Moisturize! That's what we gals in the over-40 crowd hear all the time. Our demographic is the target of skin care ads and infomercials selling all manner of serums and creams. I'll admit I'm not thrilled at the prospect of my face, like so many other body parts, eventually falling to the fateful pull of gravity. So I'll moisturize; I'll exercise and take my vitamins and try to follow whatever other bits of conventional wisdom the beauty industry has to offer. But come October, once a day at least, I'm going to face up to the sun and have myself a soak in its rays. Aaahhh, sunlight! The sun is perfect this time of year. It's not the scorching July fireball that sends us off into the shade, nor is it throwing off the feeble, white light of December, too dim to melt even a single snowflake. Not too hot, not too cold, autumn sun is just right. I trust my sun-seeking habit isn't going to turn my face into an old catcher's mitt--at least not anytime soon. Even so, I'll take my chances. A daily dose of October sunlight on the face is medicine for the soul. And I can always moisturize later.
- Susan Gallagher