Keep Them Guessing! 5 Easy and Natural Ways to Take Years Off Your Appearance
I'll admit it: I am lucky.
The women in my family tend to look ten or more years younger than they are.
That said, I notice a huge difference in how many years people take off my age when I do a few simple things.
They are all natural techniques with no surgery needed.
1.
Get Your Eyebrows in Shape - Your eyebrows are actually your most important facial feature.
They frame your other features and they are the first facial feature people see as you come toward them.
(Or at least, they should be - if not, you have on too much makeup.
) If you have ever let someone else pluck your eyebrows into a different shape, you'll know just how radically they can alter the look of your face.
My mother taught me the pencil test for determining the best shaped eyebrow for your face: (a) Inside: Take a pencil place it vertically along the side of your nose, crossing your tear duct.
That is where the brow should start.
Pluck any stray hairs inside this area.
(b) Arch: Now take your pencil and place the unsharpened end at the outside of your nostril.
Looking straight ahead into the mirror, rotate the sharpened end of the pencil until you have a line that crosses your pupil.
Where it meets your eyebrow is where the peak of your arch should be.
(c) Outside: Finally, continue to rotate the sharpened end of the pencil until it crosses the outside edge of your eye.
Where it now meets the brow is where the eyebrow should end.
Pluck any hairs that extend beyond this point.
2.
Drink Enough Water - I'm not going to tell you that you need eight glasses of water a day - studies have shown that we get fluids from other liquids we drink and that our bodies can utilize those as well.
What I am going to tell you is to start each morning with a good sized glass of fresh water - with nothing in it.
Even if you have a morning coffee or orange juice, preface it with a large glass of room temperature water.
Not only does it hydrate the skin, it also hydrates your brain and internal organs and gets you off to a good start health-wise.
3.
Take Your Supplements - You've been told often enough: you are what you eat.
More than that, you look like the nutrients that go into your body.
Antioxidants not only help you internally to fight off the oxidative effects of stress (hence the name), they also do wonders for your skin, hair, and gums.
Speak to a Naturopathic Doctor to determine the best course of action for your body - what works for me may not be the right set of supplements for you.
4.
Your Walk May Be Aging You - How you enter a room is the first thing people see about you.
How you carry yourself is the most telling sign of age - and the most obvious one from a distance.
Here's a way to tell for yourself: take out your video camera (borrow one if you must) and tape yourself walking past at about 20 feet away.
Then tape yourself walking toward the camera.
Be honest: do you walk like a youthful person, with a slight spring in your step? Do you have the elegant carriage and deportment of a fashion model? Are you starting to stoop? Is your alignment off-kilter with one shoulder higher than the other? There are so many factors that can add years to your appearance but also a great many techniques for re-aligning your body and taking years off.
A few good starting points for re-aligning and restoring your body to its natural state include: the Feldenkrais Method, the Alexander Technique, Yoga, Massage Therapy, and Chiropractic.
5.
Get the Right Amount of Sleep - There is a reason that this is on everyone's list for looking younger.
Chronic lack of sleep ages you in many ways - and it will be reflected in your looks.
Lack of sleep messes with your metabolism and hormones, makes your skin sag, and exaggerates any dark circles under your eyes.
Remember also that oversleep can make you look puffy, so find your optimal sleep window and stick to it.
If beauty isn't enough of a motivator to get you to sleep better: a University of Chicago study done in the late 1990s even showed that less than a week of chronic under-sleep (about 4 hours a night) had the same effect on your blood glucose levels as type 2 diabetes.
Developing a few simple habits can not only work wonders for your looks but your overall health.
After all, so much of how we perceive beauty is based on what we consider to be signs of health.
The women in my family tend to look ten or more years younger than they are.
That said, I notice a huge difference in how many years people take off my age when I do a few simple things.
They are all natural techniques with no surgery needed.
1.
Get Your Eyebrows in Shape - Your eyebrows are actually your most important facial feature.
They frame your other features and they are the first facial feature people see as you come toward them.
(Or at least, they should be - if not, you have on too much makeup.
) If you have ever let someone else pluck your eyebrows into a different shape, you'll know just how radically they can alter the look of your face.
My mother taught me the pencil test for determining the best shaped eyebrow for your face: (a) Inside: Take a pencil place it vertically along the side of your nose, crossing your tear duct.
That is where the brow should start.
Pluck any stray hairs inside this area.
(b) Arch: Now take your pencil and place the unsharpened end at the outside of your nostril.
Looking straight ahead into the mirror, rotate the sharpened end of the pencil until you have a line that crosses your pupil.
Where it meets your eyebrow is where the peak of your arch should be.
(c) Outside: Finally, continue to rotate the sharpened end of the pencil until it crosses the outside edge of your eye.
Where it now meets the brow is where the eyebrow should end.
Pluck any hairs that extend beyond this point.
2.
Drink Enough Water - I'm not going to tell you that you need eight glasses of water a day - studies have shown that we get fluids from other liquids we drink and that our bodies can utilize those as well.
What I am going to tell you is to start each morning with a good sized glass of fresh water - with nothing in it.
Even if you have a morning coffee or orange juice, preface it with a large glass of room temperature water.
Not only does it hydrate the skin, it also hydrates your brain and internal organs and gets you off to a good start health-wise.
3.
Take Your Supplements - You've been told often enough: you are what you eat.
More than that, you look like the nutrients that go into your body.
Antioxidants not only help you internally to fight off the oxidative effects of stress (hence the name), they also do wonders for your skin, hair, and gums.
Speak to a Naturopathic Doctor to determine the best course of action for your body - what works for me may not be the right set of supplements for you.
4.
Your Walk May Be Aging You - How you enter a room is the first thing people see about you.
How you carry yourself is the most telling sign of age - and the most obvious one from a distance.
Here's a way to tell for yourself: take out your video camera (borrow one if you must) and tape yourself walking past at about 20 feet away.
Then tape yourself walking toward the camera.
Be honest: do you walk like a youthful person, with a slight spring in your step? Do you have the elegant carriage and deportment of a fashion model? Are you starting to stoop? Is your alignment off-kilter with one shoulder higher than the other? There are so many factors that can add years to your appearance but also a great many techniques for re-aligning your body and taking years off.
A few good starting points for re-aligning and restoring your body to its natural state include: the Feldenkrais Method, the Alexander Technique, Yoga, Massage Therapy, and Chiropractic.
5.
Get the Right Amount of Sleep - There is a reason that this is on everyone's list for looking younger.
Chronic lack of sleep ages you in many ways - and it will be reflected in your looks.
Lack of sleep messes with your metabolism and hormones, makes your skin sag, and exaggerates any dark circles under your eyes.
Remember also that oversleep can make you look puffy, so find your optimal sleep window and stick to it.
If beauty isn't enough of a motivator to get you to sleep better: a University of Chicago study done in the late 1990s even showed that less than a week of chronic under-sleep (about 4 hours a night) had the same effect on your blood glucose levels as type 2 diabetes.
Developing a few simple habits can not only work wonders for your looks but your overall health.
After all, so much of how we perceive beauty is based on what we consider to be signs of health.
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