It is important to understand that wrinkling is a natural part of life. The skin decreases in quality with age because collagen and elastin fibres stiffen, and the rate of skin cell production slows. You literally cannot stop wrinkles from occurring, but you can retard their appearance.

Basically, water is the key to health, so drink enough water to make your urine pale or clear. This generally is about ½ your body weight in fluid ounces. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 fluid ounces of water. Don't smoke and don’t drink alcohol excessively.

Don’t stay in the sun longer than 2 minutes without sunblock protection. During the height of the sun, try to stay in shade. Put on eye cream and wear shades to cover your "crow's feet" - wrinkles that come from screwing up your eyes. Have an excellent skin care regime.

I believe that whatever is good for you internally is good for you externally. Pile your plate with plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These provide vitamins A, C and E - antioxidants that block harmful free radicals before they can cause skin damage. Finding skincare products with these properties is also key.

Exercise for 20 - 30 minutes most days of the week in order to oxygenate and allow for blood circulation. And please... treat yourself to a professional facial at least once a month.

RELAX, SLEEP WELL, EAT WELL, EXERCISE, GREAT HYGIENE

It is so much easier to prevent & maintain than it is to erase.  The most important ways to do this are:

1. The single most important and least expensive way to prevent wrinkles is to avoid sun damage and to moisturize daily.
2. Start using Botox as soon as you see the faintest trace of expression lines beginning to form. If you wait till they are noticeable in a neutral facial position, it will take more types of treatments and expense to stay ahead of them.
3. Stimulate your own collogen remodeling.
4. Utilize Dermal Fillers, which is optional depending if you have deep facial contours or not.

I prefer Fraxel Laser instead of IPL to stimulate collogen because the results are more dramatic and long-lasting, but there are a few days of reddness and swelling and flaking.

It is a good idea to have a micro-peel and/or dermabrasion before the Fraxel to eliminate the top layer of dead skin cells and allow the laser light easier penetration.

My own personal prevention and maintainance consist of:

• 1 Botox treatment every 4 months
• 1 Fraxel treatment every 6 months
• 1 Juvederm treatment every 12 months
• Plus a healthy lifestyle

This investment slows the wrinkle clock down for many years if you get a head start on the fine lines.

Bottom line is you can't prevent wrinkles, but you can certainly stall their development.

Sunblock daily - all year round no matter what parallel you live at on the globe. CLEAN, softly EXFOLIATE and MOISTURIZE DAILY!

Simplify your beauty regimen and use sunblock as a base for foundation powder - fast, effective and gives a wonderful JLo glow. And what's really important gals - CLEAN MAKEUP OFF YOUR FACE EVERY EVENING followed by a good moisturizer! Another biggy is to eat right, sleep 8 hours, exercise 4 times weekly and journal your stress out onto paper if you don't have someone to talk to.

An alternative to Botox is to be more aware of what you think and feel as it gets expressed on your face. So the more you frown, the more you develop and entrench those wrinkles. When a client is in my chair I request nobody asks them questions, as we use several muscles just to think about an answer, let alone verbalize it - when muslces are moving it interferes with the makeup application process. And is it necessary to state not only the dangers of smoking but how it negatively impacts facial muscles and the wrinkles that form around lips and eyes.

Relaxation exercises and eliminating frowns and pursed lips with a happy attitude will definitely retard wrinkle development and will keep your heart healthy and mind happy - priceless.

This question is answered with the typical advice to reduce sun exposure and use a good sunscreen when in the sun. Assuming that you already know the basics and are careful with sun exposure, I would like to stress that you should obtain and use a good topical antioxidant or anti-aging prescription, which can help to reverse the damage caused UV light exposure.

Beware of over-the-counter, cosmetic products as they are typically not as research-based as prescriptive medication and are often disappointing. There are thousands of over-the-counter antioxidant and wrinkle creams, and, by and large, you should generally avoid these preparations. For one, they do not often work as claimed. Secondly, they may dry out and irritate your skin. Thirdly, cosmeceutical products (bought in department stores, pharmacies, health food stores, or in some physician offices) are often oily and can clog pores and cause acne or other skin disorders.

Often, key ingredients in these non-prescription cosmetic creams oxidize quickly and deteriorate a short time after they are applied, that is, before they can be absorbed by the skin. When looking for a good topical antioxidant or other anti-wrinkle therapy, one must make the distinction between a “cosmetic non-medical product” versus a “prescription or medicine.” Cosmeceuticals and cosmetics are not as heavily regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as are actual medicines. In short, cosmeceuticals have the same limited governmental regulation as do over-the-counter “cosmetics” – this means that the product developers are not required to have a high level of scientific proof that their particular cosmeceutical or cosmetic product actually works.

Don’t deplete your pocketbook on over the counter products; instead, ask your dermatologist for prescription-based, medical antioxidants and anti-wrinkle creams.

There are many factors that determine when and how many wrinkles you're going to get.

The first and most important is genetic. Look at your parents and your grandparents. Frequently the patterns of their wrinkles will be reflected on your face as well. You can use that information to determine where to concentrate your preventative methods. If everyone has deep 11 lines between the eyebrows, for example, you may want to think about Botox earlier rather than later to prevent the onset of those lines.

The second component is more under your control. Some of the things you do to your skin are not doing you any favors in terms of wrinkles.

• Sun exposure - wear sunblock and don't go to tanning booths. C'mon - you know that.
• Smoking - stopping will improve your skin and allow it to heal. Dryness - use moisturizer and a good cleanser daily.
• Oxidative stress - this one is a bit controversial, but it seems that antioxidant topicals like Prevage and others do help.
• Making facial expressions - OK, I'm not saying not to do that, but over the years it will generate lines in certain areas (vertical lines between the eyebrows, forehead horizontal lines and crow's feet are the classic ones).

I'm also not saying to start Botox at puberty, but for some people, preventative Botox in their late 20s to 30s (SMALL, non-paralyzing doses) really keeps their face young. Retin A or a similar retinoid cream (renova, etc.) is a very good product to start using regularly in your 30s - it will keep skin regeneration going and keep skin fresh. Also, I think that fillers do stimulate collagen growth. When I put Juvederm into the nasolabial folds, people come back with shallower folds six or seven months after.  

Regular facials and microdermabrasion do help maintain your skin. Don't listen to all the marketing hype about the newest cream or potion. Even if it has a doctor's name on it. Especially if some celebrity is hawking it on the Home Shopping Channel. Its a waste of money. Talk to friends you trust, doctors you trust and make up your own mind about a daily regimen you can stick to. If you keep it simple, you're more likely to follow a regimen. If you just take care of your skin with simple things like these, you'll be far ahead of most people.