Continuing to look young and attractive throughout life is a goal many people aspire to. But being comfortable in our own skin is what really counts.

Often, aging gracefully means celebrating the well-earned wrinkles that come with experience.

There’s no doubt that looking good boosts a person’s self-esteem and confidence, and that can contribute to a positive attitude and better relationships.

And there are many healthy ways to maintain your appearance without surgery.

You can minimize wrinkles by not smoking, avoiding sun exposure, using moisturizers, and wearing sunscreen.

Many people, especially women, also use cosmetics to help create a more youthful look.

There are also a variety of nonsurgical procedures that cost less and have fewer potential side effects. Their results may not be as long-lasting, but the following procedures can still be effective:

• Botox injections — Derived from the bacteria that cause botulism, botox literally paralyzes the muscles for a period of 3 to 6 months, eliminating crow’s feet around the eyes and frown lines on the face. Potential side effects include drooping upper eyelids and less facial expression due to difficulty raising the eyebrows.

• Restylane or collagen injections — Collagen is a natural protein that provides texture and soft-tissue support throughout the body. It can diminish wrinkles around the eyes, mouth, and nasolabial folds, but the benefits last only a few months. In recent years, Restylane has become more popular than collagen because it lasts at least twice as long and requires no pretreatment skin test.

• Laser resurfacing — This method uses high-energy laser light to vaporize the outer skin layers, which then grow back smoother and tighter. Laser resurfacing can smooth out deep wrinkles and fine lines around the mouth or eyes for several years.

• Radiowave therapy — This technique involves a spray that cools the skin’s surface while radio waves penetrate to deeper skin layers, particularly the collagen layer. There is some immediate tightening of the natural collagen fibers, and eventually new collagen grows from the heat of the radio waves, which further tightens the skin over a 2 to 6 month period.

• Intense pulsed light therapy (photofacial) — This method can eliminate dark age spots, sun freckles, and superficial capillaries, as well as diminish fine wrinkles and tighten pores in the skin.

• Chemical peels — A chemical solution applied to the skin causes it to dry up and peel off so that new, smoother, regenerated skin can replace the older, wrinkled skin.