Episode 404: The Truth about Tween Skincare

No need to whine, it's Whiny Palooza! Have some wine and join us on the Whiny Palooza Podcast with Rebecca Greene. Welcome to the Whiny Palooza Podcast. I'm your host, Rebecca Greene. I'm a wife, mother of 3, and licensed clinical social worker. I also have 3 fur babies at home too. My passion has always been to help children and their families. I always dreamed of being a wife and a mother. Parents are always learning through their struggles, failures, and successes and joys. I am no stranger to this wild ride of parenting, and I know behind every great parent lies a team of supportive friends and family. I want to be part of your support system. I want you to know that you are not alone. We are in this parenting world together. Join me every week for insightful discussions with experts on parenting and marriage, as well as other parents who have found the secret to successes in parenthood. You'll learn tips and tricks to make life with your family better than ever. I hope you will follow along with me while we dive into what it takes to achieve a happy family. Hello everyone, this is Rebecca Greene for the Whiny Palooza podcast, and I am very excited today because I get to talk to the wonderful Kimberly Grustis. Kimberly, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Oh my gosh, thanks for having me.

I'm already having so much fun talking to her. I had to shut myself up so that I could press record. But I want to tell you a little bit about her. She is a visionary entrepreneur and the founder of Good For You Girls, a pioneering clean skincare brand designed specifically for girls during their delicate puberty years. With over 15 years of experience in the natural product and nutrition industries, Kimberly was motivated by her deep understanding of the dangers posed by toxic chemicals, even in trace amounts, on young girls' health. This mission became personal when she discovered alarming ingredients in products marketed to her own daughters, both of whom struggled with asthma and allergies. Determined to provide a safer alternative she launched Good For You Girls to offer moms and their daughters skincare that's free of harmful chemicals. Kimberly is often regarded as the OG of tween skincare and remains a leader in empowering moms to guide their daughters safely through puberty with confidence. And what I told Kimberly is, we really need to talk about skincare and we really need to talk about puberty. So this is perfect and I need this, so I'm really excited.

You are smack down in the middle. It's, it's, you know, people don't think it's a fun subject, but it truly is. And there's, again, a whole lot more that moms need to know. Yes. Yes.

It's a needed topic. It's a very needed topic. The amount of skincare we're going to— I have so many questions and we're going to talk about all this stuff, but I want to know, like, the pivotal moment for you when you realized you needed to create something that was safer.

So I was at Target, and my daughter, my oldest daughter was 8, and there was a Hannah Montana bath set on the end cap, and they loved— we went to the Hannah Montana concert, like they loved Hannah Montana. And I remember it was a purple box, blonde wig, gold stars, and she beelined and she picked it up and she says, Mommy, Mommy, can we buy this? And I flipped it over and I just— my jaw dropped. I mean, I, you know, I'm an ingredient nut. I know these things, and it was toxic. I mean, it was made in China. It had like 4 lines of just eyes. And it was just— there was literally nothing good, nothing in this product. And I, I was shocked. I said, is this— you know, because they were sick, I had protected everything, you know, I controlled everything that went in and on their body since they were born. So here's, you know, they're 6 and 8, and my 8-year-old wants this. She's aware. And I was just dumbfounded that this is what, um, brands were putting— were slathering on our daughters. And so I, I, I walked around in shock for like a week. And then I couldn't get it out of my head. You know, like things will get in your craw, you can't get out of your head. And of course I turned her down and she was devastated. And then a week later, a friend of mine, we were at Whole Foods and her daughter was turning 11 and wanted some skincare. And she's asking me, I was kind of the go-to mom because of what I did and the clean, you know, my clean awareness. And I walked up and down the aisles of Whole Foods and there was nothing. It was all baby or it was adult. And I said, wait a minute. I says, if anybody's gonna be able to, you know, gonna do this, it's gonna be me between my knowledge of the industry, you know, body, whatever, my passion for my daughters and just my commitment. And so it was sort of like a calling. Like I couldn't not, like I feel like my whole life was sort of directed here, which is kind of weird, but you know, it's crazy. Like you make these career choices and these pivot in your life and, you know, this is not the avenue that has brought me, you know, financial wealth and all of this stuff, but it has brought me such joy and peace knowing that, I'm really doing good. And so that is my— that's my win.

I love this so much. And I'm curious because you had this idea and it's, it's led to being like a leading brand in tween skincare. So, so take us on the journey from an idea to a leading skincare line.

