The following 10 universal laws of looking great are quite basic, but I believe they are sound rules to live by. They won’t cost you a month’s income, require you to have a degree in quantum physics, or even have one of Hollywood’s top beauty experts at your beck and call. Read on:
1) The Law of the Clean Slate-Cleanse your skin at night. No ifs, ands, or buts about this one. Our facial skin is a delicate flower that is subjected to a myriad of harsh environmental factors, so getting into a regular habit such as cleansing will allow your skin to breathe freely. It not only creates a clean slate and prepares your skin for your morning regimen, the cleanser also acts as an emulsifier to remove any build-up of oil, grime and makeup your skin may have accumulated throughout the day. Lack of proper cleansing is one of the fastest skin spoilers, leading to clogged pores (which can eventually become enlarged), pesky breakouts, dull and lifeless skin. Furthermore, your skin does it’s magic at night while you sleep by repairing and healing itself from the inside out. Do it a favor and get the day’s dirt off before hittin’ the hay the evening.
2) The Law of Getting Rid Of The Dead Weight (And I don’t mean the free-loading boyfriend)-Skin cells that is… This is a mandatory wake-up call for your skin and also one of the best secret weapons you will ever have in your skincare arsenal for healthy looking skin. Exfoliation, whether it be mechanical (i.e., a scrub or microdermabrasion) or chemical (i.e., retinol or a peel) can help bring out a fresh, youthful look to your skin and can also help prevent those unwanted breakouts. The key is to perform the exfoliation properly and not too often. Exfoliating only about once a week if you have normal or dry skin, 2 times per week if you have thicker, oily or acne-prone skin. For the more sensitive skin types, a few times a month is plenty. As a rule of thumb, more is not necessarily better when it comes to exfoliation.
3) The Law of Treating Your Skin Like the Goddess It Is-Much of the skin damage we incur is a result of the way we mishandle our skin. Too many scrubs, too many peels, too much sun, too many at-home microdermabrasion treatments (ladies you know who you are who…The ones who have turned a recommended weekly or monthly treatment into an everyday scouring fest on your face). Subjecting your skin day after day with what may feel like a SOS pad, causes irritation, inflammation, microscopic tears in the skin and the dreaded breakouts (yes, too much can actually create pimples). We can only exfoliate so much before it starts to be counterproductive and you actually accelerate the aging process.If your skin doesn’t appear to look any better after all that manhandling, it’s time to stop scrubbing your skin like it’s a pot and start treating that face of yours like the precious object it is.
4) The Law That a Girl Needs Her Beauty Sleep-I know most of us are burning the midnight oil with our crazy, hectic schedules. We spend way too much time in our cars, at our computers, or on our iPhones. Leaving very little time to get a sound 8 hours at night. But you have to repeat after me…“ I will get my beauty sleep”. You must believe in this mantra to achieve healthy looking skin. While you are sleeping, your skin is hard at work repairing and regenerating itself (a.k.a. making you look gorgeous for the next day). If you are skimping on the proper shut-eye, the body goes into panic mode and turns on the stress hormones and redirects all the good nutrients and oxygen away from the skin to protect your internal organs. After only a few days, you will begin to notice skin breakouts, dullness and puffiness. Look at all the damage you can do when you don’t close your peepers long enough. Fortunately, the skin possesses an almost miraculous ability to bounce back and regroup from the everyday stressors of life. But to maximize on these fabulous self- healing powers, you first must allow your skin the luxury of some free time in the form of sufficient sleep. So, put away your laptops and Blackberrys and start sawing some logs. ASAP!
