beauty

5 ways to look younger

From the wrinkles on your face to the brown spots on your hands, signs of aging are always a shock when you see them in the mirror. Here are five tips from Allure magazine that will help you win the battle against the years.

Get an extra hour of sleep each night
There is a reason it is called "beauty rest." Sleep deprivation gives you dark circles and dull skin. It can also cause weight gain, diminished immune response and foul moods. The key to sleeping more is simple: Go to bed earlier. Here's how:

Establish a new bedtime: Go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights in a row, and get 20 minutes of bright light every morning to help regulate the hormones that will make you tired in the evening (either outdoors or from a light box). Then stick to your new bedtime and wakeup call.

Go dark: Exposure to light, even at the level in most living rooms, can suppress the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, making it difficult to doze off. An hour before bedtime, dim the lights, turn off the TV and computer and make your room as dark as possible.

Release tension: Consider taking a warm bath an hour before bed. Beyond feeling relaxing, the rise and subsequent fall in body temperature slows the heart and makes you drowsy.

Raise your hands
IA woman's hands look younger when she wears rings and nail polish, according to a recent study. Also, many women don't realize hands often show your age before your face does.

People always forget to apply sunscreen to their hands every day. Use a hand cream with SPF of at least 15.

Pick a nail color that makes your hands look young (not taupe, not dark blue or deep burgundy). Bright reds look great on short, rounded nails, but make sure to choose an orange-y red and not a bluish red (the blue makes veins in your hands look worse). You can't go wrong with a low-key, soft pink. We like OPI Bubble Bath, a creamy pink.

Protect your neck
The neck is actually more prone to aging than the face, which is supported by a cushion of tissue. You can make your neck look much younger with the right creams.

The most crucial treatment is prevention with a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen. Apply it every day.

You don't need to buy specific creams for the neck: Face creams with the right ingredients work just as well.

An antioxidant cream used daily will protect skin from environmental damage that causes wrinkles. Product: Dermatologists recommend idebenone (Prevage or Priori Smooth Lines), CoffeeBerry (Revale Skin), Green Tea, Pomegranate or a combination of vitamins C and E.

Perfect your skin with foundation
ISome people think foundation looks like a mask, feels like shrink wrap, and magnifies every line and wrinkle. But when it's done right, it can actually make skin look brighter, more even, and more youthful. Here is how the pros do it:

Choose a liquid foundation — it's more moisturizing and less likely to cake than a cream or powder-on. Test shades on your jawline, in natural light.

Before applying, always use moisturizer (makeup blends more easily on moist skin).

Use a makeup sponge. Use it dry if you want full coverage; damp (wet it and squeeze it) if you want a sheer result.

Bring youthful volume back to your hair
As you age, hair, like skin, gets thinner. Here are some tricks to bring the volume back:

Wash with a volumizing shampoo, then apply a lightweight conditioner to the ends only (conditioner on the crown is a recipe for limpness).

Rub a bit of mousse into the roots to give volume and blow dry.

Dry your hair in sections, wrapping the top sections around large Velcro rollers, pulling slightly toward the face. Let cool for at least ten minutes.

The old upside-down move really works: Flip your head over, shake hair with fingers at the roots.