So I was— again, I worked in sports nutrition, so I was a creative director by trade and I, and I was a fitness nut. In the day, like forever, day one, like I was a fitness nut. So those two avenues converged and I worked for nutrition companies. So I was a branding expert. I launched— I've launched dozens of lines in my day for brands, mostly in sport nutrition. And then I started my own agency in 2000 and I was starting to take on natural beauty. So I did have a leg up on understanding how brands work, how you create a brand, the messaging, that sort of thing. So for me, when I decided to start Good 4 U Girls, which I came up— which I named in the shower, by the way. The name came to me in the shower one morning. Um, and so I knew sort of how to do like some of the steps already, right? But when you're working for a client, it's very different, you know, coming up with the— it's their money, right? You're spending their money. But, um, and so when you have— so there's— it's your thing, it's your baby, it's very different because it's, you know, there's a lot of things that mistakes that you make and choices that you make and paths that you, you know, and so it is a little nerve-wracking and a little scary. I bet I started and I started the business in 2008, which was a crazy year to start a business, right? With everything, the financial crash. I'm like, what are you people like?

What are you doing?

I'm like, gosh, it was just, I had to, I had to do it right. And so within the first year of launching this brand, I was in 200 stores.

Wow. Yeah.

All that distribution is now online. Um, it was mom-and-pop health food stores, which I was distributed in. And then when the introduction of Amazon happened, a lot of those mom-and-pop health food stores closed. Unfortunately, it's a kind of a sad, a sad story that no one really knows about or talks about. Um, but all this mom-and-pop health food stores closed and then Amazon became the really the big distribution partner, especially for small brands.

Well, and I want to tell you, totally off topic, that my parents have a health food store. I think it's been— oh my gosh, I can't even tell you how many years, but it's been forever. And I'm happy to say it's still going strong.

That's amazing. That's amazing. That's strong in their community. That's what that tells me. Yes. Their brands. Yeah.

Yes. I'll have to tell them about you. So let's talk about harmful ingredients that we should be watching out for. I'm scared.

Well, so, you know, we know that there's harmful ingredients for everyone. Yes, there's harmful ingredients for everyone. And so, you know, we have the dyes, the synthetic fragrance, a lot of the toxic chemicals that will build up, build up in your body. So we have the propylene glycol, the PEGs, you know, a lot of those, a lot of those ingredients which are used as really heavy preservatives, understanding that when a skincare, when somebody manufactures skincare, it's supposed to be— it's sitting on a shelf for like 5 years, right? And so the formulations, they're made so that they're not really collecting bacteria or growing bacteria. And that's important, right? That's important. We need some— sometimes these ingredients, but we certainly don't need polyethylene glycol in our skincare. We don't need aluminum in our, in our deodorant, things like that. We shouldn't be putting alcohol on our face or our body. That's just not an ingredient we should be using. But when it comes to girls. This is where I, I take concern. So when you eat a protein, eat a fat, a carbohydrate, again, your body's an organic machine, so your body knows what it is, right? So now if you're starting to introduce a synthetic dye, a fragrance, a chemical to your body, the closest chemical compound your body thinks it is is estrogen, right? Because we have estrogen, you know, as women we have estrogen. So That's why we call these chemicals estrogenic, meaning they're mimicking estrogen in the body. Right.

Makes sense.

Right. So now a girl who's entering puberty— remember, puberty starts in the brain, the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, then the adrenals. Everybody thinks it's always the reproductive, but it's not. It's the bones, it's the blood, it's the brain. So it's neurological. So when, when a girl's body is waiting for those signals of estrogen, right? If she's getting false signals of estrogen, what it's doing, it's saying to the body, oh, okay, we're ready, we're ready to start. Now we also know that we have a lower age of puberty. In the 1940s it was 14, today it's 11. Breast development used to happen with puberty. Breast development is happening almost 2 years earlier. And, you know, we're— we have girls who are really not psychologically prepared, mentally, you know, prepared to be dealing with these big issues. Um, so they don't know. It's scary. And we, we definitely know that there is something called puberty trauma, right? And the younger that they are, the more traumatic it can be. You ask any, any woman especially any somebody, a young woman in their 20s, it is so real to them because they're, you know, girls in their 20s now, they were sort of one of the first early generations of puberty. And that really hits home for them. And I think really can affect their development as young women. You know, when you hit puberty later, I think you're just more ready. Your body's ready for it, your brain's ready for it. You have a lot of those cognitive abilities you know, critical thinking and all that, that really helps at puberty. So it's, it's really is a challenge. And so the importance of keeping our daughters away from these chemicals, it's like just as they were babies, this is the second largest growth in their body. Right. And, and so keeping them away from these chemicals is just as important as when they were babies. Right.

Oh, true.

And we know, and we know that girls are actually exposed to more chemicals than the average woman. Today?

