Your Face

Your face. It's arguably the most important part of you. Sure your heart supplies blood, your lungs supply oxygen, and your brain supplies higher reasoning, but your face is what people remember you by. People judge you by your face more than your job or your family or your clothing. It doesn't matter if you're the director of a firm that supplies Spanish translation services. If you have a pale face people won't associate you with the Spanish language. You could be a Supreme Court Judge and people still wouldn't trust you if they didn't think you had an "honest face." People with well-looked after faces are seen as more put-together, responsible, and caring.

You only get one face, so don't you think you should look after it? Not just because it's the part of yourself that you present to others, but because it feels good to have smooth, clear skin. Most of the damage done to facial skin comes from the environment. It's all well and good to buy cloth diaper covers to protect the environment but the environment doesn't think. The wind can't return the favor by blowing less strongly when you go outside. So you must be the one to take steps to protect yourself.

The environment provides many important things for your face. Sunlight gives you not only warmth but is also the catalyst that helps your skin produce important vitamins your body needs, like vitamin D. However, like anything else, you can have too much of a good thing. Any more than 15 minutes of moderate sunlight per day can cause premature aging and increased risk of skin cancer just as surely as a PCB designer working on electric circuits would damage his if he didn't protect his face while soldering.

So what should you do to keep your facial skin from slowly loosening up over time like the ratchet tie down in your truck bed? The best measures you can take are preventative. A daily moisturizer with SPF 15 is enough to protect most people's faces because they're only outside long enough to go to and from their cars. More active people and people who work outside like camp counselors and lifeguards should apply a higher SPF, at least 30, every few hours. As for the wind, when the temperature drops and the wind picks up, cover your face with a scarf and your hands with gloves and try to stay in the lee of buildings.

For already damaged skin, there are restorative measures but there is only so far you can take them. For the most part what's done is done, but some of your skin's vitality can be restored by creams or surgical procedures. Most spas specialize in these sorts of treatments and most people, especially women, worry about their skin. So if you're worried about wrinkles and fine lines, why not gather up the other ladies from your Absolute condo and organize a spa day? Your face will thank you.