Virtually everyone likes the wisdom, insight and increased earning power that age brings, but hardly anyone likes the toll the years take on one's looks.

While ultimately there's nothing one can do to look twenty forever, there are a number of holistic practices to slow down the aging process and look great for your age -no matter what age you may be.

The following are tips from Sara Ryan Lac an acupuncturist/ Herbalist who specializes in natural anti aging modalities.

1. Give yourself a mini massage. By applying gentle pressure to certain congested spots on the skin, you can stimulate the meridians, the network of passages containing pressure points that is vital to the circulation of energy, and bring a long lasting healthy glow to the face. Several key acupressure points that you'll want to incorporate into the massage are: Right above the cleft of your lip, between the eyebrows, and 1 inch above the corners of the lips. Massage in a circular motion being careful not to stretch the skin. Remember to be gentle with yourself; if you push too hard you'll stretch the skin and defeat the purpose.

2. Smear on the vitamins. When you do massage, break open a gel cap and apply liquid forms of vitamins A (retinal), which is vital to the maintenance of healthy skin, E and co enzyme 10 liquid. The body produces Co Enzyme 10, a powerful antioxidant, naturally; however, levels reduce substantially with age, after sun exposure and during illness. Rotate the Vitamins daily.

3. Up not down. When putting on creams, vitamin oils, cleansers, or make up always lightly stroke upward onto your neck and face. Be sure not to assist gravity with a downward motion.

4. Give yourself the gift of supplements: Exposure of the skin releases free radicals that cause damage. One way to replenish the skin is to take oral supplements of 1000 milligrams vitamin C, which promotes the manufacturing of collagen, three times a day, and 400 IU of vitamin E, which is said to slow the aging process, twice a day as antioxidants to protect your skin.

5. Relax! Stress causes a person to habitually contract facial muscles. Try to take the time to totally relax all your facial muscles at least once a day. Make it a habit to pay special attention to relaxing the eyebrows if it becomes second nature, you'll habitually smooth a wrinkled forehead. Becoming aware of times when you are squinting and consciously relaxing your eyes can prevent crow's feet, the small winkles that form in the outer corners of your eyes. If you tend to squint a lot have your eyes checked to be sure your vision is correct and always wear sunglasses when you are outside.

6. Spend 15 minutes each morning and evening exercising the muscles in your face. As with the muscles in the rest of your body, the muscles in your face relax with age. Exercising these muscles will keep them supple and prevent sagging tissue that causes wrinkles. Everyday facial expressions are not enough. The muscles should be isolated and exercised individually.

7. Use a vibrator on your skin. Vibrating the skin will bring the blood to the surface.

8. Avoid drying or harsh facial cleansers; for example, any face wash that includes alcohol. Look for a cleanser that is non-comedogenic. This means it will not clog up pores. Allowing the pores to breath will help keep acne from occurring and will help the skin to keep that healthy glow.

9. Keep your hands off of your face. Rubbing your eyes or sitting with your chin on your hand tends to push the face out of its natural position and stretches skin.

10. Get out of the sun. Sun causes the elastin and collagen fibers to deteriorate making skin less flexible. Oil and sweat glands become less active when this happens making the skin drier. This can also cause fat under the skin to shrink which results in sagging of the skin. Even sunlight reflected off water, snow, or passing through clouds on an overcast day can be as harmful to skin as direct sunlight. Always use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, not just when you're at the beach. Apply it each day before you leave the house and reapply it at midday when the suns rays are strongest.

11. Drop the smokes. The reason for this is that smoking affects the cardiovascular system by restricting blood circulation to surface capillaries. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, which in turn interfere with the flow of nutrients to the cells. To make matters worse, sucking on cigarettes causes vertical lines to form around the jaw, and gives the cheeks a hollow sunken appearance. Furthermore, cigarettes emit toxic substances. Constantly bathing the skin in smoke dries and irritates the face encouraging the formation of wrinkles.

12. Moisturize. Moisturizing cream will help your skin remain wrinkle-free as long as possible. You'll notice that people with oily skin tend to wrinkle less than people with dry skin; that's because the natural oil keeps their skin lubricated. If you have oily skin, it is best to use a moisturizer that is non-comedogenic, so not to clog the pores, however it is important to use a moisturizer, because it replaces the moisture that is lost after cleansing to the top layer of skin. If the top layer is dry the sebaceous glands will activate and secrete more oil, which in turn could cause acne.

And remember to drink six to eight glasses of water a day. This is important to keep your whole body functioning at its best.

© Melt Magazine 2002