Well, because they're obsessed with skincare and makeup. Yeah, that is why. So, so tell us how we can as parents help our girls through puberty. Like, they're going through it younger. I mean, my daughter started at 11 going through puberty. Uh, I, I was surprised that it was starting so young, and you're telling me that's the average now. I mean, that's scary to me. So how can we help them through this?

What can do? Well, one of the first things I like to tell moms is, again, understanding that puberty starts much younger.

Yes.

And it is the brain. So people ask me, what's the first sign? And I say, well, remember in middle school when all of a sudden their friends became— they were obsessed with friendships and everything was really serious, right? Susie didn't talk to me, so-and-so didn't play with me. They really— that's your first sign. Okay.

That's a good one. Yes.

That's your first sign because that is the cortisol. That is the cuddle chemical that's happening. And that is real to them. And that's the first sign where they're starting to feel a little bit out of control. So that's something to really, really watch for when they're younger and also give them the skills that they need to address that. That's great to start that conversation. So how does that make you feel? How can we learn the skills what to do next time that happens? Can you walk away? Did she talk to somebody else and didn't talk to me? It is eat, sleep, breathe, eat, sleep, breathe. Friendships become super important. Now, that's an important part of female development because that, that attachment is, is what makes us so uniquely beautiful as women, right? Is— but because we care about it, we're caring. If we didn't, we didn't have that gene— I call it a gene, so a gene— but if we didn't have that, yes, where would the world be, right? So I think it's— that's one of the, one of the first signs. And again, in recognizing that change in development from your from your child, right? Um, again, different patterns. Their bones are growing, their blood is changing, they're getting an adult heartbeat, right? It says all of those things, and they're growing at this phase, you know, 2¾ to 3 inches per year. And I love to remind parents that hormones are your friend, right? We— and as women, we are going to be dealing with hormones the rest of our lives. And in understanding that, if we have the conversation about hormones younger, and that we teach our daughters that this transition and these hormones are actually working for you, not against you. The, the language matters here and how we approach it. I, I really get angry, um, when I hear people say, 'Oh, suck it up and get over it.' Like, puberty, just like, oh no, you know, it's the time to be You know, we're not having puberty parties over here. That's not what I'm promoting. But what I'm promoting is respecting what the body— what their little bodies are trying to do and what they're doing. And this is happening for them, not against them. And when we can use that language, you know, around them, they're so much more comfortable with it. It's not a, you know, it's not a Jack in the Beanstalk you're just growing randomly, right? I mean, when they're little, they don't know why you're, you know, marking the door and it's growing, and they Oh my God, it's happening, right? It's just this invisible thing that's happening. But when they get a little bit older, it's really a great time to introduce hormones as the word, um, that is remarkable and amazing. And look at what your body is doing. Oh my gosh, isn't it brilliant? It's fascinating.

Oh, I love how you're talking about this. Nobody's doing this.

I know.

I mean, I have told her that it's natural and, you know, I have said some of the good words, but I'm not doing this. I love this. That you're so—

I mean, it's a superpower when you get in there and they're the best students, they're the best friends, they're the best, the best sisters, they're the best, you know, and the best athletes. You know, we are dealing— they are dealing— our young people are dealing with athletics that we never dealt with, right? The level of athleticism and things that their bodies are doing. And I— and it's also really great to recognize again that it is affecting all of their systems so that if something seems awry, that you can address it early, right? So if they're having pain in their bones, right, and they— and, and all of these aches and pains where their sleep patterns are changing, nutrition is huge for them at this age. And, and the, the amount of bone growth— I love this— is a— this a wonderful fact. The amount of bone growth during, um, puberty in, in a girl is the same amount of bone growth a woman will lose in menopause.

Oh my goodness.

Wow. Yeah. So if you want to talk about getting your kid enough nutrition, like you want to say, I love my kid now, but I want to— I love my kid when she's 50. I want to do good for her when she's 50, that's the light bulb that you see to say, okay, we're getting nutritional support, we're making sure you're getting protein, we're making sure you're doing your vitamins, we're making sure you're getting your exercise, we're making sure all of those things again will benefit. And we, we now know we have a sedentary life, we have a more of a sedentary lifestyle. So we're seeing, we're going to be seeing things in our young people that really haven't— I mean, we're starting to see in some generations, um, but it will only benefit them when they're adults.

We gotta start young.

Yeah, no, and again, it's crazy to me, like, I'm sort of a glass half full kind of girl. I've always been that kind of person. And I love also the fact that when our daughters are kind of going through this or in the thick of it, we're in perimenopause, right? Barb, us, right? We are.

