41 WAYS TO LOOK YOUNGER! PART II

16                 TRY AN ANTI-AGEING CREAM – It doesn’t have to cost so much, there are brilliant offerings on the high street from RoCs new Complete Lift range, via Olay’s Regenerate, to Boots No 7’s famous Protect & Perfect Intense serum.

17                   GIVE UP SMOKING – Just in case you need another reason to quit. It deprives the skin of oxygen, accelerates the process of skin ageing by hastening the degradation of collagen, which means more wrinkles- faster. Oh, and it’s not great for your health, either.

18                  TAKE UP MEDICATION – Not the most obvious way, perhaps, to roll back the years, but if you can learn to achieve the odd patch of focus and stillness in your life, it will help. Getting into the habit of relaxing your face as you concentrate on your breathing will ease the lines of tension and worry that we all develop with years.

19                  SLEEP ON A SILK, OR SATIN, PILLOW CASE – Slippery fabric such as silk or satin drags less on the skin, so doesn’t pull it into wrinkles, which sounds like an old wives’ tale but actually holds true. Hair stylists recommend these, too, for longer-lasting blow-dries.

20                 EAT MORE GOOD BACTERIA – If you have what nutritionists call gut dysbiosis, or an unhealthy gut, this will be reflected in the condition of your skin. Taking acidophilus, a probiotic supplement, every day will enhance levels of good gut flora, which should soon result in healthier-looking skin.

21                   TAKE UP YOGA – It is soothing, de-stressing, improves your posture, help loosen the knots of tension that we all accumulate in our bodies and can be done anywhere. All you need is a space to unroll a yoga mat. Also, yoga devotees always look remarkably youthful – and if you can’t beat them, why not join in and see if it works its magic for you.

22                 TAKE EXPERT ADVICE ON YOUR HAIR COLOUR – “Having a few lighter strands around the face suits almost everyone and will take years off your face,” says Susan Baldwin, creative colour consultant at John Frieda.

23                  RELAX YOUR JAW – When your jaws relax, we have a “freeway space” between our back teeth. Wearing a special fitted mouth guard, the Oral lift, for a couple of hours, twice a week, gradually increases this space, activating the facial muscles and, slowly subtly, gives a natural facelift effect. It sounds unlikely, but the case-history pictures are compelling.

24                  TAKE THE HERBAL ROUTE TO HEALTH – In the new book that leading to naturopath Elizabeth Peyton-Jones is working on, the first chapter will be called “Eat yourself young”. Until that is published, content yourself with her wisdom as revealed in First Aid Kitchen Remedy.

25                HAVE YOUR EYEBROWS SHAPED – Having your eyebrows professionally shaped- and possibly timed- is one of those minor beauty revelations that makes you wonder how you ever got by without it before. A define brow opens and lift the eye area in a way that’s little short of wondrous.

26                LEARN TO CURL YOUR EYELASHES – Give them a squeeze with an eyelash curler, which look like a giant pair of nail scissors with a clamp on the head, before you apply mascara and see how it opens up your eyes.

27                WEAR BLUSHER – Get blusher right- the right colour, in the right place – and your face will look instantly fresher and livelier. The easiest way to start is with a sheer gel blusher – simpler to use and to spread thinly. Smile, pat onto the apples of your cheeks, and blend up and out from there towards the hairline. And remember that less is more.

28                GET A GREAT HAIR CUT – Updating your hairstyle can be enough to make you look years younger and a fringe hides a multitude of frown lines. Cosmetics surgeons will often send would-be clients off for a makeover, frequently, a haircut will give them enough confident to skip the scalpel.

29                SPEND TIME DOING THING THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY – You’ll feel better and look better as a result, and in the same vein, try to smile a bit more. Its nicer for everyone else and its tricks the body into changing its mood. It also uses fewer muscles than frowning.

30                SPLASH OUT ON A LASER TREATMENT – Fine lines and age spots can both be softened by treatment with fractional laser (the “fractional” bit means that between each hole in the skin created by pinpoint laser beams, there remains a fraction of whole skin that encourages faster healing).