Finasteride, a drug that fights baldness and shrinks enlarged prostate glands, may also help prevent prostate cancer, according to a large study of older men. Finasteride lowers levels of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men with high levels of DHT are at higher risk for developing prostate cancer.

Marketed as Proscar, finasteride treats the benign prostate enlargement common in aging men; a lower-dose version called Propecia treats baldness.

Researchers gave either finasteride or a placebo to more than 18,000 men ages 55 years or older. Subjects had normal digital rectal exam results and a normal prostate-specific antigen level of 3.0 ng/ml or lower. Men who took finasteride daily for 7 years had a nearly 25% lower rate of prostate cancer than men who took a placebo. However, sexual adverse reactions, such as impotence and loss of libido, were more common among men who took finasteride. Also, men who developed prostate cancer while taking finasteride were more likely to have high-grade (aggressive) tumors than men taking a placebo.

Some critics question the usefulness of finasteride as a cancer-prevention treatment, given the potential for adverse effects and the possible link to aggressive tumor growth.

Often small exhibitions and individual examples of Kiki Smith’s work fail to convey the overall picture of the artist’s intentions and practice. “Telling Tales,” guest-curated by Helaine Posner for the International Center of Photography (ICP), allowed viewers to put together the pieces of Smith’s wide-ranging production from the past few years. Photographs, drawings, sculptures, video and sound composed several related narrative environments. Smith drew on biblical stories and folktales for her sculptures and drawings through the ’90s. The main characters in this show were Eve and the serpent, a witch, Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf. A child-sized book with a visual essay by Smith called “Bedlam” and an essay by Posner accompanied the show.

Serpent (1999), two 7 1/2-foothigh, white, leaded-glass panels, each depicting an upright lizard with a woman’s face, introduced Smith’s interpretation of the Garden of Eden. In her essay, Posner sees Smith’s characters as undergoing an initiation to attain experience and knowledge: “It is the fear engendered by this quest and the painful vulnerability of childhood that Smith explores in her current body of work.” Loss of innocence is the theme that connects the exhibition’s elements. Titled Eve (2001), a small white resin figure of a young girl with upstretched arms and graphite scribbled on various body parts, stood on a pedestal; on the walls behind her, color and black-and-white C-prints were arranged in two rows (36 4-by-6-inch photos below, 22 larger examples above). The photos included Eve near a fruit-bearing bush in close-cropped tableaux.

In addition to human and animal figures, the installation featured plants and fruits depicted in two and three dimensions. Naturalistic sculptures of fecund blackberry vines randomly climbed the walls. The volume of a soundtrack of an apple being bitten and chewed increased slowly as one moved toward a grouping of apples on the floor, some made of red wax, some of black bronze. On the walls, the photo series “Witch Sleeping” (2000) showed the artist dressed in black Victorian garb and carrying a basket of red and black apples, walking in the woods or falling into piles of yellow leaves. In the series, Smith assumes the role of the crone, a counterpoint to the fresh-faced sculpture of Eve.

Many of Smith’s sculptures and drawings show the influence of northern European, particularly late Gothic, art. (Smith was actually born in Nuremberg, Germany, although she grew up in the U.S.) Over the last few years the characters and circumstances of “Little Red Riding Hood” have been a springboard for the artist. The cautionary tale, popularized in the 18th-century collection of the Brothers Grimm, warned adolescent girls about the dangers of distracting temptations and premarital sex.

The exhibition included several pieces on this theme. Daughter (1999), a 4-foot-high sculpture of a wolf-girl, is made of off-white paper; the girl wears a red cape. The imagined progeny of the wolf and Red Riding Hood, she sprouts hair around her face and has lifelike glass eyes. According to Posner, Smith’s source for the sculpture was a picture of a bearded girl from a French book on wolves. A dirge-like soundtrack (composed by Margaret De Wys) emanated from the figure when the viewer approached, further animating its startling presence. Nearby, a life-size bronze wolf with a small red glove hanging from its fangs stood before a wall of large C-prints. The photographs show sections of-Daughter, sometimes partly covered by a tarp, as if she were a secret being slowly unveiled.