We have more—

we have so much in common, right? Then we really realize our poor husbands. But let's talk about, like, we're each other's support system, right? Yes. I never— like, it was crazy. Like, when I had the hot flash thing or whatever, and I would get a hot flash, I would never say, oh, God. Like, I would never take that. I would say to myself, yeah, she's hanging on. Like, it was like, she's not ready to leave me. Like, I would spin it positively.

Oh, it's all mindset. It's all—

Yes. And so I almost wanted more of them, like, bring them on. Like, every time I got hit with a hot flash, I'm like, girl, I'm still here. Like, you know, like, whatever. It was just— it was so like— again, I think language matters. And we know our young people, especially our girls, beat themselves up so much.

Yes, they do.

And so— and the conversations that we have when they're younger about stinky feet and armpits and pubic hair and whatever, all those things, and we can be so real with them and raw with them and be human with them, when they go to college, when they're older, you know, or the subject before they go to college, they'll talk to you more, right? That those— the hard conversations are easier. And I know, again, I always say it starts with, you know, it starts with stinky pits, but, you know, that's the first time we, we really have the opportunity to talk about those bodily changes.

Well, and I think it's normal. I mean, we definitely need your help. I think it's normal for our girls to be really embarrassed. You know, like I'll say things, you know, like I bring up pads. Do you need more pads? And like, you should see— I'm like, why is that so embarrassing?

I roll about, right?

So I just— I can't believe the reaction to whenever I bring any of it up. So how do we make them— help us make them more comfortable? Because I will tell you, they are so squeamish if I bring anything up.

Well, I, I think again, earlier, earlier the better. You know, you're in a situation where you kind of passed that early part, but, um, again, just making them feel comfortable with it, right? You just— I mean, that constant conversation about it. And, you know, again, my daughters were still— but I was so— I was totally fine, go, you know, going in and, you know, purchasing things. Dad was perfectly fine going and purchasing, you know, the products that they needed. Um, so I think it's just again, the tools, right? And understanding that these are the tools you need and you're supported. This supports you, and whatever you need, however, right, we're going to have those tools to support you. Um, because you— we don't want you self-conscious about it. We want to have all of those things that you need. And eventually, I think they'll get there.

I'm trying, I'm trying over here. They're like, oh my God, they're like turning red. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm your mother. Like, I'm your mother. You shouldn't be embarrassed with me.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

So they're obsessed with TikTok. Let's talk about TikTok. There is so many makeup, skincare, like, help us navigate this with them. And unfortunately, it's not all healthy stuff, as you know.

No. So here, let me give you a little inside scoop of what's happening with TikTok, which is really aware. TikTok is right now competing with Amazon. Hmm, remember when Amazon started giving everybody free shipping on Prime?

Yes.

Okay, well, TikTok is really doing that right now. So TikTok is giving the discount, um, they're doing this free ship whatever on the discount. They really want that consumer information. They want you to buy on TikTok. TikTok, again, when they're purchasing consumer, they are exposed. Like, you have all your— you buy one thing on TikTok, now they have all of your, all your information. So they are really targeting creators really hard on trying to get them to push sales products on TikTok. That's what they're doing. So TikTok, while they're making money, they're also— this is investment for them, right? They're giving these products, you know, you'll see a product in, in the store, it's $40, but on TikTok it's $12. Yes, TikTok is paying for that because they want that consumer, and they're doing that with brands they know that they're going to— and especially younger, younger consumers, because they figure that longevity Once they can get people hooked on the TikTok shop, that's how they're gonna— right, they're gonna keep—

that is true, that is true.

So it's again just like how Amazon did it with Prime, and now everybody thinks everything's free to ship and it's not. And everybody says, oh, it's just Amazon, I'll buy it and I'll return it and whatever. Yeah, no, it's not. It's a little brand behind that, you know, eating it. So it's hard, it can be hard, but that's what's happening as far as TikTok goes. Um, now Again, understanding that girls' critical thinking is not fully developed, right? This is emotional. Girls are emotional. Girls want to try. Girls want to fit in.

