There can only be a few reasons Carrie Bradshaw and the ladies of Sex and the City defied the aging process while living New York for all those years. One is the magic of television, and two is the free-radical fighting facials at Fresh.

Carrie: Season 1, left and Season 6, right

Your skin (and love life) can take a beating living in a polluted city like NYC.  Think about it: cigarette smoke, car fumes and whatever that mystery cloud is coming from beneath the sewer drain. It’s a scary place out there for your skin! When dirt, dust and smog come into contact with UV rays, they create what are known as “free radicals.” Now that may sound like some hot new indie band that Samantha has VIP tickets to see, but in fact, free radicals actually attack your skin. Want to know how you can ward off these toxins and look just as good as SJP and her BFFS?

Fresh is here to the rescue during  Spa Week. Fresh’s three Facial Experiences are designed to protect against aging caused by free radicals. They smooths fine lines, deliver potent antioxidants and stimulate collagen synthesis. Air and water pollution (and the occasional Cosmo) can cause fine lines and wrinkles and not to mention, can suck your skin dry. Fight back a one of our 5 Spa Week locations in New York, Texas, California and Nevada. Fresh’s $50 treatments promise to leave your skin refreshed and invigorated… like a girls’ weekend in the Hamptons.

• 45 Min Umbrian Clay Purify & Balance Facial Experience
• 45 Min Black Tea Age-Delay Facial Experience
• 45 Min Ancienne Ultimate Age-Delay Facial Experience

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Whose the fairest one of them all? YOU, no doubt! We all like to look at pretty images, especially when it’s our own reflection. Botox is coming out of the shadows and has become more accepted by society because of its natural looking results. Even our very own Michelle has incorporated it into her routine. American Laser, the country’s largest provider of laser-based skincare services, has performed over 8.5 million treatments nationwide. That’s a lot of ‘tox!

As Spa Week’s Exclusive Skincare Sponsor, American Laser is offering one lucky winner a Back to Beauty Makeover with their choice of a Laser Lift or Liquid Lift package. ENTER NOW.

Laser Lift package includes:

3 Skin Tightening Treatments
3 FotoFacial/Microdermabrasion Treatments
3 eMatrix Treatments

Liquid Lift package includes:

3 Skin Tightening Treatments
BOTOX
JUVEDERM
RADIESSE

With American Laser you are in the hands of trusted professionals. We are sure you are going to leave feeling and looking refreshed. You’ll be checking out your reflection everywhere you go!

Don’t wait to win? You can still enjoy their $50 Spa Week treatments in locations throughout California, Illinois, and New York:

• Don’t let youth be wasted on the young and enjoy a Skin Tightening treatment
• Be camera ready with their Foto Facial
• Stop sucking into your Spanx and try VelaShape, the non-invasive body shaping procedure

Find your nearest location and book now!

Giveaway ends October 31, 2011. Check out our other giveaways going on now!

Column by Jackie Silver

Cue music – Ole, gimme some guacamolay! The poor avocado has been misunderstood in the past because of its high fat content, but avocados provide more than 25 essential nutrients. A serving of avocado, which is one-eighth of the fruit, has only 5 grams of fat per serving, but that fat is the monounsaturated kind, which is heart-healthy and may help to lower cholesterol. Avocados are also rich in omega-3s, another heart-healthy ingredient.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the avocado (besides its inherent sexiness) is the potassium content. Compared to bananas, avocados have 60 percent more potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can counteract some of the effects of salt on blood pressure. Remember, though, everything in moderation. A whole avocado has 520 calories and 40 grams of fat. Even though it’s “good” fat, it can still add up to weight gain.

The avocado (Persea americana) originated in south-central Mexico, sometime between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C. But it was several millennia before this wild variety was cultivated. Archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado seeds buried with Incan mummies dating back to 750 B.C. and there is evidence that avocados were cultivated in Mexico as early as 500 B.C. Avocados From Mexico are in season year-round. When shopping for avocados, looks for a pebbly skin. Ripe avocados will look almost black and will be soft when gently pressed. To ripen a green avocado, keep it at room temperature for three to seven days. To hasten the process, you can put it in a paper bag (never plastic) and loosely close the top. For more tips on becoming an “avocado expert,” check out Avocados From Mexico.

Here are some creative ways to enjoy avocado:

• Instead of slathering mayo on your sandwich, why not mash up some avocado and spread it on your sandwich? One tablespoon of mayonnaise has about 110 calories of pure fat. One-fifth of a medium avocado has about 50 calories, with 35 calories from fat, but remember – it’s the “good” fat.

• In a food processor, mash one half of an avocado with a half cup of organic cottage cheese, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice on top, sprinkle with black pepper and use it as a dip with cut vegetables for a protein-rich, tasty, healthy meal or snack.

•  Make an avocado boba drink. Boba drinks usually contain soft, chewy tapioca balls in the bottom of a drink such as tea or coffee, but here’s a creative twist: Using a tiny melon scoop, make avocado balls and add them into tomato or vegetable juice for a new, healthy spin on boba.

•  Cut up avocado chunks and put them on top of gazpacho, the cold Spanish tomato soup, for a filling snack that’s nutritionalicious!

•  Add avocado on top of any omelet for a burst of extra flavor.

• Put it on your face! Try this hydrating honey avocado face mask.

Jackie Silver is Aging Backwards and she shares her secrets, tips and shortcuts in her book, Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young, on her website agingbackwards.com, on TV, on radio, in print and in person. She is a frequent television news guest, one half of The Ageless Sisters radio show, a columnist with The Tampa Tribune and contributor to numerous websites. In addition, she is the National Anti-Aging Beauty Examiner, New York Beauty Products Examiner and NY Charity Examiner for Examiner.com. Silver is a New York City based speaker and coach and is sought-after as an anti-aging and beauty expert by the media.

