In this month’s Links section of the Put Old on Hold Newsletter, you will see a press release “Women sacrifice food before cosmetics.” It claims that according to surveys, “Women are not only reluctant to reduce their spending on cosmetics but when their purses come under pressure they are more willing to scrimp and save on food.” Wow!

It’s baffling that many women seem not to understand that what they eat and drink (or do not eat and drink) every day over a long period of time eventually shows on the appearance of the face and body. If your body were a book it could be said that you can tell what’s inside the book by its’ cover.

Women will often spend a ton of money on external moisturizers but drink little or any water. I recall one woman who said she never drinks water — hasn’t done so in years — she drinks diet Coke exclusively. She’s very overweight and doesn’t understand the connection between the diet cola consumption and the weight gain. There is ample research that indicates artificial sweeteners are linked to weight gain.

The cosmetics industry is huge and its advertising is massive. Marketing gurus have it down to a science. They know how to make us buy what we don’t need or even want. And we buy, buy, buy, not because we are stupid, but because we are human and subject to psychological manipulation. Nevertheless, we do have the ability to make choices. We can say “no” and we can look for less expensive cosmetic alternatives — they are out there.

We all have our favorite cosmetic products but the truth is that you can buy a lot of “beauty” for a lot less. If you are paying big bucks for a department store or boutique moisturizer, you can find something at the drug store that will do what you want it to do (or perhaps even better) for a lot less. Or even find something in your kitchen. Recently, when I put out a SOS for a subscriber who wanted help finding a good neck cream, more than one of you recommended olive oil!

A great way to improve the appearance of your skin is with fresh juices. Invest in a juicer. (You may still be able to buy a Jack LaLanne juicer for $99 and it works great.) Buy a big bag or carrots and a couple of bunches of celery and juice them. Your body will know immediately that you have done something wonderful for it, and if you drink fresh juice often enough, it will do more for your skin than any expensive cosmetic.

It’s also important to take anti-agiing supplements. In Dr. Nicholas Perricone’s book, The Perricone Prescription, there are several pages of before and after pictures that show the effect of his three-day nutritional face lift and his 28-day wrinkle free program. Some of the “after” photos are remarkable. If nothing else, all the women look younger. The photos are testimony to the fact that what you put into your body matters.

Save money by not buying “phony phood” products — chips, dips, so-called breakfast cereals that may contain more sugar than nutrition. If it wasn’t food 100 years ago, it’s not real food. Spend your food money on live food that will help make you look and feel better. You may just have enough left over to splurge on the expensive cosmetics you think you can’t live without.

Barbara Morris is a pharmacist and author of “No More Little Old Ladies” and “Put Old on Hold”. Visit http://www.putoldonhold.com/newsletter/nov08.html for more info and free newsletter signup.

I had a conversation with a retired engineer whose health problems were eating up a big chunk of his retirement income every month. He was doing everything possible to make ends meet such as using coupons, asking for senior discounts, and living a frugal lifestyle but he just couldn’t make ends meet.

I said to him, “Have you thought about getting a part time job — you have a lot of experience you could put to good use.” His response was so angry you would have thought I had insulted his mother. “Look, Barbara,” he sniffed, “I’ve worked all my life and I deserve my retirement.”

Everybody who chooses to retire deserves their retirement. Many people get to age 65 and have done all they are able to do mentally and physically, but most people at retirement age have more life left in them than they realize. Maybe they don’t want to work 40 hours every week, but they are too young and vital to vegetate, and they know it.

When a relatively healthy retiree defends the decision to stop being productive with the “I’ve worked all my life” declaration — it’s not accurate. If you are retired and not working, you cannot say “I’ve worked all my life” because your life is not yet over. You have yet to explore and exploit all of your potential that could benefit yourself and others.

For the record, I define “productive” as something you do that not only gives you pleasure but has value for others. Activities such as gardening, taking classes, and playing cards are fun, but they are not productive. Engaging in an activity that you enjoy be it paid or volunteer and is of value to others is productive. You don’t have to work forty hours a week unless you really enjoy what you do.

My concern with traditional retirement for healthy individuals is that that we are made for work — like it or not. Our tradition of retirement at age 65 is not ordained by God; it’s a foolish but well meaning creation of the 1930s when people didn’t live much longer than age sixty-five. A lot has changed since then. For example, the life span has increased by 30 years, yet people still retire at age 65 or sooner. That means retirees who are not productive will be in decline for a longer period of time. Instead of “living” they will be “existing.”

Boomers get it, I think. They tell me they have no intention of living the same kind of retired lifestyle as their parents and grandparents. But will they accomplish their goal, or will the lure of traditional retirement entice them to become part of the traditional retired lifestyle?

Science Daily of October of 11, 2008 published an article, “Sixties Generation Is Heading for Conventional Old Age.” (The link for the article is in the Links section of this newsletter.) The story is about retirement in the UK, but I believe it has universal application. Here’s the gist of the story from one paragraph of the article:

Most boomers - 70 per cent - regard age as unimportant in terms of their personal identity and, almost without exception, they told the researchers that they felt younger than their actual age. Boomers regard themselves as being more like their children and younger people than like their parents and older generational groups and, say the researchers, “see ageing as something that requires managing but is not overly problematic. . . . while 69 per cent of people interviewed agreed that it was possible to plan for retirement, 71 per cent were themselves making either no plans or only limited ones.”

