Does your daily regimen include wash, toner and an $80 night cream? That doesn’t mean you’re on track for getting silky, smooth skin. Ingredients in food -- including vitamins A, C and E, and less well-known chemicals such as lycopene and linoleic acid -- create smooth skin and keep from sagging, fight pimples and rashes, and even offer natural sun protection.

“Our skin must contend against harsh aspects of the outside world -- the sun, microorganisms, and toxins such as air pollutants,” says Wilhelm Stahl, a biochemist at Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany. “Nutrients from the diet travel to the skin, where they help cells fight off these assaults.”

Here’s what to eat and what to avoid for a complexion and smooth skin that radiates health.

Starve acne Doctors recently learned that acne culprits are sweet or starchy foods that are quickly digested, sending a jolt of sugar to the bloodstream. The body responds to the sugar high by making more insulin, which spurs skin glands to ooze their oily stuff. In 2007, an Australian team, led by nutritional biochemist Robyn Smith, became the first to show, in a small group of young men, that eating whole grains, fresh produce and lean meat and fish instead of processed carbs may help alleviate acne and contributes to smooth skin.
Tip: Trade baguettes for multi-grain bread, and pretzels for peanuts.

Sunscreen you swallow Why do Italians love their spaghetti marinara? It’s delicious, but it may also shield Mediterraneans from the intensity of the sun’s rays. Eating fruits and vegetables containing vitamins C and E -- along with a few other less well-known natural chemicals -- reduces one’s susceptibility to sunburn. One of the most effective natural sunscreens is lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit. Chemicals in cocoa, called flavanols, as well as polyphenols in green tea also grant UV protection, which leads to smooth skin. All this may sound weird until you consider that plants can’t duck for shade at high noon, so some have developed other protective strategies. Use sunscreen, by all means, but munch on these foods to enhance its benefits.
Tip: Trade diet soda for tomato juice, gummy bears for chocolate with high cocoa content.

Edible Botox The key to looking younger? Skip cigarettes and the sun, and bring on fruits and veggies. Vitamin A -- found in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and kale -- is essential for normal skin-functioning. Vitamin C -- found in red and green peppers, citrus fruits and strawberries -- helps make collagen, an elastic substance that plumps skin. A 2007 study of more than 4,000 women (one of the first studies to examine how nutrient intake from foods as opposed to vitamin supplements affects skin) yielded surprising results. Epidemiologist Maeve C. Cosgrove and colleagues found that women who ate foods rich in vitamin C and linoleic acid -- found in soybean oil, green leafy vegetables, and nuts -- had fewer wrinkles and smoother skin as well as fuller, more youthful complexions.
Tip: Trade doughnuts for walnuts, and breakfast sausage for orange and strawberry slices.

Purge eczema Eczema -- a painful, itchy, scaly skin condition -- is on the rise. No one knows why, but some doctors believe that an effective treatment includes eating foods rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a fatty acid found in some seed oils. Scientists suspect that lower levels of GLA in the blood make it harder for skin to hold on to water, so it becomes drier and eczema-prone. Some studies have shown that ingesting foods containing GLA, such as evening-primrose oil, blackcurrant-seed oil or borage oil, can help. Even consuming modest amounts of hempseed oil (1-2 tablespoons per day) can rid the irritable symptoms of eczema with smooth skin.

Tip: Supplement a diet rich in fish with evening-primrose, blackcurrant-seed, borage or hempseed oil.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/kupicookupicoo

Trust us, even Kate Hudson has had a breakout at exactly the wrong moment. But whether you’re heading out for a job interview or a big night on the town, the last thing you need is an unpleasant surprise in the mirror. We went to the makeup artists and hairstylists who get the biggest celebrities ready for their close-ups, and we asked for advice on how to deal with some of the most common beauty predicaments.

Breakouts When Brooke Shields and Catherine Zeta-Jones have a big appearance coming up, they turn to New York City makeup artist Kimara Ahnert. Her favorite trick to banish blemishes? Place an ice pack over the pimple for a few minutes, then squeeze a little bit of eye drop solution over the zit to reduce redness. Let the solution dry for a few minutes before dabbing on concealer. Follow with a light layer of translucent powder to set the concealer and even out the skin. Hollywood makeup artist Jerrod Blandino, whose products Scarlett Johansson is a fan of, adds this caveat: “Do not pick the pimple. It's easier to cover when it's not punctured. And make sure that the concealer you are using is an exact match for your skin tone so it's undetectable.”