For several years Smith has created in various mediums works that she calls “Gang of Girls and Pack of Wolves.” Here 12 hand-colored C-prints presented as many girls’ faces in red hoods; each has a northern European look, consistent with the folktale’s origins. In an alcove with dark gray walls, a projection of a wolf running through the night appeared via stop-action video composed of successive drawings. On a monitor, Smith’s drawings of Red Riding Hood flashed by in quick succession.

In ICP’s back gallery, two large paper-and-muslin figures hung from the ceiling, their limbs tied with fabric strips. Each called Puppet, the eerie figures recall creation stories from Frankenstein to Pinocchio. Unlike Daughter, fraught with the conflicts of a hybrid identity, these puppets appear to be neutral shells, which have not yet received the defining gestures of their creator. Along the walls were photographs of the same puppets lying in a studio. Sculptures of polymer resin earthworms swarmed along the edge of the wall and the floor. A reference to the apples in the front galleries, the worms recalled the artist’s earlier sculptures of glass sperm in the context of the almost fetal puppets.

In a concurrent show of photographs at Pace/MacGill, Smith grouped C-prints that pictured details of some of her other sculptures. A childlike, blood-red wax figure called Harpies (2000) was presented through close-ups of her narrow, taut face and large, angled eyes as well as her intricately formed labia between stiff legs. Another sequence called “Autumn” included a picture of Smith’s bronze sculpture Calling, shown outdoors, peering sweetly through tall grass.

It’s never a good sign when the hairdresser panics. That’s what happened to Barbara Cabrera-Avila, 38, when she returned to the salon about six weeks after having her hair straightened a couple of years ago. The cause for alarm: several bald spots in the back of her head.

The Adelphi, Md., resident began having her curls straightened at the age of six so her hair would be easier to comb and style. She says over-processed hair likely played a role in her hair loss, and stress could have been a factor. What’s certain is that three dermatologists advised her to take a break from hair straighteners, also known as relaxers.

Barbara says giving up the straight hair she had grown comfortable with wasn’t easy. After all, people’s personal preferences about how they want to look tie into self-esteem–a fact that makes for good sales in the hair business. In addition to paying for trims and cuts to achieve a certain look, consumers spend millions of dollars each year to get hair that’s different from what nature intended–whether it’s to tame tight curls, give flat hair a boost, or get rid of the gray.

According to the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, hair straighteners and hair dyes are among its top consumer complaint areas. Complaints range from hair breakage to symptoms warranting an emergency room visit. Reporting such complaints is voluntary, and the reported problem is often due to incorrect use of a product rather than the product itself. FDA encourages consumers to understand the risks that come with using hair chemicals, and to take a proactive approach in ensuring their proper use. The agency doesn’t have authority under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require premarket approval for cosmetics, but it can take action when safety issues surface.

When the Product Is the Problem

When consumers notify FDA of problems with cosmetics, the agency evaluates evidence on a case-by-case basis and determines if follow-up is needed, says Allen Halper, an FDA consumer safety officer. FDA looks for patterns of complaints or unusual or severe reactions. The agency may conduct an investigation, and if the evidence supports regulatory action, FDA may request removal of a cosmetic from the market.

Take the example of two popular hair relaxer products by World Rio Corp.–the Rio Naturalizer System (Neutral Formula) and the Rio Naturalizer System with Color Enhancer (Black/Licorice). After receiving complaints about these products in November and December of 1994, FDA warned the public against using them. Consumers complained of hair loss, scalp irritation, and discolored hair.

In December 1994, the World Rio Corp., Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif., announced that it stopped sales and shipments of the product. But reports indicated that the company continued to take orders, and the California Department of Health also stepped in to stop sales. In January of 1995, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles filed a seizure action against these products on behalf of FDA. By then, the agency had received more than 3,000 complaints about the Rio products.