So this is a very—

yes, right? It's contagion. It's— everybody has it. I remember last Christmas it was the Stanley water bottles and the Lululemon purses or whatever they needed, and everybody had to have them. And it's like Again, it's sort of, you know, the mass hysteria on things, and that, that is by design. But girls definitely want their tribe. That's part of how they, how they operate. Um, so one of the best things we can do— first of all, I don't think young children, um, should be on TikTok. I really do not believe— I think it's exposure to some dangerous information, people that really don't care about them. Right? It's, it's really— so that's a parent's fight. I can't fight that battle. I just think that that's really unhealthy, um, because it, you know, as much as we're addicted, can you imagine how they are, right? And also pushing all those buttons, making them feel insecure, making them feel, you know, FOMO and all of that stuff, right? And understanding that there's a huge difference between a 12-year-old and a 22-year-old, right? They've gone through, right? So But if your child is going to be on TikTok, I think the best thing you can do is sit with them, show them where these— it's showing earns commission, right? Look at the other TikToks. There's somebody that they're following. Okay, what else are they selling? How much are they— right, where is the revenue generated? Because that's all the creators are there, even though you think that they're there for their you know, just for the, you know, um, joy to the world. They're not. Anybody who's selling you something is, is there for commission, right? Um, so that's under— that's also important to tell, to tell them, to explain to them that these likes and the follows and all that is, is earning them, um, money. Um, there's also a value proposition, right? So if they're following— and you hear again the depression on a lot of these creators who were there early on, this is exhaustive, right? And their value is now based on how many followers they have, how many likes, or the revenue that they're generating. I don't like it for girls because again, they're going to go up, plateau at some point, and some time they're going to come down, right? What must go up must come down. And there's a lot of ageism in there as well, right? I'm, I'm aged out of this bracket. Now I'm in this bracket. I'm no longer valuable. No one's following me. You know, so there's— I think there's some really important conversations to have from this. Now, one of my things again about, about skincare is also teaching your daughters that, remember, they're the goal, right? Their skin is the goal for all us anti-aging people, right? Or aging people. So for them to look and say, I need a product that does X, Y, especially the cellular turnover or the exfoliants, whether it's alpha hydroxy or beta hydroxy acid or all of those things, what those are doing is the young skin should not turn over cellularly as fast as our skin. It's not supposed to. Sebum is there to protect their skin, the oils in their skin. It's the glowy, right? We just finished the glowiness, right? Why do you think those glowy products— it's to give us the glow, not them the glow. They already have the glow.

I've had— I agree with you 100%. I'm like, your skin is perfect, you don't need to do any of this.

But what, what ultimately is, is the damage, right? Again, chemicals aside, but when you are exposing your skin, you're also exposing it to UV damage, and that is something that they will not see until they're much older and then they can't reverse that, right? That damage. So the, the skin damage from UV damage or environmental stressors or all those things when they're messing up their microbiome and all of that, when they're exposing, that's the real, that's a, a real risk to them. Hmm. So, so the sebum, and I love to tell people too, I don't know if most people know this, but you know when a baby's born, like that white stuff all over their body? That's actually sebum. So that's in utero, in utero, to protect the, the baby from the amniotic fluid. So that white— that all that white stuff. So again, with hormones, that's it. Your body's amazing. I love it. Your body is just freaking amazing. So anyway, so now in puberty, that is there for growth, right? And the really great thing about young people to understand too is the more sebum you have, the fewer wrinkles you're gonna have as an adult. And so if you've got, you know, if you get some acne and you've got some extra oils, you should just thank the Lord because that's there to help you, right? That's actually a really good thing. As much as it's a pain in the ass and you wish you didn't have that, you know, shine at the end of the day, you can look forward— again, put it positively— like, that's right. Um, most of the bacteria in young people is actually from bacteria. Most of the acne. Um, they're, they're in school all day, they're touching their hands, they're not washing their hands, their hygiene is all day long. It's, it's gross. So that is a lot of bacterial acne. So the really thing to— the best thing that they need to do is just get rid of the dirt, grime, and bacteria, you know, without damaging the microbiome. Keep the skin hydrated. And again, they're also experiencing acne too because they're dehydrated from the inside out. Right? They are not— they're not getting proper nutrition. They're, you know, they're, um, they're not eating really well to, to manage, you know. I mean, so a good probiotic, great hydration really goes a long way in young people. And some, some good nutrition, you know, steady, steady nutrition can go a really long way. And the more hydrated you are, the thinner that sebum too. It helps naturally thin out the sebum so it's not clogging your pores. And creating the bacteria that's causing the acne. Now, that's not to say that there are not hormonal, hormonal acne issues, but I think we, we, we're in a society today where, you know, somebody gets one pimple and they're running to the dermatologist. And I love dermatologists. I think they have their place. But dermatologists are not trained in natural products as well and the benefits. So there's a lot of prescriptions that can be thrown at young people. Which are unfortunately needless and that shouldn't— this should really run its, run its span, try some alternatives before we're jumping into that, you know, prescription, on that prescription bandwagon.

Oh, I totally agree with you. That's how I was raised by the parents who own the health food store.

Good for them.

So most people are going to listen to this and they're not going to watch this, but you might want to go check out so that you can see the video and you can see how fantastic Kimberly looks. So I'm gonna I am going to—

You're very sweet.

I'm going to be selfish right now and I'm going to talk to you about your own nutrition and exercise plan. Can you enlighten us and tell us like what you eat in a day, what your workout plan is? I mean, I have to tell you, you look amazing.

