SAVING FACE —

This is not my usual “cool find” but I want to put it out there because we are coming up on pitching classes and Zoom meetings. People say odd things about me, like “Max doesn’t age.” That is not true. (Dear Knees, I am so sorry for the wrongs I did you in my youth. Here is some glucosamine to appease you.) I age. But. I take care of my face. I do face yoga. That’s face exercises. I do face acupuncture. I put as much time into my face as I put into my body.

One time I told someone that I exercise my face and they looked at me with DISDAIN. I’m not kidding. DISDAIN. In capital letters. Like somehow exercising my face was vanity in the highest degree and wrong. But why? I exercise my body. Why wouldn’t I exercise my face? Should I just leave my poor face to be ravaged as some sort of virtue signal when I’m working on my abs and upper arms and thighs? Why would I do that?

AND. Exercise is not all. There are products that are good for photo shoots and Zoom appearances and meetings. I try those out too. And this one I really like.

Peter Thomas Roth Instant FIRMx Temporary Face Tightener.

There are multiple companies that put out this type of temporary skin tightener. I like Roth because it’s less expensive than some of its competitors and it works. It uses silicates, in a thin gel that goes onto the skin in a thin liquid layer that includes silicates that tighten as they dry. As they dry and the gel tightens, the skin tightens too. Under the eyes. On the upper eyelids. On the upper lip. On the forehead. Between the brows. Wherever you want skin to tighten.

Mostly I use it under the eyes. And there is just under the eyes stuff. I just like the all over face stuff because it comes in a bigger tube for a better price, and I can splash it around more if I have been mean to my face before a photo shoot.

There are tricks to using silicate gel face tighteners. They must go on as a thin layer. Otherwise, they will be too thick and flake or get milky. And, they must go on top of makeup. You can’t put this on the skin directly, let it dry, then rub something liquid like sunscreen or foundation on top of it. Rubbing liquid on top of a dried silicate gel that tightens skin will just wipe it out. They must go on top of whatever else is on your face, or be blended into it, to work, and they work better with water based or powder based foundation than with oil based foundation. Or no foundation. If you’re not a foundation person you are all set going in. Guys really have it made.)

They’re great for photo shoots, for Zoom meetings, and for public appearances.

We work in Hollywood. A town of smoke and mirrors in which everyone (including writers) is supposed to stay young forever. So. Get young for the next Zoom meeting. It’s a temporary tightener. Not surgery. We have a big anniversary Zoom coming up in June. Get it. Try it. Experiment with it. I’ll see you in June Zoom!

If you are interested in learning more about pitching and meetings, Max teaches an advanced class on pitching, The Art of the Pitch.