5) The Law that Mom Said Eat Your Veggies- And she probably wasn’t thinking at all about your skin when she forced you to eat those yucky brussel sprouts at the dining room table when
you were eight years old either. But she was right about the fact that eating good foods can make you healthy from the inside and out. Since our skin is the largest organ of our body it can be seen as an outward reflection of our general overall health. For the clearest, smoothest skin, you need a well-balanced diet. I know that all sounds pretty boring, but a good diet ensures that your body is supplied with the necessary nutrients for health, and that will show in the appearance of your skin and hair. Vitamin C, Selenium, Anthocyanins found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and nuts aid in the formation of collagen, reduce the ravaging effects of the sun and have the all important antioxidant properties. You should also include some essential fats from healthy oils, salmon and flaxseed. The small amount of dietary oil I am suggesting for healthy skin isn’t going to make you pack on the pounds, but rather it will help to nourish and soften your complexion. I also recommend drastically cutting back on the processed foods (the ones that taste REALLY, REALLY good) we eat. Foods with a lot of sugar and chemical additives play a role in inflammation of the cells of the body, which is one of the leading causes of aging. Studies have consistently shown that a diet rich in healthy foods not only wards off premature aging, but also is linked to good mental health, preventing mood disorders. So, put away the Oreos and pick up some blueberries to put out that internal aging fire you have going on inside.
6) The Law that I’ll Just Have Water, Thanks- So I have been told there is no scientific proof that water will make your skin look better. But there is scientific proof that drinking a sufficient 
amount of water everyday acts as a body purifier to all our organs. By removing toxins and waste from your body, water aids in the digestion & absorption of food, and in transporting oxygen and nutrients to the cells. So, if it does all this fantastic stuff on the inside, it must also be able to do its magic for our largest organ, our skin, right? If you asked any of the leading dermatologists in the country the importance of water consumption and the effects it has on the skin, most if not all, would agree that drinking water is important step to keeping skin hydrated and supple. And hydrated skin ALWAYS looks younger. It only makes sense. Since water is vital in keeping our energy levels up, maintaining brighter, clearer eyes, decreasing puffiness and bloating, most of us would agree that our skin would harvest many of the same benefits of what our insides are reaping from the amount of water we drink. Understand that water cannot, however, make your dry skin less dry. Dry skin is a lack of oil, not water in the skin. But lack of water can, however, create dehydrated skin. Dehydrated skin looks creapy, dull and lifeless. Trust me on this one…It does matter. Properly hydrated skin (and I’m talking about skin that is hydrated from the inside out) looks plumper, dewier, softer, just younger looking. So down your eight to ten 8 oz. glasses of water each day and stay close to the bathroom. And while you are there, check your face in the mirror…You will notice a softer side of you looking back.
7) The Law of Sunscreen, Sunscreen, Sunscreen-Did someone say sunscreen? Did you know that up to 80 percent of all aging in the skin is a result of over exposure to sun and environmental pollutants? Unfortunately, too much sun exposure will eventually lead us all to fine lines, wrinkles, uneven pigmentation that damages the dermal layers of the skin, and possibly even to the dreaded C-word. Cancer. But what if there was a magical cream that starts with the three letters S-P-F that can stave off the aging process, reverse the cruel signs of aging, and also be able to protect the skin against skin cancer? Fortunately, that wonderful and rather inexpensive product is available to us all! Sunscreen, whether it be in a lotion, cream, gel, or foundation formula, is hands-down the most important skin care product you can use. The highly-respected American Cancer Society strongly recommends applying sunscreen on a daily basis with at least an SPF 15 (use a higher number if you will be outdoors for longer periods of time), generously to dry skin 20 to 30 minutes before going outside so your skin has enough time to absorb and activate the chemicals in the sunscreen. None of my beauty tips are rocket-science, but rather the hard facts about staying youthful and healthy. Sunscreen will always be your go-to product. You will hopefully thank me at some point in your life when you don’t look like worn-out leather catcher’s mitt.