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'm going to blush. So again, a fitness nut. I was in the day. And I do believe young people need exercise. And I actually just commented on somebody's TikTok, um, it's money in the bank, right? When we talk to our young people, and this is something that my daughter's learned, um, which was amazing, is anything they're doing as a young person— because again, they have all the hormones, the great hormones, the testosterone, the estrogen, the progesterone supporting their body— yeah, as young people, the best thing that they can do for themselves is use it. Is use that and you develop. So I, early on, I mean, I was, I was a little bit of a fruitcake. When I went to college, I, I hung a— I put a coat hanger behind the radiator so I could pick the lock at the gym at night. Yeah, with my Walkman. With my Walkman.

Oh my gosh, you are hysterical.

I would go with my Walkman and the campus police would come pick me up and bring me back to my— because I lived off campus. Um, yeah, so I was a little bit excessive, but I love the control that it gave me, right? It wasn't— it just— I love the way that my body responds. I was a dancer and a gymnast when I was younger. I had a really bad gymnastics injury. Um, I had a— I had a— yeah, I was vaulting and came crashing down on my back, and it ended my gymnastics career.

Oh my God, that's terrible.

Yeah, it was okay, but it was— yeah, so it was— it was tough. But for me, regaining that and getting back was, was, you know, good for me. So I do watch what I eat. I don't eat garbage again because I just know how it's affecting my body.

Right.

So I'm a very clean eater now. Again, after, you know, having gone through menopause, for me, it's about protein and vegetables. I never go hungry, but I do, you know, great probiotic support. I'm all up on all my vitamins. You know, I take large amounts of vitamins, and I just, I just eat clean, and I eat all the protein vegetables I want. And anytime you put chocolate in front of me, I will eat it. I don't care. That's my right. But, you know, you have, again, you have to make choices. You can't live. And so that's You can't deprive yourself. I guess that's my thing too. You have to have those things that bring you joy. But that's how I eat in my home. Now, when I go out to a restaurant, I will splurge a little bit. I'll usually eat something that I don't normally make.

That's a good idea.

A little bit more decadent. That's when I'll splurge a little bit. But I work out every day at 6:30 in the morning. I have a Pilates machine at home, like one of those home Pilates. And so I'm really maintaining that muscle mass for me because as we age, we get sarcopenia, right? And that's, that's age-related muscle loss. And we will find that, as you know, when our hormones start declining. So that's why anyone in their younger— that's if they're building up that muscle, that's what they want to do. They want to make sure that they're always saying, hello, we feel you, you know. So anything that you're doing for muscle and strengthening is so good for your body.

Oh my goodness. Yep. I will tell you that my mother is on me to do weight training and she will be happy that I am doing it. So I am listening to her even at my age. I'm still listening to my mother.

Yeah. So again, yeah, that's super important. So I got to tell you, when you, when you do, if you find something where you're doing like 3 reps, 10, 10, 10, 10, you're doing anything. If you're finding that that third rep is easy, just beef it up a little bit. You always want that third rep, um, the third to be a little bit hard.

Oh, that's good to know.

So, so you can get through the first and second sets, and then, but on that third one, you really want to push your body. So yes, weights for women is huge. Don't be afraid to pick up heavy things. They've now correlated grip strength to age. Can you get up off the floor without using your hands? Right? Those are some really simple basic things that we are now associated with aging, is just being able to get yourself up off the floor without using your hands and your grip strength. So, you know, doing some squats with a heavy weight, like a— I don't use kettlebells, I just use like a regular weight, free weight. And free weights, here's the other thing, and I don't blame a lot of women going to the gym and feeling this is not the place. Those machines are not made for our bodies. So that's another thing to understand too. They are not made for a female body. So if you have a gym that does like personal training with free weights, that's where you want to be. Again, I love Pilates, but you need the weight bearing as well. So, you know, that's, that's, that's huge. But those weights, do not feel discouraged if you go because and then again your aches and pains because it's just not ergonomic to our bodies. Hmm.

And then, well, that's good to know. I'm doing free weights, so that's good to know that I'm doing it right.

You know, if you can't, you know, make sure you're getting enough aminos. If you're not getting your protein through food, supplement with a really good protein or amino acids or even a creatine. They're really good for your body. So that just, again, everything goes back to the amino acids in your body because It's the, you know, um, where really where the protein is building. So if you're not getting your, you know, your right amount of protein, you need to source that from, from somewhere. You really need to supplement, supplement that.

Well, and I don't, I don't want to change topics, but I do want to talk about the fact that your daughters, I don't know if they're still dealing with it, but I know they were dealing with asthma and allergies.

