In Hollywood, it seems like everyone's chasing youth. There are countless numbers of serums, solutions, and surgeries to stop the hands of time from turning. Realistically, a vast majority of your favorites have had a little something done in the way of plastic surgery. While only time will tell how the arduous beauty routines and procedures of the stars help them stay young, there's one celebrity who seems to have youth chasing her. Cher seems almost as fresh-faced and certainly as vivacious as she was when she came on the scene as a teen.
More from LittleThings: In 1975, Cher Joined The Jackson 5 For An Epic Music Medley
The icon has been asked many times what she does to stay so youthful-looking. While she's copped to a number of procedures, she maintains that her lifestyle choices have played a major part in helping her stay young. She says the secret isn't really a secret at all. It's about what you put in your body. Throughout the years, she's gone into further detail on what that entails. Cher doesn't look anywhere near her 77 years of age, and her spirit certainly doesn't seem to be that of a senior citizen.
It's hard to believe that Cher has been in the spotlight for over 50 years. Part of the reason why that's hard to believe is that Cher doesn't look like she's 50, let alone 77 years old. The actress still looks very fresh-faced for her age.
Cher has one of the most iconic and versatile looks of all time. To Cher, her beauty, her style, and her essence are about freedom, not pleasing others. She doesn't do what's popular or what will be liked. She makes decisions based on what's right for her.
Cher has spoken about her feelings about beauty and youth in the past. In a 1982 sitdown with Interview, she recalled an important lesson she learned from her mother.
"You know my mother told me once: 'You know, you’re not the most beautiful, you’re not the most talented. You won’t always be the youngest, but you are special and there’s something more important about that.'"
In 1991, Cher spoke about her dedication to staying good-looking, something that requires at least a bit of effort for most. In an interview with People, she proclaimed a lot of the ways she's tackled beauty that remain true to this day, detailed in her book Forever Fit.
"The most important thing is to give yourself a fighting chance. I quit smoking. I don’t do drugs. I never drink coffee and almost never drink alcohol or eat red meat, so I’m way ahead of the game," she said then.
She mirrored that same sentiment when appearing on Today last summer. "All right. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs — I never have," she said. "I work out. I'm pretty good with my diet, except I like chocolate."
She also revealed that one treatment she was given for adult acne in the 1970s had her working with what we now know to be an important anti-aging agent. "With Dr. Arnold Klein in Beverly Hills I began using Retin-A to treat chronic cystic acne, and I’ve been on a prescription for Retin-A for 10 years now," she explained to People.
"I know Retin-A works. I have used it to control my acne. But what I learned is what everyone else has discovered over the past couple years: that Retin-A also acts as a de-aging agent," she continued.
Of course, she does admit to having some things taken care of with plastic surgery. "People should do what makes them happy. Frankly, when I saw my face 10 feet tall in close-ups on a movie screen, I wanted my nose done because it really bothered me," she said.
"My teeth were straightened and brought out with braces and a retainer," she continued. "It improved the shape of my mouth. Maybe that’s why people think I’ve had chin and cheek implants."
Cher's ability to not care what others think has also helped her stay young at heart. It's always been her attitude. "I’d like to look really great for as long as I can. If some people think that makes me terminally vain, then yes, I am that," she flat-out acknowledged.
As for the body? It's just a dedication to exercise. "I’ve killed myself in the gym to have this body," she acknowledged. "It isn’t like I've got some amazing secret that nobody else has." While some may feel like that's a nonanswer, consistency and discipline are the keys to staying fit that many people can't grasp.
She doesn't like running, so she sticks to walking, which she advocates because it requires nothing but comfy shoes to start. "Make room for exercise because your whole day will go better afterward," she advised.
Cher truly believes that taking the best care of yourself while living your best life is the key to staying young. Take one look at her and try to come up with an argument to the contrary. Cher's philosophy of jumping into the fountain of youth sure sounds a lot better than staring at it wistfully.
