The 10-Minute Facelift: Lessen the Signs of Ageing The Natural Way

132 Pages·2001·9.95 MB·English

by  Tessa Thomas

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the 10- minute facelift^
lessen the signs of ageing the natural way
Tessa Thomas
Boston. MA
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the 10-minute
facelift
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hamlyn
the 10-minute
facelift
Tessa Thomas
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ExecutiveEditor:JaneMcintosh
ExecutiveArtEditor:GeoffFennell
Photographer:BillReavell
Stylist:ClaireHunt
ProductionController:LisaMoore ISBN 60059685
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthis
2000byHamlynanimprintofthe publicationmaybereproduced,
OctopusPublishingGroupLimited, storedinaretrievalsystem,or
2-4HeronQuays,London,E144JP transmittedinanyformorbyany
means,mechanical,photocopying,
Copyright©2000OctopusPublishing recordingorotherwise,withoutthe Note:Massageandfacialexerciseshouldnotbeconsideredasa
GroupLimited permissionofthecopyrightholders. replacementforprofessionalmedicaltreatment;aphysicianshouldbe
consultedinallmattersrelatingtohealthandespeciallyinrelationtoany
DistributedintheUnitedStatesand ACIPcataloguerecordforthisbook symptomswhichmayrequirediagnosisormedicalattention. Careshould
CanadabySterlingPublishingCo..Inc. isavailablefromtheBritishLibrary betakenduringpregnancy,particularlyintheuseofessentialoilsand
387ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork, pressurepoints. Essentialoilsshouldnotbeingestedandusedforbabies
NY 10016-8810 PrintedinChina andchildrenonlyonprofessionaladvice.
contents
Face values
e
20 Getting in touch
46 Keep your face
fit
itat
70 Clean up your act
90 Feed your face
9
102 Is your skin thirsty
114 Give yourself a treat
126 Index
Acknowledqements
128
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face values 7
ace
facts
Yourfacedoesn't take up much space. Ofthetwo square metres of Howcoulditbeotherwise?Theskinisthebody'sonlyvisibleorgan
skin that contours the body, that covering the face accounts forjust and the face its most exposed part. Ever open to the elements, it
four-and-a-half per cent. Yet it attracts more attention, generates registersthepassing ofeveryseason.
more concern and fuels more commercial enterprise than any other Theface isalsothemostexpressivepart ofthebody, capableofa
part ofthe body. Britons spend an estimated £760 million every year wider range of movements than any other, and it rarely rests. If you
on skincare products. They include sun and cellulite creams, body havefoundyourvocationasaprofessionalgurnerorhappilysuperan-
lotions and toners. But. despite its disproportionately small surface nuated grandparent, the resulting wrinkles are of little concern. But if
area, morethanhalfofthat moneyisspentonproductsfortheface. you'reanordinarymortalsensitivetothepassingoftime,thelastthing
Yet the imbalance somehow makes sense. For every face tells a youwant is adaily reminderof its speed asyouflickonthe light over
story. Likethecoverofabook, itannouncestheinteriornarrative.The thebathroom mirror.
uniquefeaturesthatafacedevelopsthrough accidentsofinheritance Thefurrowswithwhich ittauntsyou arenowlessapersonal afflic-
and experience, be they laughter lines or wilting eyes, offer myriad tion, moreacollective institution. Asthepopulationagesmorerapidly
insights intotheinteriorlifeoftheirwearer. than ever before, creases and jowls are becoming the norm. You
Insomeculturesitssignificancegoesfurther. FortheJapanese, the might think that would make them more acceptable - that they may
facecontains manyoftheacupressurepointsthroughwhichenergyis be regarded as the acceptable face of seniority, symbols of wisdom
activated and channelled. The Chinese set store by the ancient art of and experience. But in a world in which the cult of youth stubbornly
'facereading', inwhichthefacialfeaturesandskinreflectthecondition reignssupreme, theyalsosignifythe passing ofopportunity, sexuality
of the body's vital organs. Proponents of the Indian practice of and beauty. The British poet John Keats (1795-1821) famously
ayurveda hold that one ofthe body's seven energy channels is in the asserted that beauty is truth and truth beauty: the word truth could
jaw. Westerners may lack a formal system but they can never resist todaybesubstituted byyouth.
carryingouttheirownanalysis,consciouslyorotherwise. 'I'mhopeless So now, instead ofconferring prestige, ageing skin denotesdecay
withnames, but I neverforgetaface,' isauniversal refrain. andseniorcitizensfindthemselvesclassifiedaswrinklies. Despitethe
Whatever the cultural slant, our face is interpreted as the most adoption by beauty companies of older muses, even the fortysome-
graphic representation of the person we have been and the one we things are made to feel way past their aesthetic prime. No wonder
are, in body and soul. Yet most significantly, perhaps, it reveals our American dermatologists, keen not to offend potential clients, have
age. Astheyears pass, thepictureonthecoverofthe book isnot so beguntorefertowrinklesasdermatologiccorrugations.
much sketched asetched-inwrinkles, creases, sagsand bags. The But such euphemisms convince no one. People are flocking as
mostpublicpartofourskinagesmorequicklythananyother. never before to clinics, chemists and beauticians in search of ready-
to-wear cures. Plastic surgeons, pharmacists and laboratory techni-
ciansincosmeticshousesarethenewgurus,towhompeopleentrust
theirfragileand ephemeral looks. Rejuvenation has becomethe holy
grailofthebeautyindustry.
True, it has always been a female preoccupation and one
considered worth a risk. In the 17th century, daring (or ugly) women
would remove their surface skin with oil of vitriol - with some
disastrous results. In its modern incarnation as the facial peel - or
'resurfacing', asitspolitepractitionersprefer- theprocedureismore
scientific and controlled, but barely less painful or crude. Four
centuries of preoccupation and experimentation and we have still
failed, despiteeveryeffort, todiscoverafail-safefacelift.
But inanageofsuch rapidtechnologicaladvance, consumersare
constantlypersuadedthatnewlysynthesisedchemicals,cutting-edge
technology or state-of-the-art surgery will help rejuvenate their skin.
Alt: ough noneoffersan instantoreasysolution (and weknowit), we
are spending more than ever on all types of anti-ageing treatment,
whetherthey involvedipping ourfingers intoapot marked rejuvenat-
inggel orundergoingdaysofdiscomfortafterassaultbylaser.
Ultimately, neitherwill satisfythe self-consciousconsumer, pnmed
toexpect instant resultsbutwhounderstandsneithertheskinnorthe
technologythat promisestostraightenitout. Inaseductiveandlucra-
tivemarketthat isdrawinginmoreclientsbythe •sar, itpaystoknow.
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