Do you think about what you are putting on your face before you slather those anti aging creams on at night, or do you blindly trust that all of the ingredients are safe? Many of us don’t even think about whether or not we should be trusting the manufacturers of these types of products. If it says “clinically tested” that is usually enough for us. And it should be enough – we should be able to trust companies and take their word as truth, but unfortunately, that is not the kind of world we live in, and when money is involved, their will always be people who will try their best to take advantage of as many people as possible.

Sometimes mistakes happen honestly, and there are ingredients in your facial creams that are not healthy because of a missed test result or something like that. We tend to forgive those kinds of mistakes a little more easily than the people who know that something is not safe and go ahead with it anyway. There was a recent study done on a key ingredient of anti aging cream (most of them have this ingredient) called “alpha hydroxyl acids,” or AHAs as they are more commonly known, and it turns out that AHAs can make your skin more susceptible to skin cancer, sun damage and toxins.

This key ingredient has been advertised over and over again as a powerful anti aging tool that smooths out fine lines and wrinkles, giving your skin a more smooth and youthful look. How many times have you heard those words on a television commercial? I don’t know for sure if AHAs actually do smooth out lines and wrinkles, but what I do know is that these acids do strip away the top layers of the skin, and since these are the layers that protect your skin from the elements, toxins, bacteria, and every other harmful thing in the atmosphere, its no wonder that scientists were alarmed after seeing the results of this study!

Hopefully this mistake was an honest one, but unfortunately, there is really no way of knowing. Some experts are still holding out that AHAs can’t really hurt the skin in the way that these scientists are saying, and that you can continue using your anti aging creams without worrying about cancer. However, I would recommend staying away from anything when there is a risk of cancer. There is no cure for this disease, and it is the most widespread and lethal disease in America today.

Scientists were very happy with the results of this study, because they not only found that it is possible to slow down the aging process with food, but it is possible to actually reverse the process altogether as well. I think we can all agree that most of the anti aging products that are available today do nothing but take your money, but food never lies. A calorie is a calorie, and it will always have the same effect on your body. A carbohydrate never tries to pretend to be something that it is not, and it will do the same thing in your body from the time you are born to the time you die. Food never lies, so we can trust the results of this study. Some results only take hours to feel and see, while others take a few years to notice, but either way, it is a lot cheaper and healthier to use food as a anti aging agent.

The result that takes the least amount of time to notice is that your stress levels will go down. Stress is a big cause of aging, and you can usually tell the difference between someone who has had an easy, non stressful life and someone who has had a harder life by looking at their faces. Beat stress by eating more potatoes, bananas, chickpeas, poultry and red meats. These foods are high in Vitamin B6 which a lot of women are deficient of without even knowing it.

The study also found that you can boost your memory in just weeks by eating more foods that contain folate. Spinach and lentils are great sources of folate, but if you find you aren’t getting enough of these foods, consider taking a multi vitamin that includes folate. Looking younger is not just about your appearance, its also about feeling younger, and nothing makes you feel older than losing your memory and forgetting where you put things!

Eating more green, leafy vegetables can improve your eye health because of a key ingredient called Lutein. According to the study, Lutein is vital to eye health and over a period of a few months you should be able to lessen your glasses prescription or do away with it altogether, depending on how bad your eyesight is at the moment.

Another benefit from eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and cutting back on the unhealthier foods is that it will show in your face. Do your facial skin a favor and eat healthier. You will see the anti aging results in just a few weeks and people will start wondering what you did to look so young!

There are many different products out there that are advertised as “moisturizers.” However, not many of them are actually able to work through the layers of the skin and moisturize deep down. For those of us who suffer from very dry skin, these types of creams and lotions are a huge waste of money. I don’t know how many different kinds of creams I have tried over the last few years, but I’m sure that the money I spent on all of those bottles could have fed a small village for a year or two! Unfortunately, we can’t take the products home a test them for a couple of days, so we are often stuck with a lotion that doesn’t work the way we thought it would.