The above is accurate. Typically, boomers say they identify more closely with younger people than the older people. But that perceived identity will quickly give way to traditional thinking and behavior unless there is a plan to avoid typical traditional retired culture. What is particularly important to note in the above paragraph is that 71 percent were making no plans for how they want to live in retirement. That means that instead of taking charge of their aging process and making choices that result in growth and productivity, they have chosen to just let life happen.

Many people spend their pre retirement years doing work that is unfulfilling and eagerly await retirement so they can be free of the daily grind. What they don’t realize is that the “do nothing” lifestyle they eagerly look forward to is worse than doing work they hate. It is the traditional “living life as a pastime” lifestyle that contributes to early and rapid decline.

If you spend your pre retirement years in the wrong career all is not lost if you plan, at least by age 40-50 to take charge of your future. At a healthy age 65 it’s not too late to go back to school, start a new business or new career. Post retirement is the time to live your dream. If for no other reason, you should plan to stay productive in light of the prevailing economic chaos that may not resolve any time soon. True, life may throw a monkey wrench in your plan, but it’s far more exciting to have a dream that can come true rather than to reminiscence about what might have been as you pass time in a retirement community with other declining “could have beens.”

Please don’t allow yourself to become obsolete because you plan to retire. You are not a light bulb that has been programmed to burn just for 100 hours. You are not an automobile that has been engineered to run just 100,000 miles and then be relegated to the scrap heap. Your potential is enormous. I always think about Col. Harlan Sanders who began his Kentucky Friend Chicken empire at an age when his peers were languishing in retirement communities and nursing homes.

Regardless of what you have worked at for so many years, there is something more inside you that has potential and value. Please don’t leave your brilliance untapped. Use it to give joy and purpose to your own life and for the benefit of others. The bonus payoff is that you will stay ageless as long as you live. Engaging in work that you enjoy is the ultimate anti-aging secret. I guarantee it. There isn’t a wrinkle cream in the entire world that can come close to helping you stay young.

Barbara Morris is a pharmacist and author of “Put Old on Hold” and “No More Little Old Ladies!” Visit http//www.putoldonhold.com and http//www.NoMoreLittleOldLadies.com. Sign up for free content rich newsletter.

There is a lot to be said about dry skin care. Simply because, most people do not have any idea about dry skin and what it can lead to. So, first let me start by defining what dry skin is and how you can find out if you skin is dry. Dry skin is a condition in which your skin lacks the essential moisture which keeps it soft and supple. If left untreated, dry skin can lead to wrinkles, cracks, dark spots, and other signs of premature aging which will make you look a lot older than what you are.

One of the most important things you should know about dry skin is that it is not a disease. It is just a skin condition and it can be treated easily. In fact, if you spend a few minutes on your skin every day and take good care of it, there will be no need for you to worry about dry skin or any other skin problem for that matter. Unfortunately, most people do not have the time to do that. So, dry skin is a lot more common these days than it was in the past. Let us take a look at dry skin care and what you need to do to get rid of dry skin.

If you are using soap, get rid of it immediately. It is the first step in dry skin care. Soaps dry your skin and remove the essential moisture from your skin. So, stop using soaps and instead use a mild cleanser which will cleanse your skin gently and still retain the essential moisture in your skin.

Itching and reddening are one of the most common problems associated with dry skin. Dry itchy skin can be extremely annoying and if you don’t believe it, ask someone who has had that problem in the past. The first step, as I already suggested, is to stop using soaps and start using mild cleansers. The second step is to find a good skin care cream which can hydrate your skin.

A lot of people with dry itchy skin make the mistake of buying some obscure skin care product to treat their skin condition. This is wrong. You should be aware of the ingredients used in the product and make sure they are safe on your skin. In general, organic skin care products are better than artificial cosmetic products as they are more effective and safer.

Organic ingredients like macadamia oil, olive oil, natural vitamin E, glycerin, wakame (Japanese sea kelp extract), active manuka honey (an excellent moisturizer), kaolin (special New Zealand clay), avocado oil, sorbitol, cupuacu extracts, and more. Look out for these special ingredients in your skin care cream. It has been proven that all these ingredients are extremely effective in treating dry itchy skin and there is no risk of side effects whatsoever.

So, I hope I cleared some of the most common doubts about dry skin care. If you have dry skin, get started today and get yourself a good organic skin cream. Get ready to say hello to a younger, brighter, and healthier skin.

Dr. Valerie Rosenbaum is a dermatologist who specializes in natural skin care products using only clinically proven ingredients like Cynergy TK. At her website she recommends the best dry skin care products. For more information visit her website http://www.DefendYourSkin.com

If you want a radiant and younger looking skin, this article will help you get the basics right. You might think that you can solve your skin problems by grabbing that expensive product or by undergoing a painful cosmetic surgery. But fact of the matter is, simple changes in your lifestyle can act as a good acne anti aging skin care solution. A clear, blemish free skin symbolizes youth and health, therefore all of us desire to have radiant and glowing complexion. For radiant skin you need to take proper care of your skin and it is important for you to follow health practices. This article will show you 3 best acne anti aging skin care solutions you can try practically wherever you are.