8) The Law of Your Fountain Of Youth-It is claimed that Ponce De Leon never did locate the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida. He was apparently looking for a spring where flowing waters had such amazing healing powers that any elderly person who bathed in it would reclaim their youth. Over 500 years later, the fountain of youth has been discovered. Not in some form of magical waters, but rather in a little bottle labeled, retinol! Yes, I said retinol! Retinol, a purified form of Vitamin A, has one of the most rejuvenating effects on tired, aging and sun damaged skin. It’s proven to be one of the most effective ways to turn back the hands of time.Those pesky sun spots, uneven skin tones, rough textures and unwanted wrinkles. All badges of our immortality. Retinol, when applied in a thin layer on the skin, stimulates new collagen formation (think plumping action) and the renewal of skin cells, as well as preventing the breakdown of existing collagen (think sagging skin). This is my only beauty tip where you may need M.D. intervention. There are a handful of products out on the market that contain a small percentage of retinol in them, but if you are looking for the big guns (a.k.a. higher percentages) you may want to seek out a qualified dermatologist to assist you with a prescription strength formula of retinol that is appropriate for your skin type. Science, not a Spanish explorer, has discovered what can keep us youthful looking. Sorry, Ponce.
9) The Law to Back Away From The Tweezer and Seek Out Brow Rehab Immediately-Too often when I’m out and about I see so many beautiful women AND young girls, who throughout
the course of too much time on their hands, have overzealously tweezed their brows to a point where there are only slivers of hair on their forehead. These brows not only look emaciated, but down right sickly. I have even witnessed complete bald patches where eyebrow hair is SUPPOSED to be growing (and, yes, there was hair there at some point). Now their brows more closely resemble a fish hook or a very scary clown (you girls know what I’m talking about) than a natural sweeping arch that starts at the inner corner of the eye and ends at the outer corner of the eye. I never understood why women think they need to go on the tweezing rampage. I think it’s partly due to the fact they start on one brow and tweeze away and realize they need to try to make them symmetrical, ending up going too far and now have to balance them out. Or, they look at magazines of models and try to emulate some look that was never possible to begin with anyways. What they are left with a very sad looking specimens of brows. I hope that we all understand that beautifully shaped eyebrows, with an appropriate arch, are a vital part of any polished look. When done well, eyebrows can call attention to and open up your eyes, as well as giving you an instant (and cheap) brow lift. My recommendation is to put the tweezers away and start looking at other people’s eyebrows. If you see someone with beautiful eyebrows, ask them who their brow expert is and make an appointment ASAP! Brows are very much like the hair on top of your head — significantly better when groomed by an expert.
10) The Law for Something To Smile About-A bright and gleaming white smile has always been the iconic image of youth and health. A bright, happy smile can light up your face and can even light up a room. We see the stars with their fabulous, pearly whites staring up at us from every magazine we pick up. However, it seems like the rest of us have somehow been cursed with some teeth yellowing or staining over the years because of an over consumption of way too much coffee, wine, soda or too many (yuck) cigarettes. Were those stars born with a perfect set of 
Chiclets, or did they perhaps never drink anything that might have the word Pinot or Starbucks in it? Probably not, but celebrities HAVE consulted the best dentists around and received the best cosmetic dentistry treatments available known to man or woman. Most of us don’t have the funds to access those cosmetic dentists, but the secret to a sexy smile and a sure-fire self-esteem booster is just a few whitening strips, a few minutes a day over the course of a few weeks. Of course, you could play scientist at home and mix up your own paste-like concoction of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to try to brighten the teeth, but for less than $50.00, the whitening strips can easily remove years worth of stains and are much more effective (teeth whiteness can last up to 12-18 months) than any home remedy, or more cost-effective than a trip to the dentist. And, the bonus is that you can basically wear the whitening strips anywhere and at anytime. You can even walk your dog for 20-30 minutes with them on. Brighter teeth and a better looking behind! Talk about convenience! I say never underestimate the value of a beautiful smile. Studies time and time again have proven that an incredible smile can be the starting point for enhancing our own natural beauty and self-esteem. I say, “Go Crest“!
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