There are some great products out there though, and the good news is that other people have already spent the money and done the research for you! There are a handful of moisturizers out there that work exactly as advertised, and you can go out and buy them with confidence, knowing that they will soothe and hydrate your dry skin. The rest of the products may not be as worth spending your money on.

You can start by hydrating your hands with Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream. This cream is not greasy, and it should take care of your dry hands in any type of weather. As its name says, it is intense relief to your dry hands; it doesn’t just smooth over the problem, it fixes the problem!

Another great product is Dove Body Wash with Nutrium. Before you even put a moisturizer on your body, start with the right moisturizing body wash in the shower. This one is the only one that will truly help your skin, and it does the job while washing your body as well.

Exfoliating becomes more important when the weather gets colder and dryer, and using a body scrub is a great way to do it. Body scrubs come in some tempting scents, and Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish is one of the best for sure.

You can’t forget your face when it comes to products for dry skin, and your best bet is to find a product that you can put on right after you wash your face at night, so it can moisturize your facial skin all night long while you sleep. Cellcosmet Concentrated Night Cream Treatment is a great choice for a night cream.

The first thing you need to do is stop asking your hair stylist to give you a lot of layers. If your hair is falling flat all the time, it is probably because you have too many layers. When you keep most of your hair the same length, you have a much better chance at increasing the look of volume in your hair. I know, it goes against everything in you to think that lots of layers doesn’t create more volume, but believe me, it is true! Give it a try.

The next thing you can do to create more volume for your locks is to switch around your shower routine. If you thought that the first suggestion went against the grain, then you’re in for a shock now! Believe it or not, a great way to increase volume is to condition your hair first, then shampoo it. Think about it. Conditioner is heavy and it weighs the hair down. If you condition first, it will still smooth and detangle your hair, and the shampoo won’t take that away. What you will have is the smoothness and treated hair without all the weight.

The next thing I would recommend is for the readers who have dyed hair. Most of us dye our hair and almost everyone who gets their hair dyed usually go for more than one shade. The next time you dye your hair, lighten the base color a shade or two. Lighter colors look thicker and will create the look, if not the feel of more volume.

Another tip for creating more volume for your hair is to blow dry with a light hand. What I mean by this is not overdoing it when you blow dry. Sometimes we can be too zealous when it comes to drying and styling our hair, and it is easy to overdo it. When you blow dry your hair, use a round brush and only dry big chunks at a time, not small ones. Also, be careful not to put the dryer too close to your hair – leave it a few inches above your hair.

Finally, after you have finished washing, drying and styling your hair, there is one final thing you can do to add that last little bit of volume. This is where the volumizing products come into play. Pick up your hair in 3 or 4 inch sections and spray some hairspray underneath, letting the hair sort of fall into the spray. For some people, this will be enough to give them the look they want, but for others who may need a little more, you can also spray some dry shampoo (but not too much!) afterwards and give your hair a couple of scrunches.

This season, it is all about braids when it comes to hair styles, and there are 4 main types of braids that are in right now. Don’t worry, they don’t include Pippi Longstocking’s version of braids and they don’t include the type of braids you mother used to make you wear when you were a kid. These braids are stylish and fun and anyone can feel comfortable wearing them.

The first style is the headband look. If you’ve ever read the “Little House on the Prairie” series, you will know the type of braid this is right away. To get this look, you have to have long enough hair to be able to stretch it around the crown or your head. First brush your hair to the side and start braiding it from the neck down. Then, pull it over your head and insert bobby pins to keep it in place. When you are finished, the braid should be in the same place as you would put a headband. Basically, you are wearing it as a headband.

The next look is a more exotic one, and it starts out by blow drying your hair with a round brush and putting it in a high ponytail. Next, loosely braid the ponytail all the way down to the end. The ponytail should be higher than you would usually put it, or it will look like the kind of braid that your mother would have had you wear as a child!

