Guest Blogger: Tara on Aztec Secret

Tara is a mom of three,
wife of one, and the author of Tara
Thinks. Tara loves Craftsman-era design, reading Martha Grimes mysteries, and
wielding her power tools almost as much as she enjoys a bag full of new
shoes.

Growing up, my three sisters and I were friends with a family full of tiny, beautiful girls.  Okay, the girls in my family were tiny and beautiful too, except for me.  Our two girl-laden families spent a lot of time together.  We shared a timeshare and went skiing together, played softball together, and since it was the late 80s, lay outside tanning and painted our nails bright pink together.  So when we heard that all the girls in their family used a certain mud mask once a week, by golly, we went out and bought Aztec Secret too.

I buy this at my local health food store for $8.  But be warned, this is not your mother’s face mask (not that I know your mother or anything); this mask is serious business.  I mean, check out the packaging – Aztec Secret, Indian Healing Clay – “World’s Most Powerful Facial.”  Sounds a little scary, right?  And it sort of is.  The back says in big red letters – FEEL YOUR FACE PULSATE!  You mix the pale green powder with apple cider vinegar until you get a paste-like consistency and apply all over your face.  And then you wait 20 minutes or so until it hardens into stone and you can barely breathe and drool is coming from your mouth if you didn’t have it closed. 

It takes quite a while to wash this off, and I have found the best thing is to hop in the shower -– makes tons less mess.  Well, except for all the dirt left on my shower floor.  Once you get all the mud off, you will notice that your face is essentially the color of a cherry tomato.  And a little puffy.  This lasts 30 minutes to an hour.  But once the redness subsides my skin feels… different.  A little tighter, a little brighter, a little smoother, a little better.  And this better skin even lasts for more than a day.

I am still using the Aztec Secret all these years later.  Maybe not once a week as I did back when I didn’t even need it, but once every month or two.  Nowadays I am lucky to find five minutes to myself, even to take some semblance of a shower.  But I’m always glad when I make the time for a facial.  I recommend this product to those wanting to deep cleanse and tighten, but it’s not for the faint of heart.