Frugal beauty tip

I received this wonderful beauty tip and movie trivia from Tanii, the daughter of movie and TV actress, Anne Dore.

"When I was growing up, Turkish towels were very much in vogue. (The Turkish towel has a long and rich history. Its weave is distinct in that it has “piles” similar to woven carpets, unlike regular towels with a flat weave so prevalent for so long.)

At the time, I didn’t know why these towels were special. All I knew was that Mother used them to bring circulation to the surface of the skin by rubbing them all over her body usually in circular motions. She never rubbed hard, but vigorously enough to where her skin glowed with vitality. This was as ritual performed after a bath or shower when the skin was warmed up.

Mother also owned and used body brushes, usually ones with long handles. She did a dry brushing of her skin before a bath or shower when she wasn’t using a Turkish towel. Both methods helped loosen and eliminate any dead cells and resulted in very soft skin requiring a lot less creams and moisturizers.

Story: Most of her work in the entertainment industry was as a showgirl - not much dialog, but lots of eye-candy. Among her credits was “The Colgate Comedy Hour” for NBC working with such stars of the time as Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Abbot and Costello, Bing Crosby and others.

But her “claim to anonymity” was doubling for Tony Perkins in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Psycho.” Contrary to what audiences thought they were seeing, it was not Tony Perkins (dressed up as his movie mom) who stabbed Janet Leigh in the now-infamous shower scene. It was Mom! She got the part because she was tall. Hitchcock wanted a body double because he knew, quite rightly, that people would recognize Perkin’s body language and figure it all out before the end of the movie. Mother never got screen credit, and very few people in the world know this “secret,” but now you do!"

You can pick up a Turkish Towel at any good linen store or follow my yard sale tip and find the good towels in the linen closet at estate sales.