Dry, parched skin is never going to make you look younger. But guzzling water isn't the only thing you have to do to stay hydrated. To wake up glowing, what you really need is a humidifier, says Kyra Johnson, Director of Spa Operations at Park Hyatt Aviara Spa in San Diego, Calif. "Our skin is happiest in 60 percent humidity," she says. "During winter, humidity can drop to 40 percent, which can have a significant effect on your skin's appearance and texture."
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Keep portions in check
If you feel like every bite of food you swallow immediately shows up on the scale, you're well aware that with age comes a slower metabolism. And here's the fact that's going to bum out all of you foodies: As you age, your body needs fewer calories to maintain its weight. So the sooner you start to control your portions, the better, says Jenn Walters, co-founder of Fit Bottom Girls. "Get in the habit now of paying attention to how hungry and how full you are before and after meals," she says. "When you know how to listen to your hunger, it's much easier to keep off the weight as you age."
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Get Botox before wrinkles
A tiny amount of Botox can be used as a pre-emptive attack against wrinkles, says celebrity dermatologist, Ava Shamban, MD, author of "Heal Your Skin." "Small doses of filler in your 20s can prevent the formation of deep wrinkles as you age," she says. One study conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine looked at identical twin sisters: One received Botox injections twice a year for 13 years, while the other received just two injections. The twin who received regular injections had fewer wrinkles than her twin.
Now that you know how to look younger in 10 years, see the makeup mistakes you're making now that age you.
I have a 35-year-old friend who tells me all the time to enjoy my crow's-feet-free eyes and sunspot-less skin. She waxes poetic about "when she was my age" like she's my grandmother, wistfully telling me stories about a time before she had to spend $300 a month on anti-aging serums and night creams.
Her (very direct) message to me, her 25-year-old friend: "Smarten up, biotch. That perfect skin of yours will go to pot -- and sooner than you think -- if you don't take some preemptive measures."
Of course, she's right. I want to stave off the crow's feet and sun damage as much as the next gal. But I also don't want to shoot myself up with baby Botox now -- or drop an entire paycheck on the newest laser when those first signs of agingdo start to appear. I want to age gracefully -- and look like an even hotter version of myself 10 years from now.
And so, my older, wiser (and seriously aggro) friend inspired me to call the best nutritionists, trainers, docs, and estheticians I could find. My question to them: What should women do -- no matter how old they are -- to look hot in 10 years? Of course, "wear sunscreen" was at the top of their lists, as was eating right, drinking enough water, and working out. But since you know all of these look-hot commandments already, I grilled them for even better ones.
So now I'm going to do something that most 20-somethings never do: listen to my elders.
