The skin care secrets I'll tell my daughter.

by CAROLYN DONOVAN

I have indulged in regular facials since turning 40. Okay, truth be told, I’ve actually been secretly indulging in them ever since I began driving – but I don’t like to tell everyone. I call them In-Car Facials.

You know the facial I’m talking about: when the bright afternoon sun combines with the extreme close up that only a rear-view car mirror can provide (usually while stuck waiting somewhere like the school pick up zone). Every hair on your face resembles a bamboo shoot, every pore looks like a science text book image of a moon crater – your fingers are the extraction tools and nothing can be hidden from the merciless light (cue: dastardly laughter). It was here I had my epiphany.

I shouldn’t be doing this!

All the magazines say, “Don’t squeeze spots. Don’t touch your face with dirty fingers…” I’m setting a bad example, I think – but I keep going.

As a mum, I serve out a lot of daily don’ts. And don’ts are important, but what do’s do I pass on to my daughter? She looks to me for example and trusts my advice (for now).

My own mother perfectly exemplifies the benefits of taking care of your skin. For an Aussie beach babe, now in her 70’s, Mum’s skin still has an enviably glow after a life time of good habits. She certainly passed on a lot of necessary Do’s.

Do drink more water. If you’re thirsty, you need a glass of water. You seriously don’t need that soft drink. Your body is made up of more than 70 percent water which you are constantly losing by sweating, blinking, breathing…you name it. You need to replenish it.

Smoking ruins your skin. It reduces oxygen flow to skin cells, deepens lines, damages the collagen, reduces elasticity, gives you a dry, dull appearance and turns your teeth, eyes and nails yellow. Oh, and do believe the medical research…it kills you.

Do wear a hat. Every time you are outside. (From as early as I can recall, I could always spot my mum in a crowd – the lady in the hat. Style plus!)

Do use a good moisturiser. I learned this habit early, copying my mother smoothing on her rich pink Oil of Ulan – which we now know as Olay. (This ‘do’ was obviously passed along through other families too because somewhere in the world, someone buys Olay every two minutes, apparently!)

Sunbaking does make you older and wrinklier faster than birthdays.

Comparing yourself to the most popular girl in school/the celebrity on the cover of the magazine/anyone else…is a waste of precious time. It will only make you unhappy. Do the best with what you have been blessed with.

Do laugh more. Humour is a great anti-ageing weapon.

Do have female friends – and lots of them. They will remind you that you truly are beautiful; will tell you when you honestly look ridiculous; and remind you of all of the above if your own mother didn’t.

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What beauty secret would you pass on to a younger woman in your life?