Although most relaxers are alkaline, this product was formulated to be acidic. In the resulting consent decree of condemnation and permanent injunction, FDA alleged that the products were potentially harmful or injurious when used as intended, that they were more acidic than declared in the labeling, and that the labeling described the products as “chemical free” when “allegedly they contained ingredients commonly understood to be `chemicals.’”

Safer Straightening

FDA has received complaints about scalp irritation and hair breakage related to both lye and “no lye” relaxers. Some consumers falsely assume that compared to lye relaxers, “no lye” relaxers take all the worry out of straightening.

“People may think because it says `no lye’ that it’s not caustic,” says FDA biologist Lark Lambert. But both types of relaxers contain ingredients that work by breaking chemical bonds of the hair, and both can burn the scalp if used incorrectly. Lye relaxers contain sodium hydroxide as the active ingredient. With “no lye” relaxers, calcium hydroxide and guanidine carbonate are mixed to produce guanidine hydroxide.

Research has shown that this combination in “no lye” relaxers results in less scalp irritation than lye relaxers, but the same safety rules apply for both. They should be used properly, left on no longer than the prescribed time, carefully washed out with neutralizing shampoo, and followed up with regular conditioning. For those who opt to straighten their own hair, it’s wise to enlist help simply because not being able to see and reach the top and back of the head makes proper application of the chemical and thorough rinsing more of a challenge.

Some stylists recommend applying a layer of petroleum jelly on the scalp before applying a relaxer because it creates a protective barrier between the chemical and the skin. Scratching, brushing, and combing can make the scalp more susceptible to chemical damage and should be avoided right before using a relaxer. Parents should be especially cautious when applying chemicals to children’s hair and should keep relaxers out of children’s reach. There have been reports of small children ingesting straightening chemicals and suffering injuries that include burns to the face, tongue, and esophagus.

Tonight, ate dinner alone in my Toyota RAV4. After three hours at the hair salon, I made the mistake of going to the grocery store hungry, where I bought a whole host of goodies that, frankly, I shouldn’t have.

I left the store with two sacks of food, a plastic fork and bad intentions. I hurried through the parking lot to my car, put the key in the ignition and fired up the fork instead of the engine. While a pea-green Ford Taurus waited for me to vacate my, parking space, I downed a quarter-pound of tuna salad laced with full-throttle mayonnaise.

Feeling no pressure, despite the angry looks I was getting from the driver of the Taurus, I washed down the tuna with six pieces of vegetable maki, two slices of tofu teriyaki, seven forkfuls of chocolate pudding, one turkey ball marinara, and a partridge in a pear tree (not really, but if they had sold one, I’d have eaten it).

Once the food was gone and my stomach fully distended, I finally gave the Ford my space and drove off to meet my boyfriend for dinner - making a pact with myself to eat only a small bowl of lettuce no matter what restaurant we settled on. You might be thinking, gee, that all sounds very healthy (not the behavior, clearly, but the food items). “Tofu. Tuna. Turkey. Vegetables. All the food groups were pretty much covered. So, what’s the problem?” The problem is, who am I kidding? As we all know, the mayo in the tuna, the oil in the tofu and chocolate chips in the pudding contain enough calories and fat for an entire day.

I’ve been kidding myself for years. When I was a little girl, I used to believe that if my mother said I could eat it, it didn’t have any calories. This was based on the simple fact that my mother watched my food intake (and still does, despite the four states between us) like a probation officer watches an ex-con. I knew that if she let me have a cookie, a piece of birthday cake, or lunch on a day we were going out for a “big dinner,” it couldn’t hurt me.

Well, that was - and still is - a fallacy. And there are more fallacies where that came from in my grab bag, like the one that calls tying a sweater around your waist “a fashion statement.” In my world, it’s a way to mask too many tuna melts at the diner.