Bohemian braids were made trendy by Nicole Richie, and her unique look has made its way into this season’s styles. This type of braid is the most versatile one out of the four, because it can be worn both wavy and straight, and it looks great either way. Part your hair in the center then, take each side at the temples and braid each one loosely. Then you can pin them both up together at the back of your head, preferably in the center.

The fourth braid style that is trendy right now is a loose type of French braid. French braids always look great, no matter what the hair trend is, and now that French braids are a part of the hair trend, it will look even better! The type of French braid that is in right now is a partial French braid. What you do is start where your hair is parted and braid from your hairline down to your ear. Then, tie the end with bobby pins or a hair elastic and hide the tied spot with some of your hair.

To understand the aging process that causes wrinkles, let’s start with a skin anatomy refresher. Our skin has three different layers, which are the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue.

• Epidermis is the outermost layer of skin and acts as a protective shield against external factors. The epidermis is composed of cells called keratinocytes that migrate from the bottom to the top layer to create a protective barrier of keratin.
• Dermis contains the structural components that give skin its shape. Dermis contains various types of connective tissue with varying functions. Collagen is an important connective tissue that maintains skin strength. Glycosaminoglycans work to keep skin firmness. Elastin fibers create skin flexibility or elasticity. The area where the epidermis and the dermis meet contains an important structure called rete ridges. The epidermis draws nutrients from the blood vessels in the dermis and the waved surface of rete ridges causes a greater area of the epidermis to have access to dermal blood vessels.
• Subcutaneous tissue makes up the bottom layer of the skin. It is comprised of fat cells that help to insulate the body and maintain skin volume or plumpness.

Aging affects the three layers of the skin in different ways to allow the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.

• As you get older, the cells of the epidermis start to thin and lose some of their ability to stick together. This causes your skin to appear thinner and allows moisture to escape, causing dryness. The number of epidermal cells goes down with age as well, at a rate of 10% every ten years. Also, cell division slows down as we get older, making it difficult for the skin to rapidly repair itself.
• The dermis starts to thin with age as well, and collagen production slows considerably. Also, elastin fibers start to become stretched out. With the corresponding losses of strength and flexibility, these structural changes cause the skin to begin to droop and form wrinkles. Furthermore, sebaceous glands increase in size but decrease in sebum production while the number of sweat glands drops, both of which cause the skin to become dryer.
  • In addition, the rete ridges start to flatten, which lowers the amount of blood accessible to the epidermis, and thus the amount of nutrients. This causes the skin to become fragile and slow to repair itself.
• Lastly, in the subcutaneous layer, fat cells start to shrink with age, which causes the skin to sag and wrinkle without the plumping effect usually provided.

The loss of skin protection, moisture, volume, strength, nutrient absorption, and flexibility leads directly to the formation of wrinkles. Also, all of these changes cause skin to become more fragile, less likely to repair itself, and more susceptible to the effects of gravity, environmental factors, hormonal changes, and habitual movements, all of which contribute to the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

• Botox – probably the most popular cosmetic procedure these days, Botox has soared in popularity in recent years. Basically, Botox is a mild and purified form of the Botulinum toxin A. When injected into the skin, Botox makes the targeted muscle relax and remain still, causing the skin on top of it smooth out. You must visit a specialist to have this procedure done, and be sure to discuss the side effects of treatment before you begin.
• Wrinkle fillers – another popular cosmetic procedure. Your doctor will inject a substance under your skin to grant a plumper, smoother look.
  • Collagen is the most widely used wrinkle filler, but there are several other substances that are used by doctors. Zyderm and Zyplast are two collagen treatments derived from bovine sources that work to replace lost collagen in your skin. CosmoDerm, CosmoPlast, Autologen, Cymetra, and Fascian are all bioengineered human collagen treatments.
  • Radiesse is a form of calcium hydroxyappetite in a watery gel that helps to plump up tissue. It is semi-permanent and can eventually be absorbed by the body.
  • Fascia injections draw from specific forms of connective tissue from your body or that of a cadaver. Your body will reabsorb the fascia in about a year.
  • Fat injections from your thighs or stomach area can sometimes achieve permanent results without the risk for allergic reaction.
  • Hyaluronic acid, found in treatments like Juvederm and Restylane, is a naturally occurring substance your body produces to give your skin firmness and volume. Injections of hyaluronic acid fill in the areas between collagen and elastin that have become depleted with age.
  • Poly-L-lactic acid, found in treatments like Sculptra, is synthetic form of fat used to replace the facial fat lost during aging. It is biodegradable and based on alpha-hydroxy-acid.
  • Polymethylmethacrylate beads, or PMMA microspheres, are miniscule plastic balls that remain permanently to add volume underneath the skin.
• Laser or light resurfacing – a procedure in which a laser or diode light pulses remove the outermost layer of skin, stimulating the body to product more collagen.
• Chemical peels – a treatment that uses a combination of chemicals to dissolve the outermost layer of skin, triggering the body to produce more collagen.
• Dermabrasion – a chemical crystal and a vacuum are used in conjunction to remove the outermost layer of skin to reveal new, smoother skin.