Blotchy skin Wake up with a road map of red splotches on your face? Don’t despair. With the right makeup, you can fake complexion perfection. First, apply moisturizer. “Use a product infused with naturally calming ingredients like chamomile, cucumber and aloe to soothe and alleviate redness,” Blandino suggests. Give that a few moments to sink in, then smooth on foundation. Pat concealer on any remaining red areas. Set with a dusting of translucent powder.

Puffy eyes Too much salt and not enough sleep can leave you with so much baggage under your eyes you’ll be tempted to call for a moving van. But before you cancel your plans and climb back into bed, try celebrity esthetician Scott Vincent Borba’s favorite trick: “Put your eye cream in the freezer for ten minutes before applying,” he says. “It will act as a cold compress. Choose one with light reflectors to help reduce the appearance of puffiness.”

Dark circles To treat those telltale under-eye rings, first head to the kitchen. Dampen tea bags, take a seat and apply the bags over your eyes for a few minutes. “The tannin in tea has been shown to reduce swelling and discoloration,” says Ahnert. “Then use a yellow- or peach-toned concealer to cancel out the purple or bluish color under the eye. Stay away from pink-toned concealers: They can actually make your circles more noticeable.” Models love this tip from Blandino: “Line the corners and rims of your eyes with a flesh- or nude-colored pencil to brighten and lighten the eye area.”

Over-plucked eyebrows Got a little tweezer-happy? Laura Geller, the New York City makeup artist who counts Mary-Louise Parker among her clients, suggests this: Fill in your brows with a brow powder that matches your natural hair color as closely as possible. If it’s too light or too dark, it will instantly give you away. When you apply it, extend the length of the brows on the outside for a more youthful appearance. Ahnert recommends applying the powder with a baby toothbrush for a more natural look and to whisk away any excess product. “Then brush a clear brow gel over the brows to give them a groomed and polished look,” she says. 

Rain on your (hair) parade You just spent 40 minutes blowing out your hair when a sudden downpour hits. Hats and scarves are one option, but New York City stylist Ted Gibson, who has tamed the locks of Eva Mendes,  Anne Hathaway and Angelina Jolie, prefers a more elegant solution. “Pull the hair back into a sleek ponytail,” he says, “use hair pins to twist it into a bun, and finish off with some hair spray.”  

Some women are blessed with hair that goes from wet to wonderful without any help at all. For the rest of us, only professional intervention seems to tame our manes. The good news: With practice, patience and some expert instruction, it’s easy to recreate a professional-looking blowout at home.

Here is a step-by-step guide to getting sleek, polished tresses on your own.  

1. Gather the right tools You’ll need a wide-tooth comb; a hand mirror; styling products; a blow-dryer with a nozzle; a round, ventilated bristle brush; and six hinged hair clips.

2. Gently blot hair with a towel Vigorous rubbing can create frizz and tangles.

3. Apply styling product Steve Lococo, who teaches blow-drying classes at his Borelli salon in Beverly Hills, Calif., suggests using a leave-in volumizing or lifting spray on the roots to give lift to limp hair. If your hair is wavy or medium-bodied, also apply an anti-frizz serum or other anti-humectant product from roots to ends. 

4. Blow out the excess moisture until hair is about 80 percent dry Concentrate heat at the roots and don’t try to control individual strands. If your hair tends to become limp or flat, add volume by bending over while drying. 

5. Section the front Lococo suggests beginning with an arch that spans the top of your head, running from ear to ear. Part that hair horizontally, creating two sections. Coil each section into a rope and secure with a hair clip.

6. Section the back Working from top to bottom, draw three horizontal parts across the back of your head from ear to ear; coil and secure all but the bottom section.

7. Wrap hair around a round brush As you wrap, pull hair at a taut 45-degree angle to your head and finish drying your hair completely. Begin with the loose bottom section in the back and continue working from back to front. Point the blow-dryer nozzle at an angle to aim air across the surface of strands and into the brush.

8. Subdivide the tough sections In areas where hair is thick or especially wavy, separate the larger sections into smaller ones that will dry faster and be easier to handle.

9. Check your work in a hand mirror Look for still-damp or unruly strands. Repeat the drying process, allowing hair to set by cooling momentarily on the brush before unwinding.  

Advanced Tips

• Use a natural bristle brush, suggests John Doucette, director of student salons for Empire Beauty Schools. The gentle boar bristles prevent hair damage and help smooth the cuticle, a process that enhances shine.

