A 40-year old mother of a new baby with colic is brutally sleep deprived, has aged five years in five months and just doesn’t have the time to trawl around Truth In Aging trying to find the products that will help her. “So cut to the car chase and tell me what to do”, wrote the desperate new mom in an email to me. I spent some time putting together some ideas and thought they’d be worth sharing.

Even if you don’t have a colicey baby, you might relate to the following: your skin needs a wake up call, you like natural products and you don't want to spend too much. OK here are some suggestions:

There’s nothing like a glycolic mask for brightening the skin. There’s two that would be very good for our 40-year old mom, especially as she also mentioned open pores and dark spots. La Vie Celeste's glycolic mask ($60) is a really good product that uses natural ingredients but has a spa quality luxurious feel. It’s fairly gentle, but it’s best not to use more than two or three times a week to start and then when you see improvements cut back to once or twice.  A lower cost alternative - with similar results - would be Juice Beauty's Green Apple Peel ($38)

Because wrinkles are not a major concern for my correspondent, I’m not going for the big guns, but am suggesting some good skin conditioners that I know that 30-something and 40-something members of the TIA community really like. Mad Hippie Vitamin C serum ($34) will also help refresh the complexion and vitamin C is good for hyperpigmentation. There was also a mention of “pimples” and so I also suggested taking a look at Your Best Face Balance ($45) because it has tetradecylthioacetic acid (TTA). This was one of our ingredients to look out for in 2010.  As well as being an antioxidant, it is anti-inflammatory and may hold promise for helping those with acne.

For an eye cream, I think it would be worth splashing out on Your Best Face Refresh ($80). The very budget conscious could take a look at Reviva’s DMAE eye cream ($19). A fantastic rescue after a sleepless night and before a much deserved break with your significant other is Chella’s new Anti-Fatigue Eye Mask Kit ($45).

Just wish I had something for colic.