Very few people are excited about wrinkles. After all who wants to look old and ugly? In a society that’s obsessed with beauty, wrinkles are perceived as unnatural or even abnormal. In an age that puts a premium on one’s physical appearance, the presence of wrinkles can be irritating or annoying to some.

Though it’s common knowledge that genetics, sun exposure, and a few bad habits play a great deal in how we develop wrinkles, our forefathers saw them in a different light. For them, the onset of wrinkles was not merely age-related but meant something else. For instance, early man believed that the number of vertical wrinkles in the forehead indicated the number of husbands a woman would have. Horizontal wrinkles, on the other hand, showed the number of children!

In The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, Cora Linn Daniels said intelligent people usually have wrinkles in the forehead that are parallel with the eyebrows. A forehead without any wrinkles, on the other hand, signifies a calm disposition, an easy life, few troubles, and excellent eyes.

Still, not everyone welcomed the prospect of developing wrinkles so early man devised ways to prevent them. In Superstitions: 10,000 You Really Need edited by William Carroll, people are discouraged from sleeping with the head raised high for this would cause wrinkles. Eating 10 or 12 dried prunes daily is another preventive measure. From the looks of it, none of these worked since modern man continues to be plagued by wrinkles.

Although science has yet to discover the fountain of youth, it has supplied us with products that come close to this dream. One that’s currently making waves is Dermaxin, a cream packed with four powerful wrinkle fighters that help rebuild beautiful skin. (See http://www.dermaxin.com for details.) Department stores are awash with beauty products that come short of promising us eternal youth. While few deliver what they promise, such products remain popular owing to society’s obsession with perfection.

For the few who see beyond the physical boundaries of this world, however, the thought of getting wrinkles isn’t frightening. Instead these lines signify one’s unique journey into life. Each wrinkle tells a story of one’s experiences in this world. It is a testament to a person’s character, abilities, and overall perspective. Think of wrinkles as trophies to the challenges you’ve faced, the goals you’ve reached, and the dreams you’ve achieved. As Amazing Kae wrote in www.43Things.Com:

“Wrinkles add character to your outward persona. They not only show you where you’ve been but where you’re going. I think the most charming part of growing old gracefully is being able to see the progression of life and character on the face. It’s like reading an antique map that leads to hidden treasure. Lines on the face give clues to one’s motivations, loves, sadness, challenges, and happiness. Wrinkles and laugh lines make people interesting and I look forward to having them.

“Beauty changes over time. I envy and admire the elderly I meet, and have noticed that behind their facial lines are interesting stories. I hope to have lots of wonderful life experiences on the inside that will give me good wrinkles on the outside. Our real responsibility is to grow old gracefully. To do so is the true hallmark of beauty since each line represents another milestone along the course of a full life,” she concluded.

As people become more concerned about their appearance and desperately want to hide their real age, there’s no stopping them from trying out weird and wacky beauty rituals. Here is a sampling of the latest beauty regimens that prove that truth is stranger than fiction.

Feeling sad and gloomy because your boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you? Try a 24-karat gold facial to lift your spirits. First unveiled at Tokyo’s Beauty World 2007 Expo, this procedure was developed by the Chinese company Umosen and costs a hefty $300. Although the facial makes you look like an Egyptian mummy, users claim it’s good for the skin. You can get it in over 20 salons across Japan.

This may sound like a lot of bull but for £85, Hari’s Salon in London will make your hair more manageable with a bull semen conditioner. Touted as the Viagra for hair, this deep conditioning protein treatment is made of semen from the Aberdeen Angus bull mixed with the Iranian plant Katera.

“The bull semen promises to both strengthen and add shine to your hair. The masque is odorless, and is massaged into the hair and scalp and left on for 30 minutes. Then the product is rinsed out and your hair is styled as normal,” according to Amy White in AssociatedContent.com.

“It may make you feel better that this is organic semen from a pedigreed Angus bull, fresh from the farm and no bull is harmed in the production of this product. But even if this hair conditioner does deliver the promised long lasting shine, the ‘ick’ factor may be too great to ignore,” she added.

An Israeli health spa has a creepy, crawly new treatment for its numerous clients: snake massage. For $70, the masseur works on your body aided by six snakes. Don’t worry – the snakes aren’t poisonous but they’re guaranteed to give you a tingling sensation as they slither across your body.

“Ada Barak, who owns the spa, said the touch of snakes helps soothe joints and has therapeutic effects. She uses California and Florida king snakes, corn snakes, and milk snakes for her treatments,” said KNBC.com.

For those who work their butts off, they can find comfort at several spas in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles that offer unique butt facials. Boldly going where no man has gone before, these enterprising spas will prepare your fanny for that beach romp you’ve long planned. They’ll make your butt smooth and tight with a relaxing body scrub and rid it of acne, cellulite, and other skin problems with the help of microdermabrasion.

“For a mere $650 -$800 for a hour-long session, you can get a butt facial that spa owners promise will tighten, lift and tone the derrieres of clients who wear thongs or go au natural to the beach,” said Stone Martindale in MonstersandCritics.com.

“The derriere is an area that is often neglected, but people are concerned about keeping it in shape and there aren’t many other spa treatments that pay attention to this area,” according to Nicole Contos, owner of the Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa in New York City.

Too radical for you? Visit http://www.dermaxin.com for details about Dermaxin. This moisture-rich cream will eliminate fine lines and wrinkles, and give your skin a healthy glow. Dermaxin is a safe alternative to costly anti-wrinkle injections without the discomfort, side effects, and unnatural look associated with the latter.