How to look this fab in your fifties — by Glynis Barber
The 59-year-old Dempsey And Makepeace star shares the quirky secrets behind her astonishingly youthful looks
EVER since my days in the TV crime drama Dempsey And Makepeace in the Eighties, people have remarked on how young I look for my age. And as I approach my 60th birthday later this year, I’m often told I could pass for a woman two decades my junior. I’ve been married to my Dempsey And Makepeace co-star Michael Brandon for 25 years and we have a grown-up son.
Professionally, I’m very busy: I am currently starring in Beautiful — The Carole King Musical in London’s West End. I can assure you that there are no secret ageing portraits in my attic. However, I do have some tips to share so you, too, can look and feel youthful.
They are taken from my book, The In-sync Diet, which was written with my amazing nutritionist, Fleur Borrelli.
SKIP BREAKFAST FOR A TRIM FIGURE
PEOPLE are always surprised when I reveal that one of the secrets behind my trim size ten figure is something that contradicts all conventional dieting wisdom: skipping breakfast.
I learned this after following the advice given by Fleur Borrelli. She advocated not eating until my body has had the chance to move around and exercise.
And also, cutting down to two meals a day means that I burn up fuel, rather than laying it down in my system as fat, before I put any more into my body, keeping my metabolism working at peak efficiency. I haven’t had breakfast for three years. Therefore, my first meal of the day is lunch, and by the time I sit down to it I’m ravenous. I try to eat something that is filling but healthy: a whole packet of smoked salmon, turkey slices or a tin of tuna with a boiled egg, nuts and lots of
I don’t use moisturiser, it just clogs pores.But Ido30 seconds of facial exercises aday
salad: l ettuce, t omatoes, cucumber, peppers, avocado, onions and mushrooms.
Dinner — which is at least five hours after lunch to give my digestive system a good rest, ensuring it stays efficient — is usually chicken or prawns, stirfried in coconut oil and tamari sauce (a gluten-free soya sauce) with lots of vegetables: broccoli, carrots, kale, courgette, mange tout and whatever else i can find in the fridge.
This gets me through until next day’s lunch.
DON’T SIP WATER — GLUG IT DOWN
i Am religious about drinking water (it’s so good for the skin and hair) and have around eight glasses a day — but i glug them down because sipping all day can make you dehydrated and encourage the body to store fat.
When we drink l i ttle and often, the cells in our body are never fully hydrated and yet we don’t experience a proper thirst that we then quench with a good glassful.
So the body perceives this dehydration as an emergency and goes into survival mode, storing f at i n our cells in preparation for famine.
i enjoy coffee, but only with food, because when you drink something containing milk between meals, t he body recognises it as a food substance and uses up precious energy breaking it down.
Alcohol isn’t totally off limits and a few times a week i’ll have a glass of Provencal rose.
i follow the 80/20 rule: if what goes into my body is nourishing 80 per cent of the time, then i can give into temptation the other 20 per cent.
TAKE TURMERIC SUPPLEMENTS
i TAkE lots of vitamin tablets, though not as a substitute for a healthy and varied diet.
Every day, i have digestive enzymes. When we age, we produce less stomach acid to break down food and these put some back in.
i also take krill oil, which contains lots of omega 3 fatty acids — healthy fats are crucial for hair and skin, as well as brain function. When women are losing their hair the first thing trichologist Philip kingsley, who is a friend, does is send them for blood tests to find out if they are deficient in any vitamins and minerals.
Anti-oxidants, in the form of Coenzyme Q10 — which occurs naturally in the body, helping rid it of free radicals that depletes with age — are an important addition as they help prevent damage to cells, which can cause age-related disease, such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.
i also take a curcumin supplement, the substance found in turmeric, which is a wonderful anti-inflammatory.
Finally, i combine Vitamin D3, which most of us lack because we don’t get enough exposure to the sun, with Vitamin k2.
These help me feel more alert and l ess sluggish, and are proven to help prevent arteries clogging up.
NEVER LET YOUR HAIR GO GREY
i HAVE been blessed with thick hair, and i f eel f ortunate because i can’t think of anything worse than losing my locks. i have highlights every couple of months to take me from dark to a warmer blonde.
i noticed my first grey hair three years ago, and still don’t have many. i would never let my hair go grey — it makes any woman look a decade older.
Paul Edmonds cuts my hair at his knightsbridge salon. i’ve worn it bob length in recent years because that’s most flattering on me. i like it long, but the last time i grew it, a couple of years ago, it didn’t look right.
Longer hair can give the impression of dragging the face down, something that happens naturally over the years, thanks to gravity, so perhaps i’ve reached an age where it’s no longer flattering.
YES, YOU CAN WEAR JEANS
i’m noT a slave to fashion, but i move with the times. i’m choosy about where i shop because while a badly cut, cheap fabric may look ok on an 18-year-old, even when you’re a size ten it looks exactly what it is past a certain age.
my f avourite shops are Joseph, max mara, J Crew, All Saints and Trilogy, but i also get a lot of things from Zara. And i wear jeans a lot, which i can dress up or down with a shirt or blouse.