So what to do? Well, I’m doing this, committing to the Weight-Loss Diary for one year. An act of true bravery, probably my most courageous since the whole “lose weight while you sleep” scandal. (Never mind.) Putting my actual weight and bad eating habits out there for my entire high-school senior class as fodder for our next reunion. Bringing the rest of you along for the ride in the hopes that you’ll help keep me in check - and out of the checkout line.

The fact is, I’m ready. I’m ripe like a grape to give up the fallacies, the tricks, the gimmicks, the yo-yo dieting, the extra paunch in my belly and the chubby arms I inherited from my favorite grandmother; in other words, the 40 pounds I’ve put on since my 30th birthday. The fact that, despite a closet the size of Bloomingdale’s, I struggle to find something to wear to a Cubs game.

I’m especially ready to give up the heavy person on the outside (because I don’t know if you ever really get rid of the one on the inside) eating dinner alone in her parked car while the world - or somebody in a pea-green Taurus - waits. It’s time to get moving.

When I wrote about ways to protect your laptop if you needed to ship it as checked luggage, one assumption I made was that no one would do this if they had a choice. But with restrictions on luggage between the United Kingdom and the United States a few days ago, it seemed like a good bet that such a thing could happen.

Fortunately, those restrictions were eased, so as long as personal hygiene isn’t too important, travel is back to normal. Of course, if you plan to use deodorant, shave, wash your hair or brush your teeth while you’re gone, then checked-luggage rules still have a certain charm.

But one thing I didn’t think of is that people might actually check their computers as luggage on purpose. Turns out, some people do.

I also didn’t think about the problem that your efforts to preserve the integrity of your computer might just mean that a luggage thief will get your property in pristine condition. Theft, it seems, is alive and well in American’s airports. As reader Jim Wilder put it, how do you know that when you get your case, the laptop will still be inside?

How indeed? For that matter, how do you know that even the case will arrive? Reader Tony Higgins pointed out that about a third of all checked bags containing scuba equipment that pass through the Miami airport go missing. He said the Miami police are remarkably ineffective at finding this expensive gear. And he noted that something as portable and easily sold as a laptop is at least as likely to disappear. He has a point.

Higgins also said he agrees with what he saw in last week’s article about Pelican cases, saying he’s been using them for 25 years.

Reader John Van Zant said the worst loss of all is the theft of time. He pointed out that not only do you lose 45 minutes waiting for your bags to arrive (he must fly from a more efficient airport than I do) but you also lose productive time waiting for your flight. That’s two or three hours of lost productivity for each flight, even if you don’t normally work during the flight.

FIT WERE UP TO YOU, YOU’D NEVER STRAY FROM your favorite pair of beat-up jeans and college football T-shirt. But they won’t always fly with your girlfriend, or the office dress code. And if you don’t have some backup duds, you’ve got a problem. The solution: Get more options in your closet, without abandoning what feels comfortable.

To help you, we’re presenting the second installment in our MF Overhaul series–a sequence of strategies designed to make you as successful in your life outside the gym as you’ve been inside it. Last February, we transformed one fit couple’s basement into the ultimate home gym. This time we’ve focused on style and grooming. After getting to the bottom of the mountain of readers’ letters we received asking for help, we settled on Seth Hill, a 24-year-old student at the University of Washington, Tacoma.

Hill wrote in telling us how he’d recently lost 85 pounds by working out and eating right. He’d been heavy most of his life, hiding behind baggy shirts and jeans, and now that he’d worked out and built the body, he needed some help finding the right clothes to fit it properly. “My weight loss has given me a boost of self-confidence;’ Hill wrote, “and I think I need a new look to go along with it.” After checking out his current wardrobe, we readily agreed, and a few months later, Hill was in our New York office meeting with our style experts.

Here, we’ll show you how MF fashion director Kimberly Kelly mixed and matched a few key items to create three unique looks for Hill. Then, we’ll divulge the techniques Kelly used to help Hill whiten his smile and modernize his hairstyle. All of which should help you achieve your own personal transformation.