• If you make your part on the side, dry it with your hair parted in the center, suggests Muriel Mastey, who leads Hair Bootcamp classes at her West Hollywood, Calif., salon, Point de Vue. The switch helps keep hair from falling flat.

• Keep the nozzle at least an inch away from the hair to avoid heat damage.

• Use your hair dryer’s “cool shot” feature to finish each piece with a blast of cooler air and “set” the curl.

• Unwinding the hair with a twist of the brush instead of pulling it out straight results in smoother, shinier hair with a bit of wave.

• To help your blowout last longer, Mastey suggests using a root lifter or amplifier at the start of the blow-drying process. The product can help lift hair slightly from the scalp, where body heat and perspiration may flatten it or add frizz.

• If you’ve achieved that straight-smooth look, a light mist of hair spray can help prolong the shiny perfection of your blowout. But be warned, if there’s any frizz in your hair, hair spray will preserve that too.

Bad hair days can drive you to distraction -- or at the very least, to the nearest hat department. We went to celeb stylists for advice on dealing with some of the peskiest problems. Here are their top tips on how to rehab your locks.

Frizz
“Start fighting frizz in the shower by using a hydrating shampoo and conditioner,” says New York stylist Kevin Mancuso, a favorite of Demi Moore’s. “Hair expands when it’s exposed to water, as it is on a humid day, but well-hydrated hair is less likely to drink up the moisture that’s in the air.” Use a silicone-based styling product to help seal the hair cuticle and lock moisture in.

If the frizz has already taken hold, you can still benefit from a silicone serum. Rub a dime-sized amount in your palm and smooth over the surface of your hair to add shine and deflate poof. Also, avoid brushing curly hair once it’s dry. 

Flyaways
A few simple steps will help you avoid the wind-tunnel look. “Often, when people blow out their hair, they over-dry it, causing flyaways,” explains Boston stylist Mario Russo, known for styling the locks of Natalie Portman and Caroline Kennedy. “Add a small amount of a moisturizing leave-in conditioner to your hair while it’s still damp, concentrating on the ends, which tend to be more dried out. Then blow-dry the hairline and crown first to get them smooth, aiming the nozzle down the hair shaft.” Keep the air in a downward flow as you dry the rest of your hair. It's important to get all the moisture out to avoid frizz, but stop as soon as your hair is dry to the touch underneath as well as on top, to avoid breakage.

A straightening iron can also help smooth flyaways -- when used correctly. “Always apply a heat protectant first: A hydrating spray is ideal,” says Russo. “Use minimal tension and round the ends in. Finish off with a styling cream or silicone serum to smooth down wayward strands.” Stash a travel-size serum in your bag to tame errant hair on the go. A dab before donning a chapeau will also help with hat hair gone wild.

Too-short Bangs
Got a little scissor-happy? While you can’t speed up hair growth, you can make the process more bearable. “Try sweeping your bangs to the side,” suggests MariLynne Mele, of Blow, a New York City salon that specializes in blowouts for a high-end clientele. “Blow-dry your bangs down with a comb to achieve maximum length, then lightly go over them with a rounded brush. Giving the ends a bend will ensure they don't bounce up, and impart a soft, naturally wispy look.” Luckily, headbands are tres chic these days too.

Over-processed Hair
Too many chemical treatments and your hair can end up looking -- and feeling -- like corn husks. Celeb stylist Ted Gibson, who helps get Anne Hathaway and Debra Messing ready for their photo shoots, offers this advice: “Getting a haircut, even a trim, will instantly cut off damaged ends and give you a fresh new look. Be sure to do a deep-conditioning treatment once a week as well.”

Mele recommends making your own treatment cocktail. After washing your hair, use a deep-conditioning mask mixed with about two pumps of shine serum. Apply, wait ten minutes, then rinse. It will give those dry, broken hairs extra shine and some weight to keep them down.

Roots
It’s one of the great mysteries of life how you can go to bed with perfectly fine color and wake up the next day with half-inch roots. To tide you over until your next dye job, New York City colorist Jason Backe -- a favorite with beauty editors -- recommends this trick: “Hide gray by using eye shadow or mascara on the roots and setting it with hair spray. Both shadow and mascara are available in shades from light brown to black, which will work for all shades of brunette.” 

It’s harder for blondes to get away with this. They’re better off trying one of the new at-home hair-coloring kits designed solely for root touch-ups. Match the color as closely as possible to the rest of your hair. Finally, no matter what’s at the root of your problem, changing the location of your part will help hide the telltale signs.

