Do sexist or ageist remarks bother you?

American gymnast Gabby Douglas drowned out her haters during the Rio Olympics, refusing to let them break her will with their nasty comments about her hair. Photo: Reuters

An acquaintance of mine, a charming woman who lives in Kuala Lumpur, is 62 but looks 42. Her secret? Each night she smears mud from the Dead Sea onto her face, holds the muck in place with a cling film mask, and goes to sleep on her back, with her arms clamped firmly down by her side.

She wakes up in the same position, without a hair out of place. When she removes the cling film in the morning, her unwashed face resembles a dry, cracked riverbed during a long drought.