Skin Resolutions for the New Year Instead of making a long list of lofty New Year's resolutions, start small - like taking better care of your skin. You can protect your body's largest organ and help your skin look younger and healthier from head to toe. Here are some skin care resolutions that provide big payoffs with little effort. Be on your way to gorgeous skin in 2010!

DRINK MORE WATER
If you commit to just one thing to increase your overall health and beauty, this is it! The skin requires a steady supply of moisture to stay young, healthy and supple. Drinking water keeps skin glowing, gives us energy, improves circulation, lubricates the joints and flushes harmful toxins out of the body. Doctors recommend drinking eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day for optimal hydration and even more in hot weather or when exercising heavily.

You can enhance the hydration benefit by drinking green tea, which provides antioxidants, called catechins, which scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, atherosclerosis and wrinkles. Because of green tea's minimal processing - its leaves are withered and steamed, not fermented like black and oolong teas - green tea's unique catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are more concentrated. Although there's still a question of how much green tea you need to drink to reap its health benefits, it has been shown that lemon will enhance the bio-availability of EGCG. In other words, EGCG is more fully used by the body when it is enhanced with a squeeze of lemon.

MOISTURIZE
Keeping skin hydrated from the outside is equally as important as hydrating it from the inside. Moisturizing is necessary all year round to protect the skin from elements such as sun and wind, which dry it out further. Francesca High Potency Lotion is a highly effective daily moisturizer that incorporates medically proven technology, incorporating ingredients to keep skin hydrated and healthy. There is also a heavier counterpart cream for those that need a bit more hydration.

USE SUNSCREEN
Use sunscreen every day no matter where you live or what season it is. If the moon is not up, your skin should be protected from UV damage. There truly is no such thing as a healthy tan. Sun damage can manifest in lots of ways including brown spots, blotchiness, rough patches, wrinkles and, in the worst case, skin cancer. Don't risk it. Get your tan from a bottle and preserve your skin's youthful glow by preventing sun damage. There are several Elta sunblocks we recommend, and now we even have one specially formulated for acne-prone skin. All our sunblocks provide UVA and UVB protection and don't melt into the eyes preventing irritation!

PROTECT YOUR POUT
When moisturizing and protecting, many people overlook some of the most delicate skin on the body, the lips. You should always incorporate lip care in your regular moisturizing and sun protection regime. The skin on the lips is very thin and gets easily dried and cracked, especially in winter or after sun exposure. Many physicians believe that when the lips are dry and flaking, they serve as an early warning sign that the rest of the body is dehydrated. We recommend Skin Care Intensive Lip Smoothing Gommage and moisturizing with Lip Plump Treatment.

EXFOLIATE REGULARLY
Nothing keeps the skin smooth, soft and free of debris like regular exfoliation. Exfoliating (both the face and body) helps reduce dry skin, acne, blackheads and the signs of aging. Just be careful as some exfoliating products can contain particles that are very rough and may irritate skin further. Medical-quality exfoliation requires more than just scrubbing. Dry skin, flaky patches and chicken skin bumps are held together by bonds that physical exfoliation alone can't break. Jan Marini Age Intervention Regeneration Facial Mask acts as a serious medical grade exfoliation. Exfoliation should be enhanced with the Clarisonic Professional brush for the face and body!

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
Our feet take us where we need to go and many of us spend hours a day standing on them. Such an important body part deserves some extra attention. Regular pedicures will keep your feet in top shape, but even taking simple steps at home can help. The skin on the feet is very thick and can get easily dried and cracked. Prevent all of the above with Francesca Body Lotion. Slather it on your feet after showering or before bedtime and wake up with happy feet.

FIGHT OFF THOSE WRINKLES
Just because another year has come and gone doesn't mean you have to succumb to the signs of aging. You can take an active role in protecting your skin against lines and wrinkles and reversing existing damage with the many fillers and lasers we have available so you can actually look younger with each passing year! Come in and let us put together an individualized anti-aging regimen for you.

MAKE YOUR EYES DAZZLE
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. When someone looks deep into your eyes, you want them to see your inner beauty, not be distracted by dark circles, bags and wrinkles. We can often correct these enemies of beauty with injectable fillers and fractional lasers with minimal downtime! If the in-office treatments are insufficient to correct your concerns, we offer expert lid surgery as an outpatient procedure at a private, state-certified surgery center.