So here is what I know about good skin...starting with the basics...  Drinking more than the minimum requirement of water/fluids, taking a good multivitamin, and protecting yourself from the sun (this part is especially important to me because, as a "pale white girl", I burn really easy and I live in the desert), and moisturizer.  And the older I get (I'm 43), I have added exfoliating at least once a week in the shower (followed by slathering on the baby oil before getting out of the shower...in fact, I do it while the shower is still running because it's oil....it stays on your skin and the heat from the shower helps it penetrate the skin). 

Factors that help you in avoiding skin sagginess:  being 35 or younger, having darker skin pigment, starting with a lower BMI, exercising, and not being a sun worshipper now or in the past.  As far as topicals (that stand out in my research) that are good for your skin:  aloe, cocoa butter, Vitamin E, CoQ10, Grape Seed Extract, and DMAE.  There are other beneficial topicals out there (like Vitamin A, C, & K), but these stand out for me.  Vitamin & herbal supplements beyond what you can find in a good multivitamin: extra biotin, CoQ10, Omega 3 6 9 (fish oil, borage oil, & flaxseed oil), along with your extra antioxidents (like Vitamin A, C, E, & K). 

There is so much out there that it can be overwhelming!  Ugh!  But the bottom line for me, is what can I include in my daily schedule that I won't start skipping because it's just too "complicated" to maintain?  I do pretty well with Vitamins in general (but I admit that usually once a week I look at all the pills staring at me and decide only to take the absolute necessities - like my prescription meds).  The thought of taking "pills" vs liquids or chewables after my sleeve is a concern right now.  I don't want to stretch my sleeve and I REALLY don't want any pain from swallowing giant liquigels, vitamins, or capsules!!  That is why I broke down and bought some bariatric chewable vitamins and the flaxseed oil (which is not in a liquigel).  I can stomach flaxseed oil with it's nutty flavor by putting it in smoothies, but there is no way I can handle fish oil right now!  YUCk!

My skin care regimen will change when I start the liquid diet on Monday.  I will strive to exfoliate every shower (again followed by the Vitamin E Baby oil that also has aloe in it).  Once out of the shower, I will use the DMAE serum (on the problem areas) (it's about - on Amazon depending on what brand you get), followed by my regular lotion (okay, I did break down and buy the "skin firming" version of Jergens yesterday).  I have been toying with the idea I got from smartskincare.com, which is to just add my own ingredients to my regular lotion.  In this case, I would mix in that DMAE serum into my Jergens.  But we will see!