1. After cleansing, your skin feels:
  A. Soft and Dewy
  B. Tingly and a little taut
  C. Tight as a drum

2. How do you remove your makeup?
  A. You give your skin a clean sweep every night without fail
  B.You take it all off before bed when you're not too tired
  C. When you shower in the morning, you let the shampoo from your hair take   yesterday's makeup down the drain

3. Which describes your sun protection habits?
  A. You wear a broad spectrum SPF 25 sunscreen every day, year round
  B. You save sunscreen for summertime trips to the beach, so you don't burn
  C. Sunscreen? What's sunscreen?

4. Do you smoke?
  A. Never have, never will
  B. No, but you do hang out in smoky environments
  C. The official line is that you quit two years ago, but truth be told, you sometimes   can't resist the urge to light up

5. With regards to your exfoliation schedule:
  A. You have monthly facials with skin analysis, complete with exfoliation when it is   recommended by your dermal clinician
  B. You have done microdermabrasion or glycolic acid peeling a few times in the past
  C. You peel after the burning heals in the beginning of each summer

6. When you're under a lot of stress, your skin:
  A. Is the picture of calm
  B. Occasionally breaks out
  C. Erupts - be it in blemishes, blotches, hives or a rash

7. Your diet could be best described as:
  A. Nutritionally sound - you never met a vegetable you didn't like
  B. Well balanced one day, out of whack the next
  C. Jam-packed with junk food

8. Your water drinking habits can best be described as:
  A. You have a gallon container at work and see to it that you drink every last bit before leaving work
  B. You are aware of the "eight glass a day" rule, but never keep count
  C. Drink only when thirsty or with lunch

9. You discover a zit on your chin. You:
  A. Declare the area a no - trespassing zone and keep your hands off
  B. Succumb to temptation and squeeze
  C. Poke and prod until it becomes inflamed and painful

10. How much alcohol do you normally consume?
  A. Only the occasional beer or glass of wine, if that
  B. You're known to knock back a few from time to time
  C. You frequently lose count

Scoring:

The skin savvy person answered "A" to all of the responses.

Benign neglectors answered with some "B's" and could do better to ensure the health and continued youthful appearance of their skin.

The skin saboteur answered mostly "C's" and some "B's" and has a long way to go to achieve that youthful glow into their golden years.

1. No matter what type of skin you have, cleansing should be gentle, being careful not to remove your skin's protective lipid barrier. Gels are ideal for oily skin in the winter, while creams are good for dry skin year round and normal skin in the winter.

2. Wearing makeup to bed can clog the pores that lead to breakouts and blackheads. This may not prevent breakouts, but they will be worse. Too tired for that regimen? Try makeup removal cloths made by several manufacturers.

3. Ten minutes of sun exposure here and there add up. Sooner or later, every little bit shows up as lines, wrinkles, age spots, and eventually, skin cancer. Protect yourself daily with an SPF 25 UVA/UVB sunscreen. And don't forget the afternoon application. Office lighting can consume the ingredients leaving you vulnerable during the afternoon commute.

4. You can spot a smoker a mile away, with that yellow skin, and lines around the mouth and eyes. Second hand smoke is just as harmful as smoking yourself. So beware of smokey bars and restaurants. Smoking dramatically increases your skin's free radical activity. It is actually the most potent inducer of free radicals. Topical anti-oxidants like vitamin E and C can decrease the free radicals effect on your skin.

5. Everyone benefits from exfoliation. It smoothes and clarifies the skin by sloughing away dead cells and speeding healthy new cells to the surface. Reap the rewards by regular exfoliation with at-home products containing up to 10% alpha hydroxy acids, and regular analysis with periodic microdermabrasion or 70% alpha hydroxy acids.

6. Stress plays a hugh role in a number of skin diseases. Stress can aggravate acne, psoriasis, herpes, hives, rosacea and hair loss. Stress management through regular exercise, meditation, aroma and music therapy all help.

7. Except in the case of iodized salt, which can worsen acne in some sufferers, there is no direct food-skin connection. However, a steady diet of nutritionally bankrupt junk food can cause the body to save its limited resources for more vital organs causing the skin to fend for itself. Multi-vitamins may help, but there is also an intricate connection between the gut and the skin, so a steady healthy diet makes sense.

8. The skin needs a steady supply of fluid. Moisturizers really keep the fluids inside the skin. Treating dry skin (true dehydration) by moisturizers makes no sense. Dry flaky skin indicates the need for exfoliation in a lot of cases. Drink 8 glasses or so daily, more if you are exercising, pregnant, or drinking a lot of caffeinated beverages.

9. Picking at your skin can exacerbate a problem or permanently damage your skin (that sounds like your mother talking). So, except for cleansing and spot treatment, it's best to leave troubled, blemished skin in the hands of your dermal clinician.