Skin Care A-Z

In the mail the other day I got my Elle Magazine, and in this month issue was a great little "tear out" section titled "Your Everything Guide to Skin. All you need to know from A-Z." It had a lot of great tips in it so I thought I would share them with everyone in a series of posts. For the first set here are tips A-D

a.- ANTIOXIDANTS: The Pac-Men of skin care, antioxidants - such as vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and those within green tea and grape seed - gobble up the free radicals produced by factors like sun exposure, pollution, stress, and cigarette smoke, neutralizing their skin-weakening powers. Dermatologist trumpet the virtues of the face saving ingredients, both as a part of a healthy diet that reinforces tissue from the inside and as a key step in a daily skin care regimen.

b.- BODY BRUSH: An age- old cellulite buster, a dry natural-bristle body brush raises blood flow to the epidermis, revs up lymphatic drainage, and exfoliates dead cells.

c. - COLLAGEN: Along with elastin and hyaluronic acid, collagen provides the mesh framework that keeps skin plums, lifted, and wrinkle free. A strong, fibrous protein, collagen is multitasking antiager. In addition to preventing collagen breakdown by diligent daily application of SPF, you can help your body generate more of the good stuff by using topicals: Ingredients such as retinol and vitamin C are proven collagen builders.

d. - DHA: The active ingredient in self-tanners, DHA (dihydroxyacetone, if you want to get technical) reacts with the uppermost layer of dead skin cells, turning them brown, Results last about a week - less, if you exfoliate.

Make sure you check back Saturday for E-I. All tips courtesy of Elle Magazine " Your Everything Guide to Skin. All you need to know from A-Z."