Your Guide to Perfect Skin

You can reverse the aging process

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"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?" -- Buonarroti Michelangelo

5 Dos and 5 Don’ts to Help Slow the Aging Skin Process

Maybe you're in your 20s or early 30s and you think you can't possibly have (gulp) aging skin yet. Well, you're wrong. Your skin's "youthfulness" has less to do with age than how it's been treated, so if exposed to sun, smoke and stress, your skin will start "acting old," losing collagen, glow and elasticity. Lines will develop prematurely and your skin may look dull and "blah."

It's easier to prevent damage than to repair it, but the good news is you can put the brakes on prematurely aging skin and you can reverse the aging process, well, to a point.

Here are 5 dos and 5 don’ts to help slow down and reverse the aging process and leave your skin glowing at any age.

• Do stop smoking. Ever notice the skin of a lifelong smoker? It can appear wrinkly like a squashed paper bag. The fact is, smoking is the 2nd biggest cause of skin damage after sun exposure. Why? Nicotine constricts blood vessels and decreases the flow of oxygen to the skin. Not good things.
  
  
• Do use a retinoid every day. A daily application of a one percent prescription retinoid lotion (such as Retin-A or Tazorac) can erase years from your face. In fact, dermatologists claim retinoids (see "Is this product the secret to looking young?" are the one anti-aging product that really works.

  Before I used Retin-A, I suffered from dull skin. My complexion had a white cast, a dull pallor until I bought a tube of Retin-A over-the-counter in Mexico. I had friends who swore by the stuff. After using the product for a few weeks (and going through the annoying period where my skin turned red and peeled), all of a sudden I had dewy, glowing skin and people started to tell me I had gorgeous skin.

  AHAs used properly not only rids your face of dead skin, but can seem to take 10 years off as well by reducing fine lines. (Keep in mind these products do NOT shrink pores. Your pore size is completely hereditary, so don't believe promises of permanent reduction). Over-the-counter options such as RoC Deep Wrinkle Night Cream are good, but prescription creams work the best. Extra tip: You must stay out of the sun if you use retinoids. You are extra-susceptible to sunburns.

• Do exfoliate once a week. Choose a formulation that's best for your skin type. Chemical exfoliators (glycolic or salicylic acid) are best for oily or combo skin, while scrubs found in microdermabrasives work best for sensitive skin.

  See my list of the best facial scrubs and peels.

• Do use an eye cream daily. Eyes are one of the first places to show aging. The skin around the eyes is extra thin so you'll want to protect it from the sun with eye cream with SPF. Eye creams are controversial. Some experts and dermatologists believe you don't need a special product around the eyes, while others swear by the benefits of eye creams.

  See my list of the best eye creams.

• Do wear sunscreen every day, rain or shine. You’ve had it ingrained in your head since youth, but seriously, even in winter it can take just 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to damage the skin. Here's a list of great sunscreens, including what I believe to be the best sunscreen in the world.

  By the way, it's a MYTH that 80 percent of your lifetime sun damage occurs before age 18, according to the April, 2006, issue of O Magazine. Katie Rodan, MD, adjunct professor of dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine, says in O that this myth stands officially debunked and studies indicate we get only 23 percent of total UV exposure by age 18. Of course it gets worse as we age. So you CAN prevent sun-induced aging by wearing sunscreen.