Beauty for the New Year

It has happened again…someone has tagged you on Facebook, with an unflattering expression on your face, your eyes half-closed, or an extra chin. What recourse do you have?  You can’t modify those photos; you can only un-tag yourself and hope no one saw them or didn’t recognize you.  Or…you can empower yourself to do your own real-life photoshopping, so you can look your best in both live and digital memories.

Beauty comes from within, which is where we will start.

• Hydration … drink half your body weight in ounces per day if you are inactive (50 oz if you weigh 100 lbs); add more if you exercise, or if you drink caffeinated or alcoholic beverages (+2 cups of water for every cup of alcohol or coffee). It can be a difficult goal to achieve, so slowly add a little more each day until your body gets used to it.  Plump, juicy cells work better than raisins.
• Sleep … this is something you need to determine for yourself; women tend to need more than men to function optimally. Avoid late-night food or drink and retire to a cave-like environment. Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase to prevent grabbing and folding of the face.
• Exercise … helps maintain optimal weight, stress relief (releases the feel-good endorphins), build muscle and bone mass. Do something you actually enjoy, and you will stick with it. Consistency is the most important aspect of exercise…just do it, even if it is 15 minutes a day.  And get an exercise partner to keep you accountable. Instead of a smoking break, take a health break, and walk, get some fresh air, throw in a few lunges, and clear your mind and de-stress.  You are your most important client, so treat yourself as such.
• Nutrition … you are what you eat.  Have a wide variety of food types and colors; good fats, lean protein, complex carbohydrates, avoid the white stuff. If you tend to eat poorly at work, take a little time the evening before to create healthy snacks for yourself to avoid poor choices at the workplace. Women should also consume more protein. And remember to take a good multivitamin, fish oil (look for EPA 1000 mg or more daily…helps with inflammation on a cellular level, which affects heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc), and 500 – 1500 mg of calcium citrate for women.
• Sun Protection … wear SPF of at least 30, and reapply every 80 minutes when outdoors, or 30 minutes prior to re-exposure to sun (before lunch or leaving work). Makeup typically provides an SPF of 10 or 15, which is not enough. I recommend Colorscience which provides a physical barrier (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) that you can apply over your makeup. This will help prevent brown spots, wrinkles, skin laxity, and loss of collagen. This step is critical to protect your investment in cosmetic procedures, like lasers, chemical peels, or microdermabrasions.  An ounce of prevention…

External beauty recommendations

People are staying in the workforce longer, or beginning new relationships, and want to stay more youthful. Procedures like botox, dermal fillers, and lasers will give you proven results, if properly performed by a skilled professional. A Botox gel will begin clinical trials in the U.S. in late 2015, so there may be hope for the needlephobics. There have been advances in dermal fillers, as well as in the placement technique and location of the product (there is hope for bony hands, shriveled earlobes, and sunken temples). Even skin care products have evolved to provide more benefits. The trendy procedures from 2014, such as fat stem cells, the Vampire Facelift, cheek implants, and Ultherapy have proven unsuccessful or even harmful, so new is not necessarily better.

Lastly, no matter how tempting the Groupon may be, resist the urge to go cheap on your face. Undertrained staff can cause complications that may be permanent. Trust your face with a physician that actually performs these procedures on a daily basis and researches their procedures before providing them. At a legitimate medical spa, you should be seen by a physician before receiving any injectable procedure, as ruled by the Texas Medical Board in November, 2013.

Protect and nourish your inner and outer self, and you will stay youthful longer. Start the new year right, and be present for yourself, and you will be a better asset to yourself and others for years to come.