.

I went through a food-related beauty treatment phase at one point. Here are some things I used to make facial scrubs, masks, cosmetics and toners: oatmeal (uncooked and mixed with buttermilk); egg whites; beet juice (which I believed would impart a natural healthy glow to my lips and cheeks, but which in reality made me look as though I had fallen face first into a bowl of borscht); fresh-squeezed lemons and mashed up avocado (the classic guacamole mask, combining the astringent qualities of lemon with the moisturizing properties of avocado, sadly led to an odd compulsion to drink tequila shots while awaiting the miraculous results.)

I would love to use a parasol, but since I am already a menace to life and limb every time it rains and I unfurl an umbrella, I suppose my fantasy of looking like a Monet lass with a white lace dress and matching parasol will have to go on hold. I’ll stick to the highest SPF I can find instead, and I’m sure passers by will bless me for doing so.

My mother did it and so I still do it.

I put warm olive oil on my scalp, wrap my head in a towel and go to sleep.

Wash hair in the morning and enjoy very healthy hair. It also helps to use a lot of olive oil. Look at the elderly Italian and Spanish ladies, full sets of hair!

Ponds Cold Cream, just like my mom and aunts.  Vaseline for rough elbows and heels.  I agree that olive oil is wonderful.  It is in the base of many beauty and hair products, and just a light layer of olive oil moisturizes the scalp and makes hair shine. 

Fleas on dog?  Massage olive oil into the fur and pooch will have a healthy , flea-less coat. 

I used to like Vaseline for a million reasons until I tried Unpetroleum Jelly, found in health food stores.  It costs more, but I find the chemicals in Vaseline a tad unsettling.  I gave some to my sister when my nephew was a baby and she was a convert for life. 

For chapped lips, there is nothing better than rubbing them gently with a warm, wet washcloth, then using the Unpetroleum Jelly.  Oh!  And also at your fav health food store, try Dr. Bronner’s (well, anything by Dr. Bronner’s—check out the website for a statement of organic products and how they stand out) Baby Mild Organic Balm.  (It comes in flavors, too, but I prefer unperfumed products.)  I use a vitamin E roller for the area on my knee where the doc took out the stitches (it itches) and for the area around my eyes.  Shea Butter is wonderful—I have a tin that has lasted me forever; a little goes sooo far.

I use as few products as possible, to conserve money and avoid cluttered spaces, so I always use products that serve many functions. 

What a wonderful question for the day!

Used to use Vaseline but I stopped using petroleum products on my skin, their not good for you.   Yes I know grandmom used it for years but now we know better.

To get rid of the build up on your hair I add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to your shampoo, mix and then use.  It doesn’t suds much but gets your hair squeeky clean.

I also buy inexpensive hair conditioner, suave works very well and has smells nice.  I use a handful and rub all over my body and rinse off, my skin feels moisturized and not greasy.  

I love Dove soap and have used Dr. Bronners liquid soap for years.  It’s a hemp-castile soap and very pure.  You can use it for shampoo, tooth paste, body wash.  Peppermint, Lavender & Eucalyptus are my fav’s.  Most health food stores carry it plus it’s easily ordered from Amazon.

I love Noah’s line of naturals face wash, moisturing cream also from walmart.  Plus Hope in a jar for sensitive skin I love, from Sephora.

I use a loofah cloth to scrub, just replace it monthy when it gets nasty, their very inexpensive at walmart.   Plus I love to use a sugar scrub on my face weekly.  Any brand it doesn’t need to be expensive!!

In stead of coloring my hair, I use John Frieda hair color glaze, brown up to 3 times a week when I wash my hair.  It covers the gray wonderfully, but you have to be careful about getting it on your scalp, it stains.  I just smear it on and cover my hair with a plastic cap while I scrub, buff and shave, then rinse.  Used to do the mayo condition, but just havn’t in years.

The coffee rinse sounds intersting, I’m thinking about trying that one.