Whether you’re straightening your curls, adding extensions or cutting brand-new bangs, you’ll need a few tweaks to your eyes, lips and cheeks. Star makeup artists share their easy-to-follow advice (no makeup bag overhaul needed!) on how to complement six common hair changes:

Straight Talk
If you’ve kissed your curls goodbye for just the night or for a few months, you’ll want to balance your sleek new tresses with soft makeup. “Straight hair creates severity, but you can soften your features by using translucent textures,” explains Houston makeup artist Carol Wagener. Think gloss instead of lipstick, and skip powder blush in favor of the creamy, put-it-on-with-your-fingers variety. There is, however, one area that requires a straighter edge: your lash line. “Go for crisp, lined eyes and lots of curl to lashes,” says celeb hair and makeup guru Brett Freedman, who has worked with Vanessa Hudgens and Kelly Clarkson, among others. “Sleeker hair begs for a more polished eye.”

Curls of Wisdom
When you’re sporting a spiraled style, take a tip from the writer Henry David Thoreau and simplify, simplify. “Hair with a lot of interest should be matched by clean, natural makeup with a blended finish,” Freedman says. Picture Jennifer Aniston when she complements her waves with a touch of peach gloss and a dusting of bronzer.

Start with a light application of your foundation and blend well. Curly hair can make your face look wider, so go light on blush or bronzer and keep it on the apples of your cheeks. Wagener adds that since curls are soft and billowy, “they tend to blur the angles of your face.” Create some structure with a well-defined mouth and eye. Keep brows fastidiously groomed, line your lashes with eye shadow or liner and give your lips a stand-out pop with rich berry or red gloss.

Great Lengths
If your mane falls well below your shoulders -- on its own or with the help of extensions -- “you need brightness in the cheeks and lips so you don’t fade away underneath that long hair,” says celeb makeup artist Kimara Ahnert, who has worked with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Gwyneth Paltrow. Adds Freedman: “It’s a great time to explore and be a bit adventurous with color.”

For inspiration, channel Drew Barrymore, who’s always changing up her look on the red carpet. (Remember her Marilyn-esque Golden Globes look with fuchsia lips and smoldering eyes?) Consider a bold accent, like the violet you’ve never touched, under your lower lashes. Play with metallics too. “A golden gloss over your favorite pink lipstick or a touch of champagne shimmer over your blush can really freshen up a look,” says Freedman.

Going Short
When you go under the scissors and make a dramatic chop à la Victoria Beckham or Rihanna, your face takes center stage. “You’ve got to play up your eyes and cheeks because those are the first things everyone sees,” says Wagener. “Plus, when you emphasize your femininity, you’re wearing your hair and not vice versa.”

The four steps to notice-me eyes: Fill in your brows with a brow pencil or powder, dot and wiggle liner along your lash lines, curl lashes and apply two coats of volumizing mascara. Then, to draw focus to the center of your face, create what Wagener calls a “banana split” on your cheekbones. How to: Sweep a neutral bronzer on your cheekbones in a long, upswept banana shape, then apply a bit of “whipped cream” (aka highlighting cream) just above cheekbones. Put the “cherry” on top with a dab of rosy blush on the apples of your cheeks.

Swept up
Wearing your hair off your face, in a slicked-back updo or a polished ponytail, is even more revealing than a short cut. The golden rule is blend, blend, blend, especially around the hairline and jawline -- two areas we often neglect, says celebrity makeup artist Maria Verel, who does Diane Sawyer’s makeup for “Good Morning America.”

Smooth obvious lines of demarcation, using a brush to blend powders, and the tip of your ring finger to soften any edges that cream foundation or blush may have left behind. And because you don’t have the fall of hair creating shadows, you’ll want to add some angles to your face. She suggests defining the cheeks and jaw with a dusting of bronzer in the shape of a “3” along the perimeter of your face. Start at your temple, then sweep across your cheekbones and along your lower jawline and neck.

Bang-up Job
Face-framing fringe is the equivalent of an extra facial feature, says Verel, and one you must factor in when you apply your makeup. “You can’t have three points of interest: lips, eyes and bangs,” she says. Since your bangs are a given, choose between making your eyes or lips the second focal point. Opting for eyes? Emphasize your eye color with a flash of drama by applying an unexpected shade of liner on the lower, inner rim. Use jade or navy for blue or hazel eyes, ruby for green and violet eyes, and gray for brown eyes. Or strengthen your lips with a strong hue. If you’ve always done a neutral or nude mouth, take baby steps to bold with sheer coral, plum or red gloss.