• Topical vitamin C – eating a diet rich in vitamin C has long been considered a healthy habit for your body and your skin. However, recent studies have shown that the topical application of vitamin C to the skin can boost collagen production, guard the skin against the harmful effects of sun exposure, even out skin tone, and reduce inflammation. Of the different types of vitamin C studied, L-ascorbic acid seems to be the most effective.
• Human growth factors – some studies have shown that these essential components of the body’s arsenal against tissue damage may lessen sun damage and reduce wrinkles when applied topically.
• Kinetin – a growth factor found in plants, kinetin has shown promise in wrinkle reduction and skin tone evening. It may be a powerful antioxidant, help speed collagen production, and improve skin hydration.
• Retinoids – the best known retinoid is tretinoin, commonly called Retin A. So far, Retin A is the only topical cream approved for wrinkle treatment by the FDA. It is sold as a prescription and has shown promise in reducing both fine lines and deeper wrinkles, as well as undoing sun damage. Some studies have shown that retinol, which is a natural type of vitamin A, may be as effective if used in a highly concentrated formula.
• Alpha-hydroxy acids – also known as AHAs, alpha-hydroxy acids occur naturally in fruits and have shown promise in exfoliation of the skin. They remove the dead cells at the surface of the skin, which helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Some recent studies suggest that high concentrations of AHAs may increase collagen production.
• Pentapeptides – recent research and studies have shown that a group of amino acids called pentapeptides might also help to boost collagen production, even in skin damaged by sun exposure.
• Idebenone – very similar in chemical structure to coenzyme Q10, another promising topical treatment for younger looking skin, idebenone is a highly effective antioxidant. Recent studies have shown that it may help to smooth, soften, hydrate, and help repair skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
• Coenzyme Q10 – an active nutrient in cell energy production. Some studies have shown that coenzyme Q10 may reduce the appearance of wrinkles and may protect against the sun when applied before exposure.
• Copper peptides – all of our cells contain traces of copper, it is an important element. In topical applications, copper is combined with peptides to help speed healing. They may also boost collagen production and support the effects of antioxidants.
• Extracts of teas – green tea is most commonly used, although some treatments may contain oolong or black tea. These extracts are rich in antioxidants and help to reduce inflammation or swelling.

