Excerpt: Six Weeks to Sensational Skin
Jan. 1, 2007 — -- Hello Campers. Welcome to my Camp! It's the culmination of twenty-five years of examining and treating thousands of women and men who have come to me with high hopes of developing a plan for better skin.
I love what I do -- dermatology is my job and my passion. Give me a skincare problem and I want to solve it. Ask me what I think of your overall appearance and the quality of your skin, and I can't help but be honest.
I've written this book as a way to offer a fun, reinvigorating approach to good skin care -- and to share my many experiences and insights along the way. This book combines my playful and serious sides. Everything that I'll share with you has a solid medical and scientific foundation.
I genuinely believe that so much of appearance is making the most of what you've got -- of putting your best face forward. Have you ever gathered a little bunch of flowers or run an iron over the cloth dinner napkins, trying to put your best foot forward for last-minute company? That's how I feel about appearance. I'm more comfortable and relaxed if I've made a little effort.
When I say "little," I am thinking smart and simple changes. It isn't about undergoing dramatic alterations to look 20 years younger. After all, you wouldn't rush out to buy new wine glasses when friends are dropping by; the ones you have will do just fine.
The same principle applies to personal appearance. A smile brightens up a face like a bouquet of flowers does a room. Actually, quite a few studies been done on this effect in recent years: Smiling women (of all ages) were perceived as vastly more attractive than non-smiling women, irrespective of other facial features or even body type. One study discussed in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reported that older women shown smiling are perceived as more attractive than younger women who are not. A smile turns out to be the real face lift!
As for my face, it's still pretty youthful, but seasoned -- a little like some old wine glasses I love. (My kids would say that my face is "vintage.") It's the same face I've always had, with the addition of a few (as I call them) Uninvited Elements. If your cheeks have started to sag a little at the jaw line, then those sags are Uninvited Elements. Droopy eyelids and laugh lines are Uninvited Elements. Thinning lips are Uninvited Elements, along with double chins and liver spots.
I have a funny nickname for my own Uninvited Elements. I call them my U.E.'s. Some U.E.'s add character and beauty to your face, while others detract.
Here are some UE's that many of us battle, and my suggestions for helping to minimize and improve them:
