For the sake of convenience, we shall break this article into two parts. In the first part, we shall deal with age spots, facial pores that are enlarged, dry skin and free radicals—they all cause you to look older than your actual age.

1. Age spots are those patches of dark and light on your face that appear with advanced aging. As you grow older, the natural melanin (pigment in skin that causes tanning) does not function as efficiently as before. So Mr. Sun gets full freedom to wreck havoc on the evenly toned skin of your face.

Many of you go in for creams that promise to whiten or lighten those dark brown spots. Some of you prefer bleaching. Both are not advisable—your overly sensitive skin may react adversely to whitening agents, and bleaching gives an overall but unnatural whiteness to your face. So go in for lighter formulations, or use the whitening cream with care only on the age spots.

2. If you are blessed with oily skin, your facial pores will keep enlarging. This becomes an open invitation for dirt, excess oil and bacteria to settle there. With no air to breathe, the dermal cells underneath die faster than they actually should. Now this can be a hereditary malady, or it can be due to an unhygienic and polluted environment. You may therefore fall prey to swelling, inflammation, irritation, bacterial infections, roughened texture, rosacea (blood vessels enlarge, resulting in a flushed face), blemishes or acne.

The solution does not lie in frequent washing of the face, as many of you are led to believe. Cleansing with a mild soap twice daily helps to irrigate the pores and allow all the collected muck to flow out. With the contents thrown out, the sizes of the pores will get reduced. Otherwise, you can go in for Alpha Hydroxy crystals alone, or Emu oil alone, or as a combination. They are extremely effective in giving you a clear complexion. Your makeup should be light, or a mineral one.

3. Advancing age leads to skin losing moisture much faster than before, leading to rashes, psoriasis or wrinkles. Avoid sun exposure, and include more of raw vegetables and fruits in your diet. Drink plenty of water and other fluids. It is advisable to use a facial cream containing Hyaluronic Acid at night, for it aids in retaining moisture.

Another good anti-aging agent is Emu Oil—found in facial creams, eye creams, body lotions and body creams. This oil penetrates deep into the dermis and the subcutaneous layers, carrying other ingredients in the product along with it to their destined locations. Finally, Emu Oil also fights against bacteria and inflammation.

4. You are well aware of how much damage can be caused to your skin cells if the unwanted free radicals get access to them. Hence, it is imperative that you get enough anti-oxidants into your body to protect yourself. These anti-oxidants will come via fresh fruits and vegetables. Other sources are coffee, Green tea and Idebenone. Green tea is very popular as a drink, as well as an ingredient in topical serums and moisturizers.