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Unless you want to celebrate your 50th birthday with a decolletage -- the skin that covers your chest from your neckline down to your cleavage -- that's as creased as the Grand Canyon and has more blemishes than a 16-year-old schoolgirl, you need to start a decolletage-babying routine early. While you may be attentive to your hair and face, you may not realize that lavishing regular attention to the region between the collarbone and cleavage will allow you to show off that uniquely feminine decolletage with pride even at an advanced age. All it takes to get a good decolletage in the present and in the future is to add a few extra steps to your normal beauty routine.
Exercise
No, you're not going to get bigger, firmer breasts by working out. You can, however, make them appear more perky and toned by doing exercises that strengthen your pectoral muscles -- also known as your chest muscles -- and your back muscles. Target your pectorals by doing push-ups with your hands positioned to line up with your breasts instead of your shoulders. Since these can be tough at first, Peta Bee of "The Guardian" recommends starting with girly push-ups -- on your knees instead of your toes -- at 10 repetitions repeated three times daily. You can also bench press with dumbbells twice a week, working up to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions each.
Wear a Supportive Bra
Get over your shyness and go to a reputable lingerie or bra specialty store to have yourself fitted for a perfectly fitting bra that will give you the support you need to beat the ravages of gravity. While you're there, pick up a push-up bra to wear under outfits where your decolletage needs a bit of a boost. You should also get a high-quality sports bra to use when exercising to keep the ligaments that hold up your breast tissue from getting stretched to their limits, which can result in irreversible sagging.
Cleanse and Moisturize
At least three times a week, gently exfoliate your entire decolletage region using a mild body scrub and a loofah or shower puff that isn't too abrasive. Keep this up regularly and you'll prevent unsightly acne from marring the sexy look of your bare skin. Slather moisturizer on your decolletage daily, just as you do on your face, and, if you're really serious about firming things up and aren't afraid to fork over the cash, give a bust-firming cream a try. Regine Perron, coordinator and national trainer for Clarins Skin Spa and Skin Spa Ambience in Canada, says that the spa bust-firming treatment includes a gel rich in a plant called Centella asiatica that stimulates and tones the bust area and fights aging, as well as a gel rich in ginseng to nourish skin and leave it supple.
Use Sunscreen
Apply sunscreen to your decolletage, not just when you're headed to the beach or out on a hike, but every time you're going outdoors. Exposure to the sun's ultra-violet rays day after day, year after year will accelerate the development of aged, wrinkly skin in the decolletage region and, in fair-skinned women, can cover you with freckles and sunspots. Select a sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15 and that specifies on the label that it protects against broad-spectrum UVB and UVA radiation. If you're going to be in the water, use a waterproof or water-resistant sunscreen and reapply it at least every hour.