• Fish – especially cold water fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovies, tuna, and trout. These fish have an abundance of protein, which is a fundamental for your skin. Furthermore, they are very rich in essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3, which has been praised by experts as helping to nourish skin for a plumper, more youthful look.
• Soy – a few recent studies have shown that the antioxidants in soy, like isoflavones, phytates, saponins, and lignins, may hold some promise in preventing and repairing the aging effects of sun exposure. Soy is also rich in amino acids that the body uses to help repair damaged tissue. In addition, soybean oil is very nourishing and protective when applied topically.
• Cocoa – your favorite comfort drink just got healthier. Research in the past few years has uncovered antioxidants called flavonoids in cocoa that may prevent sun damage, boost skin circulation, and improve hydration to improve skin appearance.
• Fruits and vegetables – contain antioxidants that help combat the aging caused by free radicals. Some fruits and vegetables pack an extra punch and include spinach, legumes, goji berries, flaxseeds, prunes, beetroot, olives, red/yellow/orange peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.
  • Spinach, kale and swiss chard have a powerful antioxidant called lutein that helps to improve the moisture content and flexibility of skin.
  • Beans and legumes support hyaluronic acid production in the body. Hyaluronic acid helps to smooth out and plump up the skin.
  • Goji berries are packed with Vitamin C, which is not only an important antioxidant, but it supports collagen production, a vital part of healthy skin. Goji berries also contain an essential fatty acid called linoleic acid that helps to improve skin texture.
  • Flaxseeds are another great way to get more omega-3 in your in diet.
  • Prunes contain the greatest amount of antioxidants, followed by blueberries.
  • Beetroot contains anthocyanins, which helps the skin produce more collagen, along with high levels of antioxidants.
  • Olives, and olive oil, are rich in oleic acid, which is another great skin plumper. Extra virgin olive oil also works great as a topical emollient.
  • Red/yellow/orange peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes and other foods of the same color contain antioxidants that help protect the skin against the sun. They also contain high amounts of beta carotene, which is converted to Vitamin A in the body and has been shown to be very healthy for the skin.
  • Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants and also contain lycopene, which has been shown to be more powerful than Vitamin E in blocking the skin aging molecules that are released during sun exposure.

1. Keep out of the sun. Gone are the days when it was cool to slather yourself in baby oil and bake in the sun for hours. In fact, most of the people who did that now look like they are covered in sagging leather instead of skin. Sun exposure is the main cause of wrinkles, even more influential than your DNA.
2. Cover up. It is a bit impossible to avoid the sun completely, of course. So, when you do go out, make sure to wear a good coat of sunscreen on all exposed skin. If your hair is thinning or your skin is especially fair, it is advisable that you wear a hat as well. This will not only protect you from wrinkles, it will help keep skin cancer at bay.
3. Go to sleep. Research has shown that the body produces greater amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone, when you don’t sleep enough. Cortisol, in addition to contributing to weight gain, can cause skin cells to deteriorate. In addition, sleeping well and for adequate amounts of time helps your body produce more human growth hormone, or HGH, which supports skin strength and elasticity to prevent wrinkles.
4. Change position. It’s not a wives’ tale anymore, the American Academy of Dermatology actually recommends that you sleep on your back to reduce potential wrinkles. Apparently, sleeping on your stomach can lead to extra forehead wrinkles while sleeping on your side can contribute to wrinkles in your cheeks.
5. Butts out. While it has long been known that smoking causes unattractive changes in appearance in general and can lead to cancer, recent research has shown that it can increase the number and depth of wrinkles. It is thought that smoking causes your body to release an enzyme that destroys collagen and elastin, the two most important components of healthy, smooth skin.
6. Wear glasses. Squinting in the sunlight or at the fine print can lead to wrinkles. Make sure your prescription is always correct if you wear glasses, or don reading glasses if you are going to be sitting for a while. Always wear sunglasses when it is bright outside, not only will they shield the skin around your eyes from the sun, but they will help you keep from squinting.
7. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. It is especially important to keep your skin hydrated if you live in a dry climate. Also, properly moisturized skin just looks better and wrinkles are far less apparent.
8. Be careful with cleanliness. Washing your face too often can rob it of its natural protective oils that help keep it flexible and protected against wrinkles. Also, you should make sure that your facial soap either has moisturizers included, or use a soap-free cleanser instead.
9. Drink more water. Hydrated skin can come from the inside as well. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day or more, it is very hard to drink too much water. Also, this will help your body rid itself of toxins that can contribute to aging.
10. Exercise. Working up a sweat causes your pores to open up and clears them of any dirt or toxins that have been trapped on the surface. Your face should feel softer and have a nice glow afterward.