Maybe it's true for some that age is a case of mind over matter — if you don't mind it doesn't matter, as Jack Benny's well-known quote goes. Easy for Benny to say, if there's any truth to another famous saying, from 19th-century English poet Mortimer Collins: "A man is as old as he's feeling, a woman as old as she looks." If it matters to you to look as youthful as you can, healthy skin's the ticket — skin's the thing that can either give away your age or belie it.
The skin is a cloak that shields our internal organs from the elements — it protects us from bacteria, chemicals and the sun's UV rays — while it regulates our body's heat and signals pain to protect us against injury. Three layers make up the skin — the top layer called the epidermis is where skin cells and pigment are made; the middle layer called the dermis contains the supportive collagen and the elastin that makes the skin snap back into place; and the cushiony bottom layer called the subcutis consists largely of fat cells, along with some blood vessels and nerve and muscle fibers.
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