Column by Jackie Silver

What if you could look younger and prettier for free? You can! It’s called beauty sleep for a reason. Lack of sleep can definitely show on our faces, manifesting itself as a lackluster complexion, dark under-eye circles and bags, and wrinkles. Experts say that our hormones “tune up” when we’re sleeping and guess what? Those hormones help to increase collagen, you know, that stuff that makes your skin look “plump and juicy.” Not only that, but our immune systems also “tune up” while we’re sleeping, adding natural killer cells to fight off disease.

I'll have what she's having.

Seven to eight hours of sleep a night is what the sleep experts recommend. If you have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep, look into Melatonin, a hormone our bodies made naturally (available at your local health food store.) Some health care practitioners recommend doses as large as 5 mg, but Dr. Rubin Naiman, author, teacher and sleep expert, told me personally that “less is more” when it comes to Melatonin. I take less than 1 mg. Check with your doctor before using it – children and pregnant women should not use Melatonin unless a doctor advises it. Also, take it JUST before you’re ready to go to sleep and “do not operate heavy machinery.” :)

Here are some Aging Backwards tips for getting the best beauty sleep:

• Keep your room dark – light tells the brain that it’s not yet night time and we shouldn’t be tired. This causes us to stay more alert and awake at a time when we should be feeling tired and ready for sleep. Whatever you do, don’t ever open the refrigerator in the middle of the night and expose yourself to that bright light! That light ceases your body’s production of the hormone melatonin, which studies show guards the nervous system against degenerative diseases – such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke – and could even prevent migraines.

• Keep your room cold – according to the National Sleep Foundation, temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit and below 54 degrees will disrupt sleep in most cases, but even sleep researchers fail to agree on the ideal temperature for sleep. The point at which sleep is interrupted due to temperature or climate conditions varies from person to person and can be affected by bed clothes and bedding materials selected by the sleeper. A room that’s too hot can also be disruptive. In fact, research suggests that a hot sleeping environment leads to more wake time and lighter sleep at night.

• Try ear plugs – studies show that nighttime noise can raise your blood pressure while you’re sleeping, even if you’re unaware of it. So, it you live in a big city with sirens blaring or airplanes landing at all hours, try sleeping with ear plugs. You can find them at almost every retail pharmacy or big box store on earth and they’re a ridiculously affordable way to improve your sleep.

Still awake? Read these 6 sleepless stats.

Jackie Silver is Aging Backwards and she shares her secrets, tips and shortcuts in her book, Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young, on her website agingbackwards.com, on TV, on radio, in print and in person. She is a frequent television news guest, one half of The Ageless Sisters radio show, a columnist with The Tampa Tribune and contributor to numerous websites. In addition, she is the National Anti-Aging Beauty Examiner, New York Beauty Products Examiner and NY Charity Examiner for Examiner.com. Silver is a New York City based speaker and coach and is sought-after as an anti-aging and beauty expert by the media.

Column by Jackie Silver

Think of your skin as kind of like your permanent “party dress.” You want to keep it in the best condition possible because it goes with you everywhere and helps you look your best for any occasion. A lifetime of over-tanning or smoking can wreak havoc on your skin and make you look older than you actually are. In fact, studies were done with identical twins and the results showed that the smoking twin looked significantly older than the non-smoking twin.

Here are a few of my best-kept skin secrets for Aging Backwards:

Skin Defense Complex supplement from the Japanese company Astavita – keeps your skin young from the inside, out. I have been taking this little powerhouse for about three years and not only do people guess my age as low 30s (I’m over 50), but my hands look ridiculously young, too. It’s not sold on the company’s Web site, but it is sold in some stores and we’ve found it on Amazon.com as well.

Stemulance – skin care based on science using adult stem cells. This product really works to keep skin young and supple. The key is getting your hands on it because it’s not so widely distributed. It’s sold by cosmetic surgeons and skincare professionals at this time, but you can find a list here.

Brazilian Peel – a must-have for weekly exfoliation. You’ve probably heard that we get a “whole new skin” just about every 30 days. The old cells on the top die off and new, fresh cells form underneath. Here’s the important part – you need to get rid of those old, dead top cells or your skin is going to look gray and dry. Not only that, but all those expensive skin care products your using won’t penetrate your skin and instead will soak into your pillowcase, ugh. Brazilian Peel is a 30 percent glycolic acid facial product for exfoliating that’s five times stronger than any other glycolic product available in retail. Don’t get scared, though, it’s not going to have you looking like a lobster and hiding at home for days.

It’s actually very gentle because it has a patented dual chamber dispenser that keeps the glycolic separated from a patented neutralizer that’s only activated when the two are mixed together in your palm at the time of use. Here’s how it works: squeeze the entire amount of product into your hand, mix, apply a thin layer to the face, neck, chest and hands, wait ten minutes, wash it off. Seriously, it’s that easy. It’s available at Sephora stores nationwide and at the company’s website.

Jackie Silver is Aging Backwards and she shares her secrets, tips and shortcuts in her book, Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young, on her websiteagingbackwards.com, on TV, on radio, in print and in person. She is a frequent television news guest, one half of The Ageless Sisters radio show, a columnist with The Tampa Tribune and contributor to numerous websites. In addition, she is the National Anti-Aging Beauty Examiner, New York Beauty Products Examiner and NY Charity Examiner for Examiner.com. Silver is a New York City based speaker and coach and is sought-after as an anti-aging and beauty expert by the media.

image via