Doris Day - Beyond Beautiful: Using the Power of Your Mind and Aesthetic Breakthroughs to Look Naturally Young and Radiant

Appearance is anything but superficial. Think about the days when you feel your most beautiful. What do you love about those days, and when does that beautiful feeling start? Is it with a caress of your soft, smooth skin when you first wake up; receiving a kind word from a friend, partner, or even stranger; or being pleased by your reflection in the mirror? This book is about improving your most important relationshipthe one with yourselfin order to be your radiant best and enhance your presence in the world. To achieve these things, you must not think of the mind-body-skin connection as the meeting of three separate entities. Rather, consider that your mind, body, and skin are one and the same. This means that what you see, whether in the mirror in front of you or in your minds eye, is a reflection of the natural condition of your skin combined with the effects of specific life events and stressors.

When you look tired, sad, or old, you have a rash, an acne breakout, or flare-up of psoriasis, pay close attention: your skin is also transmitting information about whats going on physically and emotionally. Some stress is heuristic and can work to protect your skin, your body, and your mind, but in many cases it triggers a negative cycle that accelerates aging. It is only through understanding and properly addressing the source of our stress that we achieve lasting results, optimal health, and true beauty. Its not as hard as you might think and I will guide you through, step by step, on your personal journey.

I like to think of myself as a skin whisperer, helping to reveal and enhance skins beauty by identifying and addressing whats aging it or causing it to look anything less than its healthiest and most radiant. I will teach you how to respond to this information, as well as show you the best ways to treat various skin conditions so you can always be your healthiest, feel your most beautiful, and look your very best.

Ive been a board-certified dermatologist for more than twenty years, treating everyone from kids and busy moms (and dads), to celebrities, models, and CEOs. Ive also worked in a research lab at New York University and have helped develop several skin care lines for major brands, including Este Lauder Co. I take health, skin care, and beauty very seriously, and the radical idea fueling my approach is that by being aware of every aspect of our livesgenetics and internal and external stressorswe can change our skin and live the best lives possible. This belief, as well as my studies of philosophy and the humanities, has informed my years of medical practice, journalistic endeavors, and medical research to the acclaim of both my patients and peers.

My techniques are based on the latest scientific understanding of how we age and combine the most cutting-edge, nonsurgical treatments with the best ingredients and supplements to help you age beautifully. You should not consider having another treatment or procedure or buying another product before reading this book.

In addition to being something of a medical detective, unearthing the true nature of my patients health from the clues their bodies provide, I also consider myself a doctor of self-esteem. Sheryl Sandberg, the CEO of Facebook, advised women to lean in in the workplace. Well, Im challenging you to dive in and examine all aspects of your life to understand how they equally contribute to your body and your skins reflection of you. The results of my treatments have been life-changing for my patients. And now you can experience the same results.

Throughout this book I will show you how to unlock the power of the mind-body-skin connection for yourself, explain the best treatments available, and explore what the future of skin care and beauty holds. Ill share many fascinating stories of patients who have experienced and beautifully overcome many of the same problems you may be experiencing right now. If the advice I gave them helps you, too, I will have done my job.

I know many of you reading this book are searching for the best and most lasting ways to prevent aging, recapture your youth, or freeze time. You are not alone. In a 2017 consumer survey of over 7,300 people done by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, nearly seven in ten people surveyed said they were considering a cosmetic procedure. The top three reasons given were: (1) I want to feel more confident; (2) I want to look as young as I feel; and (3) I want to appear more attractive.

Substantial advances have been made that put reversing, and even preventing, much of the aging process well within reach of the average American. We can save the skin from damage, control and complement the repair of existing damage, and improve strength, resilience, tone, and clarity. One method uses the power of nonsurgical approaches to help you look and feel your best, what I call syringe therapy. Used correctly, it has great potential to help you age beautifully and look more like the way you feel inside. But used indiscreetly as a weapon against aging, in an attempt to wipe out any hint of a line, wrinkle, or hollow, it can leave you looking older and artificial. Sadly, when I look around, Im struck by obvious cosmetic mistakes, from overfilled lips and cheeks to clearly missed areas that leave the face looking unbalanced and done. I call that syringe therapy gone wrong.

There are several reasons why a specific treatment may fail. The first is a lack of knowledge. This reason is two-part. On the one hand, science still gives us only a partial understanding of all the processes that age us.