Countdown to big birthdays: how it feels to be on the cusp

The big birthdays are meant to be the scariest, but new research shows that we take the year before them the hardest – having affairs or running marathons. Oliver Burkeman, 39, and others come clean about being on the cusp

Men’s after-shave moisturising creams

Beards may be having a moment, but for those men still preferring the clean-shaven look, these lotions and potions will give you much satisfaction, says Ed Cumming

Is it really healthier to live without shampoo?

Sali Hughes: A new book supporting the 'no-poo' movement suggests that chemical detergents ruin your hair, but you'll need to pass through a smelly stage to achieve luscious results

I’m a woman with severe facial hair – and zero confidence as a result

Annalisa Barbieri: I’m too self-conscious to socialise and desperate to find the confidence to work again and be ‘normal’

Should women shave their legs and under-arms?

Hadley Freeman: Waxing, shaving, plucking and threading – most women go through the torture. But there's only one way to find out whether you genuinely want to – give up the razors for a week or two

British teeth: something to smile about at last?

The state of Britons' teeth used to be a joke – but as a nation polishes up, who's laughing now? Will Storr, an Englishman with English teeth, reports

Is Botox starting to show its age?

It's only 12 years since Botox was approved for smoothing out our faces, but questions about why we'd want to do that have disappeared. It's time to unfreeze that debate, says Eva Wiseman

The nanotechnology in your sunscreen

Nanoparticles prevent skin cancer by absorbing UV light, without making your face feel 'cakey'. Here is how they do it

Would you have cosmetic surgery? We ask the people on the street

Cosmetic surgery is more popular than ever, with take-up rising sharply with the end of the recession. We asked six Londoners whether they still see any taboo to going under the knife

‘Ageing is a mixture of gains and losses’: why we shouldn’t fear getting old

Today the rich, multi-faceted experience of getting older has been pathologised and reduced to shame about looking old. But it doesn't have to be this way, says Anne Karpf