It was terrifying. Yeah. So when my daughter was born, my oldest daughter was born, um, she had an upper respiratory She had food allergies and had an upper respiratory condition, so, um, her little airway would spasm and she was not getting oxygen, and there was no warning. She would just go lethargic. So I'd run her to the emergency room and they would hit her with an EpiPen and, um, breathing treatments. And, you know, at one point, and the doctor was like, do you realize how scary this is? I'm like, yeah, I do. So I was that mom who went to every field trip because she needed the EpiPen. Um, and again, it was the you know, the breathing treatments and those sorts of things. So you really will do anything as a mom. But that was really my rabbit hole and understanding. I mean, there was no laundry detergent, there was no fragrances, no candles, no perfumes, nothing.

And so, oh my goodness, it was then 2 years later, uh, her—

when her sister was born, my second daughter was born, she had, um, a touch of asthma. She had a touch of asthma, but she had a hive disorder and she had eczema. So now that brought the skin into it. So again, because of what I do and my career and working for nutrition brands and things, I'm a research— you know, I'm kind of a geek when it comes to the research because I want to know how this ingredient is going to function in the body, right? And I'm fascinated by it. I'm still, you know, even today there's so much information that we know that we never knew before, and we're constantly learning new things. Um, so again, we were really living in an abstinence state in my home, right? And again, I did control everything that went in and out of their bodies. And they were, you know, they were none the wiser. They were happy. They were, you know, I made the baby food and fed them, right? So it was, um, it was scary. It was terribly scary. But now, even as young women, I am so— they care about their bodies, right? And this is, again, in puberty, we can teach them that they own this. The best thing we can teach them is that they own this, right? And so, because when they're little, they don't feel, right? We tell them where to go, what to wear, what to eat, like, right? But there is that point where there is that pride and ownership. And with girls, there is a psychological component to it, and it's so important that they feel positive in their skin. Right? Because this is a long journey and it is important that they understand that every shape and size and the comparing again, especially with the social media that they're exposed to, right? In our day, it was just what our friend looked like, right? We didn't have, you know, what the planet looks like, right?

Right.

And so that's why it's so important. And I think giving them that control. To make those decisions. And the other important— I mentioned to somebody recently, remember, they're going to be 21 and out of your care very, very shortly. And so what you teach them now will benefit them, like how they, how they take care of it, um, it will, will benefit because they will care and they watch you. So that's—

I was just gonna say that, yeah, right?

Their kids are older. We always fall at the bottom of the barrel as moms, right? We're the last one They've always watched you, they've always paid attention, but now they're really watching you. How are you taking care of yourself? Are you giving yourself some downtime, right? Are, are, you know, what are you doing for self-care? And I love the opportunity to have those conversations with them, right? And you are your daughter's first influencer, so own it, claim it, right? And you matter too. So again, I love the— I love the by design. They're coming in, we're going out. Now is the time because you, you know, if you've got kids this age, you're going to be an empty nester soon, right? And don't wait. You don't have to wait until that— until that time to start really caring about reclaiming, you know, your body.

Because I want them to see me take good care of my body. I want them to see me doing the weights and the running and the eating healthy. I want them to be modeling good things. So I'm with you on that.

Yeah. And I think that it's really interesting. And I don't know if you remember, I spoke to someone earlier today and she's like, I remember when I would see my mother put on makeup and get dressed and look pretty. She remembers that.

And she used to love that. Oh, yeah.

Me too.

And I used to love when my mother would let me wear her makeup. That was very— and we weren't going to Sephora. Let me tell you, there was no Sephora.

No, no, no, no. And, you know, it is again, it's critical thinking. It's being choosy. Right. And it's not— so I believe in there's always a pendulum. Again, being a marketing person, what COVID— COVID was so restrictive that what we're dealing with now is kind of mass chaos. It's mass consumerism. Right, right. And, and there used to be, um, you used to have the mass brands and you used to have the prestige brands, right? There was nothing in the middle, right? So what we've seen in the last couple years— and so there was the cheap products and the expensive products, there was nothing in between. So what we're really seeing now after COVID is we're— there's another category, it's called mastige. So what's happening is more expensive brands or are sort of catering a little bit down. It's a smaller size, the pricing, but they might not be all that, you know, formulated as the, you know, as the prestige, you know, product. But instead of consumers buying one of things now, then they want every, you know, one in every flavor, right? Every guy got to have all of them, you know. But I'm glad to report that I think the pendulum is swinging back. And I do think it comes from a lot of people saying, okay, enough is enough. And young people saying to themselves, hey, listen, I don't want this. I don't want these clothes, fast fashion. Fashion is a big thing for young people, right? They don't want the fast fashion. They would rather go to the thrift store and buy quality, right? So, and then we're talking about classic books and classic fashions, you see that. So I think that our young people really are, um, on the right track. I think that they just forget because they're being marketed to 24/7. Oh yeah, it's very hard to— it's hard to resist that. Boys are also like that though. Boys are great. Boys are like, I don't care, like, you know what I mean? So they don't fall prey to that. But again, that's part of our tribe and part of our belonging. And in society today, we really have stolen this wonderful innocence of, of childhood for a lot of these young people between the ages of, you know, 9 and 14. Um, and, you know, again, social media has so much to do with that. But, um, yeah, and there's always that aging up, right? So younger people are acting older. And again, oh yes, puberty has a lot to— puberty has a lot to do with that. And they're entering they're entering this, you know, much, much younger.

