The Price of Beauty

Fighting the aging process can sometimes be exhausting and expensive. Did you know women spend eight billion dollars on cosmetics every year? Time is our worst enemy in the war against wrinkles, especially in Florida. Sometimes relying on our beauty regimen is just not enough. There are ways to fight the clock without making a trip to the plastic surgeon and it has a lot to do with your lifestyle.


Toxins are part of our everyday life, but the most damaging to our skin is called BPA, or Bisphenol A. This organic compound exhibits hormone-like properties and is found in plastic bottles and canned foods. It mimics our hormones, especially estrogen, and can cause an imbalance. When we have a hormone imbalance, it can increase a woman's risk of heart disease, and even negatively affect our organs and their bodily function. Our skin, the largest organ in the body, can also be affected by these imbalances. When purchasing anti-aging materials, look for products that say BPA free. Also try taking milk thistle supplements. It helps the liver to cleanse toxins out of the body.

We all have our guilty pleasures and sometimes it involves snacking on sugary sweets. Sugar causes inflammation of the skin. Inflammation leads to cross linking of collagen, that reduces the amount of collagen in your body. Collagen is a protein that naturally occurs in the body, an keeps your skin elastic and healthy. Sugar can also be found in white and brown foods like breads, pastas, and potatoes. Beside to read the food labels carefully, and try to avoid consuming products with excessive amounts of sugar.

Have you noticed a bad night's sleep can wreak havoc on your whole day? It can also do the same to your skin, hence the term 'Beauty Sleep'. Lack of sleep can lower your immune system defenses, inhibiting cell turnover. This causes your skin to look dull and droopy. When we sleep, this is the time cellular repair occurs and growth hormones are stimulated and released. Make sure you are getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night to keep your skin looking gorgeous.

You can also beef up skin elasticity by stimulating the production of Hyaluronic acid. This is a natural substance in your skin that can be increased by eating raw vegetables. The chemical is sensitive to heat and gets destroyed when cooking. Eating raw carrots, kale, and spinach leaves can do wonders to improve your skin.

Lastly, massage your way to a younger self! Massages improve collagen production that tends to break down over time causing your skin to thin. Try massaging the area under your eye busing a pinching and twisting motion, moving from the inner eye, near the nose, toward the outer edge of the eye. This massage movement helps build up and thicken the skin. So next time you want to stop the clock, try these tricks to stop time in its tracks!