Is Beauty Skin Deep?

The answer is yes and no. Its a paradox, isnt it? True beauty begins from the inside out. Dont you wish there was some way to wriggle your nose and regain that soft skin you had as a child? Well, until someone comes up with the true Fountain of Youth we are stuck with what we have.

The best route to healthy skin is to take care of what you have. Sounds simple, doesnt it? The truth is that your skin takes a beating from the environment every single day. Here are some of our favorite tips for keeping your skin fresh and healthy:

1. Stay hydrated and do it with plenty of water! That doesnt mean soda, caffeine or any other type of liquid even if it is low cal. Soda (even diet soda) has a high concentration of sodium. Sodium retains fluids. You need fluid that will hydrate and flush your body free of toxins. Make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day!

2. Protect your skin from harmful ultra violet (UV) rays. We all love the sun. We love being in it and we love having a beautiful tan. The truth is you can poison yourself with too much sunshine. UV rays cause skin cancer and if that isnt bad enough it causes your skin to age faster than it should contributing to unsightly wrinkles. If you must play in the sun, make certain you are using an adequate sun screen. Dont leave home without it!

3. Apply your sun screen even if you only make a quick trip to the grocery store. Yes, you can get harmful UV rays even while driving your car!

4. Keep your skin clean. Use a soft warm cloth. Skin does not require scrubbing. You will do more harm than good if you do.

5. Exfoliate dead skin cells every night.

6. Create your own facial masks. Here are a couple of excellent masks that you can create with ingredients right from your kitchen: Oatmeal mask: Mix oatmeal with skim milk and apply. Eggs: A raw egg yolk makes an excellent face mask. Try adding a little honey to the egg yolk for a change of pace. Mayonnaise makes another terrific face mask and will leave your skin feeling very soft

7. Use an antioxidant cream. You are bombarded every day with environmental toxins that attack the surface of your skin. In fact most damage to the skin can be attributed to free radicals. When you expose yourself to toxins like air pollution free radical production increases. Apply an antioxidant cream to your skin before applying your sun screen.

8. The best cure for wrinkles is to never have them in the first place! If you are like most of us, you didnt listen to your Mum when she tried to tell you to stay in the shade, stand up straight and stop squinting!

9. Stop shaving your legs and use hot wax. Much gentler on your skin.

10. Mix up a tablespoon of brandy along with a smashed up peach and apply to your face for twenty minutes then rinse. Makes for a great summer facial.