There’s often nothing more chic than looking as if you’ve not tried too hard, and jeans fit the bill.
DON’T USE MOISTURISER
WHEn i’m working, i have to wear a lot of make-up. So, removing it and cleansing my face fully before bed is vital.
For 20 years i’ve used only organic products on my face: Balm Balm make-up remover followed by organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Cleanser.
i don’t use moisturiser because, instead of soaking into the skin, it can clog pores.
So, at night, i apply a Green People Age Defy facial oil and in the morning i use their Age Defy serum.
A few times a week i cleanse my face with a Clarisonic, a battery- operated brush that removes impurities and enables serums and creams to penetrate deeper layers.
Since drama school i’ve done 30 seconds of facial exercises — opening my mouth wide and screwing up my eyes, getting the muscles and blood moving — a few times each day.
ALWAYS EXERCISE BEFORE YOU EAT
i’VE always exercised — humans are not built to be sedentary. Five or six mornings a week, i go to the gym, take a long walk or do a hot yoga class.
At the gym, i do an hour of cardio-vascular exercises on the treadmill or bike or a more intensive work-out for half an hour. i’ll then do another halfhour of weight- lifting to build muscle, which is much tougher to achieve in later life but is important because it helps keep the metabolism working. i walk f or anything f rom half an hour to an hour, moving at a fast pace. once a week i do hot yoga — classes are held in humid rooms and it has the added advantage of helping me sweat, which is great for the skin.
Exercise, like my diet, has great anti-inflammatory benefits, reducing puffiness in the skin, as well as internally.
i always exercise before i eat, even if it’s only walking up and down the staircase ten times, so my blood is flowing and my body is ready to digest and work off a meal.
TATTOO YOUR EYEBROWS
mAkE-uP can hide a multitude of sins and can really enhance the face, particularly as we get older.
But when it’s too heavy it can have t he reverse effect, settling i nto wrinkles and really drawing attention to laughter lines.
Again, most of the make-up i use during the day and on special occasions is organic, from brands such as Green People and Bare minerals. i don’t like the feel of foundation on my skin so instead i use a Green People t i nt e d moisturiser; blusher on the apple of my cheeks; By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer under my eyes, around my nostrils and above my top lip; peachy/brown tones — nothing too dark — on my lips; mascara and a little flick of liner on my eyelids.
Two years ago, i discovered eyebrow tattooing and was able to replace my wispy brows — which had never grown back after being over-plucked in my teens — with much f uller, darker ones.
i think that knocked a few years off my appearance as eyebrows frame the face and thinning ones can be ageing.
BREATHING FOR BEAUTY
i’m PRonE to anxiety and stress can take its toll on your looks as well as your physical and mental health.
Regular exercise releases happy hormones, endorphins, and yoga is particularly useful for keeping me centred.
A good stretch helps release any tension in my body, as well as keeping me supple, and focusing on my breathing is a brilliant way to calm my mind.
Concentrating on the breath going in and out is at the root of meditation, which has been proven to alter pathways in the brain, reducing anxiety and depression. i meditate before going on stage and it settles my nervous system.
TRY A DIET THAT’S GLUTEN-FREE
i HAVE eaten organic food since the Eighties and 30 years ago it wasn’t fashionable, but i strongly believed that not putting toxins from pesticides into my body would make me feel and look better.
i’ve always eaten l ots of vegetables and fruit and, a few years ago, following advice from Fleur, i cut out all grains and went gluten-free.
Fleur told me that grains, even wholegrains, carry mould that causes inflammation in the gut and that in turn can lead to illness, including heart disease and cancer, which are, of course, more common as we age.
i do have a sweet tooth and some days i can’t resist a slice of cake — though i make sure that i t’s gluten- free — but mostly i satisfy my craving with fruit: i love mango and coconut chunks.
AIM FOR EIGHT HOURS’ SLEEP
A Good night’s sleep is essential to feeling and looking good. i keep my bedroom dark, and there are no glowing lights from phones, tablets or digital clocks allowed before i go to sleep.
i drift off quite easily, but then i need the house to stay quiet because i’m a light sleeper and easily roused by noise. if i’m woken, i struggle to stop my mind whirring.
ideally, ilike to turn in between 11pm and 11.30pm and sleep for eight hours, until 7am or 7.30am, though that’s hard to achieve with evening theatre performances.
But if i go to sleep after midnight and get less than seven hours’ sleep, i feel it the following day. it affects everyt hing. As well as f eeling sluggish, my skin looks duller and i get puffy dark circles under my eyes.
After seven or eight hours of sleep, i look and feel fresh and ready to tackle whatever the day throws at me.
THE In-Sync Diet by Glynis Barber and Fleur Borrelli (Autharium, £14.99 hardback, and £6.99, ebook on Amazon).