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There is nothing supernatural about looking younger than you actually are -
but there is a LOT of influence from your environment and what you do to your
body. Let's go over the most common visual aging factors first:
TOXINS (Examples: Alcohol, drugs, smoking,
pollutants, chemotherapy...)
Toxins, especially over time, tend to overload the body's filtering organs
such as the kidneys and liver. Once the filtering organs are impaired, less
toxins are filtered out. When they build up in the body, one of the first
places you see the evidence (outside of medical testing or observing how you
feel) is your skin, which gets eventual damage (wrinkles, dry skin, etc.)
from toxin buildup.
General toxins can be cleaned out through a variety of methods - over time,
by eliminating the source of the toxins and allowing the body to clean up
on it's own (depending on the severity of the toxin, this may not be the best
option), or through various detoxification methods. Some involve particular
changes to diet, others use different methods.
RADIATION DAMAGE (Examples:
Sunlight, tanning booths, X-rays...)
Ultraviolet rays (which are considered a form of radiation) damage the skin
at the cellular level. With too much exposure, the skin is unable to compensate
for the amount of UV damage that takes place. Skin cancer, wrinkles, "alligator
skin" can be results. You can minimize the effects by using sunscreen
and keeping your skin covered, as well as limiting the amount of time you're
out in the sun.
Some exposure time IS necessary for production of Vitamin D, however you
can also buy Vitamin D supplements from good vitamin supply places. I recommend
a Vitamin D supplement without Vitamin A (at least not in "Vitamin A"
form because true Vitamin A is not flushed out - Beta Carotene form would
be greatly preferable) included, but you may have to really look around to
find that. Vitamin D supplements are recommended anyway for people in locations
farther away from the equator. (The original source article I read said "Northern"
climates, but this can apply to SOUTH of the equator as well as NORTH of the
equator. Northern USA, Canada, and northern Europe just happen to be good
examples.)
Other forms of radiation include some forms of chemotherapy treatment and
x-rays. Most people, if they're reasonably healthy, won't need to worry about
these too much, but these are also things to consider. If you're undergoing
radiation treatment for cancer, it's an occasion where you SHOULD worry about
it, because sometimes the technicians don't always set things properly...
MAKEUP
Those of you in the USA have probably heard of the "Tammy Faye Baker
School of Makeup" jokes - For those not in the USA, this refers to what
*appears* to be a habit of applying makeup with a trowel - the end result
looks like a thick layer of makeup and we're never sure if we're looking at
her face or a mask. While a trowel is probably not used in reality, she does
use a LOT of makeup on her face. Over time, heavy daily makeup application
does contribute to having excessive wrinkles and just plain looking "old"
without having makeup on.
This is generally something done by women, but anyone, male or female, especially
in the performance arts (theater, stage, etc.), needs to be aware of this
as well.
VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES
Vitamin deficiencies can result from many things - a lot of time it's a of
excessive toxin exposure, as well as simply from having a bad diet. Getting
adequate amounts of B-complex, Vitamin A as Beta Carotene (beta carotene form
preferred since the body will convert that as needed, instead of letting excess
vitamin A build up in fatty tissues), Vitamins C and E help reduce the wrinkles
that can occur from dry or damaged skin.
If you take no other vitamins, at least take a GOOD multivitamin - something
with plenty of all recommended vitamins and minerals, and in liquid, powdered
or capsule form - in that order of preference. Tablets are known to be indigestible
and often just pass through your digestive tract untouched. Anyone who's cleaned
out port-a-potties or "Johnny on the spot" portable toilets can
verify things like this.
If you already have a bottle of tablet vitamins such as Centrum as least
chew or (preferably) crush them before swallowing. Follow or mix with fruit
juice or something that covers the nasty tablet flavor.
By avoiding as may of these as possible, or at least avoid as much as possible,
you can look younger, longer, and age more gracefully without having to resort
to a medicine cabinet full of creams. Peels and other facial chemicals or having
to resort to cosmetic surgery.
There are some who say that vampirism itself is responsible for having a more
youthful appearance - possibly from the blood/energy we take in. I cannot -
personally - definitively say whether that is or is not the case because I avoid
as many of the above factors as possible, so as a result I can't chalk it up
to any *specific* thing. I've been asked for ID when buying lottery tickets,
however, and I'm in my late 30's, so something I'm doing must be working. :)
This article is presented as part of an ongoing effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online vampire community. Those of us who consider ourselves vampiric don't always look at things from the same viewpoint due to our life experiences. As such, the views and opinions contained in this article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - you are responsible for using your own reasoning and judgement, so judge wisely.
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