Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?

It seems even our fairy-tale friends lamented the fine lines and wrinkles associated with aging – but not all of us are committed enough to drag those less-seasoned gals in our lives into the woods, dooming them to live their lives in hiding with 7-strange men. But I digress…

A recent article in Self magazine entitled “Take 5 Years Off Your Face” offers up more realistic advice than your magic mirror is bound to pony up. And following these few simple steps seem like much better… and kinder… alternative to what befell poor Snow White.

Complexion perfection. I want it. You want it. It’s time to stop denying it. And if the Evil Queen’s trusty mirror were to dole out any real advice on reclaiming a radiant youthful glow once the years have set in… it would have sounded much different than any fairy book.

The first thing the Evil Queen probably noticed was a bevy of burgeoning fine lines that seemed to pop up over night and then bore themselves deep into her soul as time progressed – naturally, driving her to homicide. Now, in a perfect world, her magic mirror – and her dermatologist – would have recommended the use of at home retinols, well before they recommended offing Ms. White. Retinols speed cell turnover, making skin appear smoother. Of course, there is a downside (every good fairy story has them - *cue the dark music and heavy clouds). Retinols can cause redness and flaking – so if your skin is on the sensitive side, you trade the fine lines for signs of a reptilian transformation. Probably not exactly what the Queen had in mind.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as many derm’s are now recommending serums laced with growth factors for sensitive skin, instead of the harsh retinols. By helping repair cells and increase collagen, they may slow the formation of wrinkles to be. You know, preventative medicine.



Perhaps those wrinkles have just gone way to far in offending you and your mirror’s delicate sensibilities, and you’re having a hard time shaking those royally homicidal feelings? Put down the poisoned apple and pop into your derm’s office for those leader-of-the-pack, anti-wrinkle crime fighters: Botox (for relaxing the muscles in the forehead and cheeks for up to six months) and hyaluronic acid-based fillers like Restylane and Juviderm (to fill up the deeper crevices and wrinkles). The happy ending here is that these also spur the skin to create collagen-revving hyaluronic acid all by itself. But Snow isn’t out of the woods just yet. (Forgive the word play. I’m sickening myself.)

So you’ve rid yourself of the plague of over-abundant wrinkling, and your magic mirror is still giving you the stink-eye? Try taking a look at your skin tone. Beach-baking your porcelain fairy princess skin all those years can lead to another sure sign of aging: sunspots and discolorations. Here’s why: All that abuse can cause damage to your melanin cells, which leads to them producing too much color sporadically throughout your lovely visage. Suddenly, like magic, you’ve got dark splotchies that will not go away.

At-home treatments that have melanin inhibitors (ex. N-acetyl glucosamine) and brighteners (ex. Kojic, azelaic and ellagic acid) can help block the enzyme that tells the skin cells to make more pigment, but if you’re already past the point of no return, a visit to your dermie (consider him or her your Fairy Godmother of a delovely dermis) for a zip-zap laser treatment might help correct those skin sins of the past. By using two wavelengths, your dermatologist’s laser treatments work two-fold in eradicating those spots. One wavelength to hit the top layer of the skin and breakdown the already damaged surface cells and another to target deeper cells responsible for more severe spots.

Spending a little special time with your dermatologist, either talking tactics or treatment, can be your best defense against a mirror who can’t keep his damned mouth shut – so you, and the fair Snow’s of the world, can live happily ever after. The End.