IN THE BOARDROOM

Since he’ll be job hunting soon, Seth needed a professional look he could wear on an interview. “Because I was so overweight, I always felt frumpy and disheveled in dressier clothes,” Seth admits. “I’d never actually worn a suit before” (MF rule No. 1: Every man should own at least one well-fitting suit.) To remedy that, we chose a charcoal pinstripe suit by Perry Ellis and paired it with a shirt and silk knit tie by Robert Talbott. Pinstripes elongate your frame, making you look taller and leaner. At the same time, buying a suit with a versatile charcoal hue will allow you to make an easy transition from the office to dinner and drinks after work. Another perk of having a charcoal suit? It can be worn with either brown or black shoes. In Seth’s case, we set him up with a chocolate-brown pair by Geox.

Contrary to popular belief, suit shopping doesn’t have to set you back a couple of months’ rent. The secret to a great-looking suit is having it tailored to fit your frame–a reputable tailor can make any off-the-rack suit look custom-made. Start with the cuffs: Your jacket sleeve should be approximately half an inch shorter than your shirt sleeve; exposing a line of your shirt breaks up the monochromatic look of a suit. Also, when buttoned, your jacket shouldn’t look boxy. If it does, have it taken in at the waist to create a slight hourglass shape for your upper body. There’s nothing worse than having a suit that fits in the shoulders and hips but leaves you looking thick in the middle. As for dress pants, a pair that fits well should sit at your waist, with the hem falling about a quarter of an inch above the bottom of your heel.

WEEKEND WARRIOR

For the ideal weekend look, we put Seth in a pair of jeans by Replay, a tee by Perry Ellis, a hooded cardigan by 7 For All Mankind, and a blazer by Lucky Jeans. Though it’s a casual style, dress shoes and a quality leather bag (like the one at right by John Varvatos, and the Geox shoes from the boardroom look) add polish. Seth’s verdict: “It’s comfortable but still seems like I pulled it together without overthinking.” To emulate this casual style, try a deconstructed blazer (no shoulder pads; unfinished edges) in a casual fabric, such as cotton. Combine that with a good, medium-rinse pair of jeans. “Opt for a pair that’s a little snug in the hip and thigh area, since most jeans stretch over time; says Keily. The rinse is key–a darker color is too dressy, while a light one is too casual. Medium-rinse blues can be worn just as easily running weekend errands as they can on an evening date.

GOING OUT

Speaking of dates, every guy needs his own personal dating armor. So for Seth’s third look, we wanted something a little edgier that would be perfect for a night on the town. You won’t believe how easy it was: We put him in the suit jacket from his first look, the jeans from his second, and an untucked button-down by American Eagle Outfitters. After that, we added a skinny tie by Robert Talbott and a pair of Converse sneakers. Seth approved, calling it “very punk rock.” The secret to making it work was mixing dressy pieces like the jacket and shirt with casual ones like the jeans and sneakers. Choice of neckwear is also essential. “Go for something a little funkier than what you’d wear to work,” says Kelly. Try ties in a different fabric, pattern, or width.

Dry winter weather can zap the moisture right out of your skin, which can cause you to have rough, scaly, dry skin.

But Dr. Renee Martin Earles, a dermatologist of Dr. Earles LLC in Chicago, says that a little daily TLC in the wintertime can help prevent winter’s drying effects.

“Add moisture to your skin because you lose some,” says Earles. “So we need to replace it. The amount that you need to replace depends on the amount you lose.”

Earles offers the following tips so that you can say goodbye to dull, dry skin and hello to soft, silky skin.

Avoid harsh soaps: Soaps with heavy detergents remove oils from the skin and cause your skin to dry out. Use mild, moisturizing soaps.

Moisturize your skin: Use an emollient every day. Whether it’s a moisturizing lotion, baby oil or petroleum jelly, Earles says use what’s best for you. He also recommends that you apply oil on a washcloth and rub it all over your damp skin while you shower.

