Acupuncture wins over Diane Lane

41 year-old Diane Lane thinks the vocabulary used to describe an aging woman’s looks is pathetic. “If you want to live, you must age” says the accomplished actress (and lucky duck) who, at 18 got to make out with Matt Dillon on screen, at 34 with Viggo Mortensen and, at 36, with Olivier Martinez!

Aside from having gotten to fool around with many Hollywood hotties in the name of “art” (and a paycheck), Diane Lane has made a name for herself as a great actress (she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her stellar work in 2002’s “Unfaithful”). She also spent almost 10 years as a single mom to her daughter with actor Christopher Lambert until she met and, in 2004, married Josh Brolin who has a daughter the same age and a son five years older.

One of the few celeb types who routinely arrives at interviews and photo shoots sans makeup in simple, classic clothes, in this era of frozen Botoxed babes, Diane stands out even more because she remains a world-class face-scruncher-upper who is said to have eschewed the botulism in favor of acupuncture facelifts. Acupuncture facelift is an age-old practice wherein ultra-fine, sterile, disposable needles are inserted in the face and body to remove laughter lines, reduce sagging and make the skin more resilient and glowing. (“It is ideal for eliminating or reducing lines, sagging and general ageing, as well as discoloration, acne, spots and many other facial and skin concerns,” says Samara Reid – a specialist in the procedure at London’s exclusive hale Clinic.)

She’s also a yoga devotee. "I do it whenever I can," she says. "If there was more yoga in the world, there would be more peace. They say that you are the age of your spine. If your spine is youthful and limber it is reflected in other departments of your life. Flexibility is probably more important to me than strength or stamina. You also have to be flexible in your own life - that's been my watchword."

And next month (July 2006), in the ultimate un-glam, un-typically Tinseltown act, she will lop off her signature honeyed locks to launch a new charitable campaign called Pantene Beautiful Lengths – a movement to encourage women and men to grow, cut and donate their healthy hair to make wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.

But is it going to be difficult to retain her A-list status with short hair Who cares. She says that she's fundamentally not interested in the "full-time aspect of being a professional celebrity." “Acting is a job, a paycheck, a chance to bring people into a finite magical kingdom for an hour and a half. I want to be an actress all the way, all the way, all the way, like Susan Sarandon, Gena Rowlands, Jane Fonda or Kate Hepburn. Out with the ingénue."