New Year… New You!

The Mayans were wrong so we are forced to make those New Year resolutions, once again. However, this year, lets try something new. Let begin our beauty regiment from the inside.

The New Year is a good time to reflect as well as project. What part of your persona that you projected in 2012 do you wish to improve in 2013? It may be patience, it may be a general attitude you have at work, it may be kindness you wish to show, generosity, etc. Close your eyes and picture this person you want to project to the world. Picture the beauty in this New You and now stop and FEEL this beauty, really FEEL it.

How will this beautiful you greet people, how will you walk and carry yourself, how will you handle problems and issues? Now simply translate this feeling into words in a sentence or two. For instance, am kind, patient and generous with my time and this inner beauty is felt by everyone I encounter. Another example, am accepting to people walking their chosen path and this acceptance is reflected through my eyes. One more example, Iam confident in the kind person that I am and I carry myself with great pride. Now, each and every morning and even throughout the day, recite this affirmation and saying it into a mirror is best. Getting beauty right from the inside is where beauty truly begins.

Outer beauty is the easy part. But, first, we have to be honest with ourselves in how much time and work we are willing to put into this outer beauty idea. Lets start with our skin. Me, I KNOW I am lazy. I am not the woman that follows 5 steps to washing her face morning and evening that may or may not include some anti-aging products. This could even mean more steps! I can’t (refuse) to it!!! I found a 2-Step cleansing and anti-aging process that works for me. I am big on retinols (love Riffissa) and sunscreens and this combo really does make things quite simple. Many over-the-counter products now contain retinols and are a great place to begin using them and eventually, you can graduate to a prescriptive strength. As we mature, we lose the fat in our skin and retinols are the only things that actually thicken skin. They also reduce brown spots and even out the overall tone of one’s complexion.

Many women will say NO to retinols because of a bad reaction or experience they had with Retin-A, but that is prescriptive strength and most likely they were told to use it every day. This will create redness and flaking and sometimes irritation in most women but beginning with a much less strong retinol will not create these discomforts and reactions. Vitamin C is also very popular. Find the anti-aging product that works for you but remember, spending more money on the cream doesn’t necessarily make it any better. Often, you are paying for marketing and packaging. Keep it simple and inexpensive and if you don’t see a marked change within 15 to 30 days, send it back to the company. They always want feedback and most often are very generous with giving you a refund.

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