by Dr. Grace Angel

1. DO NOT ABUSE ALCOHOL

Alcohol despite its bubbly pleasures causes dehydration and skin damage. "You may as well spend a week at the beach in the sun without sunscreen if you go to sleep after a drinking bender without properly protecting your skin," suggests a High School Musical diva.

If you abuse grandma's cough syrup you will pay the price. Alcohol impairs your skin's ability to produce collagen and will, in the long run, reduce skin elasticity leading to dry, saggy, wrinkled skin.

2. DO NOT EXPOSE UNPROTECTED SKIN TO SUNLIGHT

This is just good common sense. But if you cannot avoid it, use a quality high spf sun protectant. "I use spf 50 on my neck and face; however, I do recommend spf 35 on your body. Doing this protects my vulnerable skin, but allows me to develop a nice brownish tan everywhere else," suggests a former Mickey Mouse club member.

3. DON'T DRINK COFFEE

Caffeine is nature's diuretic and coffee contains it in spades. It causes the body to get rid of necessary liquids and nutrients. Jesus-lovin' Country music singers agree, "When I drink too much coffee, my teeth become noticeable stained and I can swear that the slight wrinkles around my eyes start developing into crows feet."

4. CITRUS AND VEGETABLES ARE YOUR FRIENDS

Spinach and other leafy greens contains vast amounts of antioxidants that aid skin health. Citrus like oranges and grapefruit have vitamin C, which boosts the skin's production of collagen. And collagen production is essential to skin elasticity, firmness and prevents the onset of premature wrinkling.

5. H20! DRINK AT LEAST TEN GLASSES OF WATER

"I drink at least 10 glasses of water a day, and really notice that my skin looks dull, gray, and vapid when I don't," says a certain hotel-fortune heiress.

6. USE A HIGH QUALITY NIGHT CREAM

Using a night cream is the simplest yet most necessary part of your beauty routine. Choose a night cream with proven age-fighters like vitamin C, peptides, and retinol. These compounds applied at night will reduce the effect of aging and the environment on your skin. "Young men always approach me at clubs and at the gym thinking I'm 25. My night cream has allowed me to maintain my youthful skin. These boys obviously haven't seen my movies from the early 1980's and would never guess that I'm actually 45," chuckles a member of Hollywood's brat pack, who chose, astutely, to remain anonymous.

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