Let’s face the facts. No one here is getting any younger. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this 15 years old, 25 years old, 45 years old, or 95 years old. Eternal youth simply does not exist. It’s true: the younger you are, the more invincible you feel, but keep in mind that every 95 year old was ONCE 15 years old. There is no way around it: we are all getting older. Chances are you are about 30 seconds older now than when you started reading this, sorry to be the bearer of such news…

So while it is true that you CANNOT stop the clock ticking, it is also true that you CAN stop, or even better, REVERSE some of the effects of the clock ticking, especially as it affects the way your skin looks.

My dear quinceañera: look at yourself in that lucky mirror. Get over any breakouts you may have right now, that will clear up if you have it. But you see how all the skin on your face is soft, smooth, clean… ALIVE? Yeah, the rest of us would kill for that! Please enjoy it while you can. And then DO something to keep it that way.

The rest of us deal with crow’s feet, frown lines, age spots, etc. Part of this is our fault, no, not for smiling! But from spending too much time unprotected in the blazing sun, or brainlessly baking in a spa tanning bed, or generally not following what people have now learned to be sound, standard practice for skin care skin, the 4 unbreakable steps: cleanse, tone, skin serum, skin moisturizer. It’s not difficult, it takes very little time, and if any of us were to go back to our blessed days with pimples, we’d start this tried and true regimen without delay.

Yet many of us have started this trustworthy regimen 15 years late, 40 years late, etc., and have STILL had terrific results. The kind that makes me daydream about how he would have seen me now, if he had been doing what he should have been doing all along.

But no matter how old we are now, it’s not too late to get into the routines we wish our parents knew and told us to do all those years ago.

So to the point, here’s how to take care of your face. You only have one face (I hope so), so for the love of all good and holy, do this every day at least:

1) Clean your face well with soap and water, at least twice a day. Pat dry: Don’t wipe hard, you’ll thank yourself years later for being gentle on the skin on your face.

2) Apply toner. Find your favorite brand and just use it. Follow the directions on the bottle carefully for best results.

3) Apply your Vitamin C Serum. This part has been specifically shown to dramatically lighten, brighten and firm (remove wrinkles/stop wrinkles), especially when used daily. Apply in an upward and outward motion while gently spreading serum across face and neck. Let dry for a couple of seconds.

4) Apply the daily moisturizer of your choice. Unlike the serum’s natural vitamins and plant extract nutrients, this step infuses the skin’s layers with necessary lipids and moisture, working in perfect harmony with the serum’s effects.

And that is! This doesn’t need to take a long time, which will make you late for the bus, work, bingo, or bed.

But it will leave you with your best face to show yourself and the world, for your today and your tomorrow.