SO MANY STEPS, SO LITTLE TIME!

Do any of these reasons sound familiar as to why you don't take better care of your skin? "It takes too long!" "There are too many steps!" "At night, all I want to do is get into bed!" Blah, blah, blah!

As one who only used to moisturize and maybe use a little blush in the morning and then moisturize at night, I hear ya! Nowadays, when I get ready for the gym, and we're talking THE GYM here, to be presentable takes me so much longer than I ever thought possible! And this is so that I can go sweat!! Geez! But this is because of my age and because I didn't have access to the information and all the great products that are on the market today.

You "younguns" out there are fortunate, in that alot of the skincare and makeup on the market is also good for you! The products actually have dual or triple purposes. Take serums, for example. They have the highest concentration of active ingredients, so not only are they important for that reason, but alot of them also moisturize, luminate and exfoliate! Mascaras are free of tar and shellac, moisturizers are oil free, lipsticks are lead free, antioxidants are in everything, etc. How lucky can ya be?! The work is done for you!

I'm actually jealous that for you generation X's and Y's, you have higher and better sunscreen than in my day and age, when we didn't even know about the sun's damaging rays! You have serums, you have retinol, you have at home peels, and knowledge at your fingertips! There is NO reason that you should not have healthy and young looking skin as you age!

So take this advice from an aging baby boomer: take advantage of what's out there AND take the time to put it to good use! It's only a few extra minutes each day, but what a world of difference it will make in the long run, when you look in the mirror at my age and say to yourself, "It was all worth it!"

STRESS EVEN STRESSES OUT OUR SKIN!

I was just reading an interesting article, in MORE magazine, about the effects of stress on skin. Since I doubt that alot of you read this magazine (but it's my favorite, so you should!), I will relay the gist of the article to you. Even if you're not over 40, which is the target audience, this particular article will definitely apply to you and your life.

Dr. Ted Grossbart, Ph.D. at Harvard, says, "Your skin can serve as a billboard for unresolved emotional and psychological issues." And Dr. Ranella Hirsch, M.D., says, "Although stress does not cause most diseases of the skin, it worsens them.....This is why brides break out on their wedding day (oh no, Jami!!) or you get a cold sore before an important job interview."

There is a little known, new, medical field, called psychodermatology, that recognizes the negative effects that stress can have on our skin. These docs are trained in both dermatology as well as either psychology, psychiatry or social work. Cool, huh? But even "regular" dermatologists are relying more and more on relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation, hypnosis and biofeedback as treatments for skin conditions.

Learning to relax (I know it's easier said than done, believe me!) can not only help avoid flare-ups, but can help all women "fend off the aging effects of stress. Stress and sleep deprivation (Jami!!) raise stress hormone levels and the molecules break down collagen, causing wrinkles. De-stressing releases anti-inflammatory molecules that help the skin heal wrinkles by repairing damaged collagen," and this can help EVERY woman, even those without skin diseases, achieve a healthy, glowing complexion.

So, ladies, let's get out our yoga mats (yea, Jami!), get a good night's rest, eliminate the men in our lives who cause us stress (just kidding!), and watch our skin come alive with radiance and good health!

LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING!

There are so many products out there and each one promises to be the "be all and end all" of skincare. If we use this, our skin will look years younger, our wrinkles will be gone, we will look like we slept for 8 hours, etc. etc. To be perfectly honest, it is a game of trial and error. Each one of us has different skin and skin issues and that's why some products work for some and not for others. But there are things we all need to be using every single day, come rain or shine!

Remember this mantra: sunscreen everyday and retinol every night! Sunscreen needs to have both UVA and UVB protection. UVA guards against Aging and UVB guards against Burning. The sun will get through the clouds even on a cloudy day, even when we are sitting in our house by a window, and especially when we are in a car, whether we are the driver or passenger. I cannot seem to get this fact through my spousal equivalent's head! He only uses sunscreen when he golfs! Hello????? Anyone home??

In addition to using sunscreen on our faces, we also need to apply it to our hands! Our hands show age just as quickly as our faces, if not quicker, so if we think we are fooling people by having a smooth countenance, all they need do is look at our hands and see if the two compliment each other (then, others will compliment us!) My own rule (that I once learned from a nail tech years ago) is to wear gloves if the temperature gets below 60 degrees outside. First off, if our hands are warm, our bodies will be warm, but more importantly, we will stave off skin agers, such as the wind and sun.

Retinol (at night) is a derivative of Vitamin A and is extremely effective in stimulating cell turnover. We mainly use it at night, because if exposed to the sun, it can irritate the skin. (Should you need to wear it during the day, make sure you wear a good sunscreen!) Retinol stimulates new collagen production, which means smoother and softer skin.

Just as with any product, though, you should use reputable product lines, because they use the most effective percentages for the best results. And it's vitally important that the retinol be stabilized; otherwise, it can irritate the skin. The skincare lines that I most highly recommend, because I have personally used them are Philosophy, Neutrogena, Neutrogena Dermatologics on QVC, Clientele and Dr. Denese, a dermatologist and anti aging researcher in NYC. Go onto any of these websites and read up on the different products.

I hope I didn't get too technical for you out there. If you don't care about anything else I said, please just remember this: sunscreen during the day and retinol at night. Now go out and enjoy the sunshine, then get a beautiful night's rest!!