The Mind-Beauty Connection: 9 Days to Reverse Stress Aging and Reveal More Youthful, Beautiful Skin

Dr. Amy Wechsler's book "The Mind-Beauty Conection" is a book that looks far deeper than the skin to answer questions on how we can better care for ourselves from skin to our body to our brains! The book starts out with tips on how to wash your face and the further along your read the impact of how stress affects us including adrenals and cortisal. Stress affects your hormones and I finally got the answer to a shocking hair loss she refers to as "shedding" and her insights have given me peace of mind and hope. She explains how meditating actually affects your brain in a way that helps you age better and she gives you tips on improving our health including one I always felt was true and I affectionately call "Vitamin Sex". She believes as I do that sex and cuddling are good for your health as is diet, working out, massage and volunteering and socializing. She cautions as we getter older we may lose friends and all the more reason to work on social networking. The book is amazing especially the parts on how stress and hormones affect our body in very negative ways. She also covers dietary tips. addresses adult acne and skin cancer as well advice on moisturizers to the most inexpensive to the most expensive and of course the mostly costly alternatives which I can't pursue and have no interest in doing so at least for now. The chapters on stress and hormones as well as advice on how to cope with stress make this book a winner for me and have given new insights and HOPE!!!

LOVED this book !! Dr. Wechsler made the daily routine of taking care of yourself and your skin so much easier. She advises that the more expensive products are NOT necessarily the better choices. Simple vs Complex works for me !! This is a def feel good book to "rediscover" yourself since she advises you to take time for yourself (finally!).

I am VERY into health, and I LOVED Dr. Wechsler's book. She has the unique ability to not just treat skin, but look deeper into what's going on emotionally to cause any skin problems. From a health perspective, the book is great! She helped me get into a set routine of walking, taking deep breaths (sounds obvious, but I promise you, it wasn't happening in my life before this book), and a good skin care routine. She has really helped me achieve an overall healthy lifestyle, which is definitely reflecting nicely on my face!! I thought the book itself was an easy read, and I found myself reaching for a highlighter to help me remember things. I felt like I could have taken her book with me to the store and I would have been able to get the perfect skin care treatment for me. That's another great thing about this book, I can tailor it for my needs/budget. I have never been big on expensive makeups or skin treatments. But, with the help of Dr. Wechsler's book, I was able to get a great routine down and I don't feel guilty at all about it!! Great book! I highly recommend it.

Dr. Wechsler's book is excellent! The writing is clear and informative, and I could hardly put it down last night at the end of a long day (taking care of my own patients). She gives solid information about the factors that make your skin look old before its time, and practical advice for changing your skin from gloomy to glowing. I didn't feel like the book was designed to sell an expensive product line (she doesn't have a product line at all), nor did it chastise the reader for history that couldn't be changed. Dr. Wechsler outlines positive steps for improving your skin, but I suspect these steps will relieve stress and improve your life as a whole. (The first review for this book gives a solid outline of the material covered in the book, so I will not add to that here.)

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com A FirstLook Feature Book Review: The Mind-Beauty Connection: 9 Days to Reverse Stress, Aging and Reveal More Youthful, Beautiful Skin (Free Press, 2008) by Amy Weschler, M.D. Author Amy Weschler is one of only two physicians in the United States board certified in both dermatology and psychiatry. She is also a member of the RealAge Scientific Advisory Board. Following in the recent tradition of whole-body medicine, Dr. Weschler has identified the correlation between health, aging skin, and the mind in her new book. All of these factors play a part in how we look and feel. As a doctor, the most common skin problems she sees are premature aging and adult acne, both of which are frequently caused by stress and exhaustion. Key points of The Mind-Beauty Connection: * 70-80% of our health and longevity is up to us. * Skin cells need water, oxygen, vitamins, nutrients. * Cosmetics are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. * The only proven wrinkle-reducers and age fighters are retinoids. * "A good moisturizer will do more for you than drinking 20 gallons of water a day." (See pp. 31 for necessary ingredients.) * Americans have about 50 minor stress attacks each day. * Stress affects the mind, body, skin, and aging. * Eat: fruits & vegetables, nuts, seeds, olive oil, lean protein, and whole grains. The Mind-Beauty Connection addresses what we can do for our skin during each decade, skin cancer, sunscreens, sugar consumption and its relation to wrinkles, liver spots, sun damage, acne, tattoo removal, etc... Likewise Dr. Weschler explores and explains natural at-home and more advanced treatments. Dr. Weschler writes that approximately $2 billion is spent on antiaging creams each year. Not promoting any particular product (This is key.), she explains what to look for when making purchases. Before running to the store, we are encouraged to take her skinage test and her self image test, defining how old our skin is when compared with our chronological age, helping us to understand ourselves better. I found the self-image test to be quite interesting. Dr. Weschler also answers common questions and gives a 4-step wrinkle fighting strategy and lists 7 free things to do for your skin. Her biggest beauty bargains can be found on p. 34--it's great! Should you read this book? Yes. Many of us are still unaware of how to take care of our skin, nor are we always aware of the importance of doing so. How we look and how we feel are a clear reflection of who we believe ourselves to be. 5 Stars