Hyaluronic Acid      

Feel fabulous in your fifties.

Date: 9th December 2008, Source: Althealth News

She used to be a Bond girl, and even now you can see just why the super spy was intrigued by Jane Seymour. She's 56 and she's simply glowing with health and vitality.

She played a psychic tarot card reader in Live and Let Die. So just what did Ms Seymour see when she looked to the future?

By the time you hit a half century, your skin will experience numerous changes because of the hormonal influence of the menopause.

To begin with, your oestrogen levels will start to decline. This affects the capacity of the skin to retain moisture, and you may experience dry skin for the first time. It will also become thinner and more fragile.

The production of collagen and elastin fibres falls dramatically, causing skin to sag and droop. But, thankfully, facial exercises can really make a difference. However, you may also notice the effects of sun damage which actually occurred decades earlier. This may appear as darker patches where the melanin, which gives skin its pigment, clumps together. If you're extra unlucky, age spots and broken blood vessels will start to appear.

There's no magic answer but you need to think about firming, lifting and nourishing your skin. Look for water-based anti-ageing products packed full of collagen and hyaluronic acid. These ingredients will help pump it up.

Remember, we all have 25 layers of epidermis and to penetrate through all of these, you need to use products that will absorb and work from within.

Try to stay out of the sun or, at the very least, use a high SPF to keep your skin tone even and prevent damage accelerating.

And remember that it's not just the skin on your face that you should be concerned about; your chest, neck and hands are age giveaways, so it's really worth investing in a hand cream and a product specifically formulated for the fragile skin on your neck.

Products to look out for include: Clarins Super Restorative Decollete and Neck Concentrate, La Prairie's Cellular Anti-Wrinkle Firming Serum, Shiseido's Future Solution Total Revitalizing Cream, Clinique Repairwear Deep Wrinkle Concentrate for Face and Eye, Estee Lauder's Age Resisting Brightening Cream and Advanced Night Repair, Dermalogica's Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque, and No7 Revitalising Hand Saviour.

But it's not just about spending lots of money at the beauty counter. Look after your diet: make sure you're getting enough protein and eating lots of anti-oxidant fruits and vegetables daily.

Drink lots of water, and get plenty of exercise to keep your circulation working and drive nutrients to your skin. You may not get Daniel Craig knocking on your door, but a girl can dream!