#1: Change your diet

Make sure you stop consuming fried food; instead switch to food that is rich in fiber. Raw vegetables and fruits are a great way to cleanse your body; they will help in bringing a healthy glow to your skin. For younger looking skin you should consume anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables, and it’s advisable to use olive oil when cooking meals. Fish is particularly good for your skin as it contains omega fatty acids. Make sure you eat decent amounts of fish like salmon, or tuna on a regular basis for firmer skin. It’s also wise to drink lots of water and fresh juice for healthy looking skin, and try to avoid aerated or carbonated drinks as much as possible. Also, it is a good option to stay away from chocolate and coffee. Try green tea and other herbal tea instead; they not only refresh, but also energize you to keep you going the entire day. Fish oil and primrose oil can help you balance hormones and can also lead to a younger, radiant skin. Consuming these wonder oils can improve skin tone, texture and moisture.

#2: Wash your face regularly

You should wash your face whenever possible. If you live in a region where you tend to perspire a lot, it is advisable to keep washing your face every couple of hours. Perspiration leads to the growth of certain type of bacteria which encourages the growth of pimples on your face. You can use a mild soap to wash your face; try and wash your face more than twice a day preferably with an oil-free cleanser. Also, it is crucial that you wash your face before going to bed. This way you can remove all the impurities collected throughout the day, and washing your face once you get up can help your skin rejuvenate itself. That said, do not overdo the washing or your skin may lose its protective layer of natural oils.

#3: Avoid rubbing your face.

Don’t ever rub the acne affected area; rubbing would make the situation even worse. It could lead to irritation and when it does clear up with time, it will leave back spots which can be difficult to get rid of. For great skin, all you need to do after washing your face is pat it dry with the help of a soft towel. Do not use hard towels and scrubbers on your face. If you want you can put medication on the affected area once your face dries. Cleansing your face may give you good results as well.

The abovementioned 3 acne anti aging skin care solutions can help you get younger looking skin in no time. But remember, beauty starts from within; therefore make sure to follow a healthy lifestyle to get the glowing and radiant skin you have always wanted.

Click here to get free advice on how you can enhance the look of your skin. Ray A. Rubio is a skin care specialist providing advice on choosing the best anti aging creams for you. Visit http://www.BestAntiAgingSkinCreams.com for more details.

Do you look at yourself in the mirror and get depressed seeing the fine lines and wrinkles that have started appearing on your face? Do you wonder if the myriad of skin products out there on the market will work for you? With hundreds and thousands of cosmetic products being advertised as anti-aging best solution and secrets to beautiful youthful skin, you never know which may work for you. With the ever-increasing beauty consciousness of people, it has become a necessity more than luxury to look good. This article will tell you the antiaging best solutions to retain youthful skin, without having to go under the knife.

You definitely don’t want to have those annoying wrinkles on your face that are indicative of aging. The best way to counter the problem of fine lines and wrinkles appearing on your face is to use quality antiaging creams that are found on the market in combination with a few home remedies. There are several antiaging skin care products that are found in the market. Choosing the right product for yourself from the wide variety of options made available to you may be a quite a task. However, to have a better idea of which product may suit your skin tone, it is best to consult your dermatologist. Or another way to go about it is to experiment on different products until you find the right one for you, but remember, always use products of reputable companies, as there are many low priced skin care products found on the market, which may not necessarily be a good option for your specific skin type.

Although cosmetic companies take utmost care to ensure healthy skin, nothing can beat natural remedies. There are many home remedies that you may consider to remove wrinkles and fine lines from your skin. Let’s take a quick look at what you can do to maintain a healthy and youthful glowing skin.

Increase your intake of water. Though it is said the 8-9 glasses of water is a must, you should try to increase it to 13-15 glasses a day if not more. If you have any unhealthy habits, like smoking, then it’s high time you stopped it. Smoking restricts the blood flow to the surface of the skin, making it look old. Protect your skin from the sun every day. The best way to go about it is to use a good sunscreen lotion. Increase your fruit and green vegetable intake. Green vegetables and fresh fruits have all the necessary nutrients that are needed for healthy functioning of your body and provide you with healthy glowing skin.

Aforementioned are a few tips that you can use with your antiaging cream in order to experience a youthful glowing skin. It is advisable, that you start using antiaging creams to avoid wrinkle problems rather than using them after they have already appeared on your skin. But remember, as I mentioned earlier, it is important to use products of high quality to ensure your skin’s safety.

So, to conclude, in case you are faced with aging skin problem then going through these antiaging best solutions is likely to help you a great deal. Follow what we have discussed and see your face transform into a youthful, glowing, and fresher looking skin. Good luck!

Click here to get free advice on how you can enhance the look of your skin. Ray A. Rubio is a skin care specialist providing advice on choosing the best anti aging creams for you. Visit http://www.BestAntiAgingSkinCreams.com for more details.