Well, for everyone, all the parents who want to do better for their kids, can you leave us with one piece of advice that we can start doing today?

Yeah, nutrition is huge. Plan, get them involved, tell them why it's important. Right. I think that's, that's huge. Again, sleep, We also know, again, the sleep patterns are changing. Almost melatonin is happening 3 hours early, maybe 3 hours later for them, right? I think it's really expressing the importance of, of that, but also model it, right? I love your— what you said. I mean, that's just so important. If you're modeling it and you're being real with it and having a buddy, like saying, you know what, girls, I really had a hard time today doing this. Can you check me? Can you make sure, like, let's do this together. I need your I need you to be a cheerleader for me. I'll be a cheerleader for you. Um, and, and right, and get them, get them involved in that. And it's okay. Like, I used to tell my daughter, yeah, I really need you here to help the, you know, and they will. And that makes them feel, you know, uh, important as well. But great communication, um, and just being human. I think our kids respond to that so much better. And in listening too, we can learn a whole lot. Like, they're, they're super smart.

Like, really, they are, they are incredible.

So it's— and again, if, if you have— you understand what their bodies are going through, the empathy goes a long way. Really take a step back. They're not always nice, and we know that. But my younger daughter— my older daughter was just— she went, she sailed She was great. She was so— she didn't have these moods. My younger daughter did, but she did.

But you know what she said?

She said to me when she was older, and this is— she's 22, and so I think she was maybe 19 when she said this to me. She says, Mom, I'm sorry I beat you up so bad, but I knew I could because I knew you weren't going anywhere.

Oh, because—

and I'm like, that was like the nicest thing she could have said to me.

That is some good awareness there. Holy moly.

Huge. And huge. And we struggled with that, but I wasn't going anywhere. And they need to test you because they need to know if you're going to be there to catch them.

We need to be their safe space, even though it's not easy being the safe space.

We can take it, right? That's our right. We can so take it because we know what's happening. That's where the empathy comes from. Them. It's like, if we know what their little— what their bodies are trying to do and expand, you know, we talk about, you know, people say— we talked about empty nesting. Well, I've heard the term launching, right? You're not an empty nester, you've just launched some humans. And, um, I think if we, if we understand again— and I'm, I'm happy to say that, you know, it is, it's the hardest thing, but it does— when you see independent young people It's just so heartwarming. You know, you did a good job.

Well, yeah. I mean, you have two successful daughters. That has to feel really good.

It feels great. It feels really great. It feels good.

So tell everybody listening where they can find you and your fabulous skincare.

So good4yougirls.com, all spelled out, and then they can get it also on Amazon.com and Walmart.com. But I'd love to give you a discount code. Mm.

Yes, let's do it.

So why don't we use the name of the podcast?

Okay.

Winey Palooza.

Yep.

20.

Winey Palooza 20. Got it.

For 20% off. And they can— yeah, they can use that coupon code on the website.

That's awesome.

And if anybody has any questions, if you go to info@ on the website, if you have questions, because I love that too. You know, moms are great. Dads make me cry. They're awesome. Yeah, they do. Oh my God, a dad with his, like, when I get a call from dad and their 12-year-old, you know, daughter is struggling, oh my God, they're like the— oh, it kills me. Kills me.

Well, I love what you're doing.

Thank you.

It's so needed, and I really appreciate you educating us. And, and I mean, you taught us so much today. I have no doubt that you helped Oh, thank you.

But be good to you all the time.

Yes, absolutely. This is Rebecca Greene, and I want to remind everyone to spend every day laughing, learning, and loving. Thank you for tuning in to the Whiny Palooza podcast. If you like what you heard, please be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. While you are there, leave a review. I love to hear your feedback. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time.

This show has been produced by Market Domination LLC. To discover how you can have your own show completely done for you and turn it into a real published book and become the authority in your marketplace, go to www.marketdominationllc.com/podcastoffer.

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