Life isn’t always easy, but looking good helps.

The pursuit of youth is not a budget business. Besides the steep cost of age-defying preparations and therapies, there is potentially a medical risk, as some patients in France discovered when their fat-dissolving treatments went badly wrong.

Before you jump into something that’s going to scare your bank manager (and, if something goes wrong, everyone else in your life) have a moment with Health24’s Anti-Ageing expert. He is one of a range of medical doctors Health24 is pleased to have partnered with in the interests of providing important advice to our readers (and it’s free).

Whether it’s cosmetic procedures or just tricks and remedies that are effective in slowing down the skin-clock, he’s got great advice. Here are some of the recent questions he has dealt with:

• not all SPF products are created equal
• the ins and outs of laser hair removal
• what to do when a product makes things worse
• what causes dark circles under the eyes, and how to treat the condition
• the use of Retin A for wrinkles

The problem, the fix, a graphic guide to cosmetic surgical procedures
Use the Body Mass Index calculator to check your ideal weight
Let Diet Doc advise you on balanced diet options

(Joanne Hart, Health24, November 2009)