Good habits and good genes can only take you so far when you're competing against the biological clock. Like it or not, there will come a day when you'll look in the mirror and realize that some of those "smile lines" are sticking around. You probably know that day can be delayed if you eat right, exercise and guard against the sun. But if you, like the rest of us, don't always succeed with the healthy-lifestyle approach, turn to this list of fallback options from Charlene Haines of Euphoria Day Spa.

• Oxygen Facials
• Botox Injections

Oxygen Facials
A truly blissful option, this facial cleanses, hydrates and exfoliates the skin while it pumps in plenty of fresh air, improving circulation, stimulating cell rejuvenation and killing any blemish-causing bacteria hiding in pores. Ever wonder how celebs like Jennifer Aniston look so luminous even without makeup? Now you know.


Botox Injections
This common procedure involves using small needles to inject traces of a substance that "paralyzes" the muscles underneath, where lines are forming — usually around the mouth and eyes and on the forehead. It temporarily freezes the muscles that form these expression lines, cutting down on the repetitive movements that help create wrinkles. It's fast, easy and relatively painless, but make sure to pick a doctor with experience, and undergo an allergy test first. You'll have to get Botox shots every few months, but the results are dramatic and, over the long haul, can delay the formation of wrinkles.

Despite the proliferation of supplements, vitamins, potions and diets, there is no single magic bullet solution to remaining ageless. What’s required is a complete strategy addressing the important areas to combat the effects of aging.


Here is a brief blueprint to help you identify exactly what is required.

Learn to live in the only place you have: the present. As you age, the urge to look back nostalgically on your younger days and brood over what’s gone will be strong. But you just cannot live in the past. It doesn’t exist anywhere other than your mind. The past can be a very cruel place to live and if you choose to continually brood over the past, you will seriously impact your happiness. By taking care of the present and applying Diet, Exercise, Activity, in the now, you sow the seeds of a happier, longer future. This needs to be ongoing because you will reap what you continually sow.

Following on from the above, the best way to ensure a happier, longer future is to make small but beneficial changes to your lifestyle. A very important principle to understand is the principle of cumulative action. The more you take small but beneficial actions, the more they benefit you over a period of time. The more small but harmful actions you take – smoking, lack of exercise, poor diet – the greater the risk of illness, disease and a shorter life span you open yourself up to. Commit to making small but beneficial changes and to minimize the harmful habits and behaviors. The cumulative effect of both of these will help you remain ageless.

Know your enemies: Smoking, excessive sun exposure, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, giving up on life, negative attitude, stress, anxiety, depression and bitterness. Indulge all of these on a regular basis and you will look old, you’ll feel old and you’ll appear old to others. You’ll also shorten your life span.

Recognize your ageless friends: Zest for living, regular exercise, nutritious, healthy foods, positive, optimistic attitude, thirst for knowledge, passion for learning new skills, new experiences, adventurous spirit and a commitment to living life in glorious technicolor and not in dull shades of gray.

Accept and embrace change and look upon change as an opportunity to grow. The alternative is to view change as a threat and this will induce the fear response within you. Fear is a very powerful and destructive emotion. If you let it, it will rob happiness and experience from you. Fear will always try to convince you to avoid action and to resist change. If you let it win, you will not grow. If you’re not growing you are in a state of atrophy – you are withering away. Atrophy is not conducive to remaining young, so resolve not to allow fear to be your guide.

In committing to the above healthy aging plan, you will effectively combat the aging process by putting into action a combination of processes across your whole life. It is a combination that will promote the qualities of youth: energy, vigour, vibrancy, and a positive, bright outlook.

Only 25% of the aging process is caused by genetics. The remaining 75% can be determined by the actions you take and applying what works to your daily routines. You have the power to do this – choose to use it!

One final thought to add to your healthy aging plan:

There is a difference to living a long life and being ageless. Living a long life for some people means a joyless pursuit of longevity. Being ageless is about maintaining a youthful spirit and is all about living life to the full each year. Being ageless isn’t about the years you live, rather, the way you live your years. That’s what really counts and it’s such an important concept to grasp. If you live this way, you will remain ageless.