Limit hot water: If you bathe or wash your hands in hot water, Earles says use hot water in moderation.

“The hotter the water, the more oil it takes out of your skin,” he says.

“Hot bubble baths in cold weather really feels good, if you like bubble baths. Bubble baths are wonderful, but if you use bubble baths, then you want to be sure to use plenty of lubricants afterwards.”

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends taking shorter, cooler and less frequent baths and showers.

Add moisture in your home: Since people turn heaters on in the winter, their skin can dry out, but adding a humidifier can help circulate moist air.

Moisturize your lips: Since the lips are exposed to weather, Earles recommends using a lip balm or petroleum jelly daily to fight dry, chapped lips.

If you develop a skin rash or itchiness from severe dryness, Earles recommends that you consult a doctor. Otherwise, he says daily care is the best treatment for dry skin.

“We all get dry in the wintertime, and it’s important to restore the moisture back to the skin so that you can avoid a lot of skin problems,” he says.

No, we’re not talking about Times Square before it was Disney-fied … we’re reminiscing about worry-free tanning. A decade later, we’re all running for cover. According to the National Cancer Institute, 40%-50% of Americans who live at least 65 years will have skin cancer, mostly a result of the cumulative effects of solar UV radiation. Prevent future doom by lathering up with a lotion with an SPF 15 or higher daily, a half-hour before you head out.

Markwins Holding Co. has inked a deal with Philips-Van Heusen’s Calvin Klein division to create a new line of color cosmetics and skin care products under the newly established ck Calvin Klein Beauty brand. The line will complement the core ck Calvin Klein bridge apparel and accessory lines.

The new line will be introduced for spring 2007 in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia. The skin care products will launch in spring 2008.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

Cruise the beauty aisles of any natural products store, and you’ll wind up thinking that aloe vera is the most widely used ingredient in skin care products today.

It’s certainly got the credentials for a star role: The plump, spiky leaf of the cactus-like plant contains more than 75 nutrients and 200 active compounds, including 20 minerals, 18 amino acids and 12 vitamins. In fact, one researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center described aloe as “a pharmacy in a plant.”

With so many healthful ingredients, it’s not surprising that studies have backed up what aloe fans have claimed for years: Aloe is good–really good–for skin. Not only does it relieve burns and speed healing (see Aloe + Health, p. 20), but there’s evidence that it helps prevent sun damage (read: aging), eases both psoriasis and frostbite, and improves collagen, the skin’s support structure. And, oh yes, it’s hard to find a better natural moisturizer.

No wonder every cosmetics maker on the planet seems to be adding aloe to their skin care treatments. In some cases (soaps, astringents), it’s just a little extra added goodie to up the skin-soothing quotient. But when you want intense moisturizing, and a chance at potentially deeper benefits too, potency counts. The International Aloe Science Council advises choosing products that contain 25 to 40 percent aloe. Rule of thumb: If the label doesn’t give percentages, look for aloe to be the first or second ingredient listed.

Aloe vera is best known as a soothing remedy for minor burns, rashes and wounds–but when it comes to burns, it does more than just ease pain and inflammation. Extensive research since the 1930s has demonstrated aloe’s ability to speed up healing. (See, moms do know best.) For instance, a Study in the 1990s of people with moderately severe burns found that those who used aloe gel healed in about 12 days, while-those who used a regular gauze dressing took 18 days to heal.

Aloe vera gel is also an effective treatment for psoriasis symptoms, insect bites and allergies, and it even helps lessen the painful effects of shingles. A micro-coating of aloe is now also found inside the latex gloves used by doctors, police and lab technicians to protect their hands from latex irritation. Applying the soothing gel to skin is worry-free except for a few unlucky people who, ironically, develop a mild allergic reaction (usually a rash or itching).

Aloe also comes in another form: juice. As a rule, the gel is used externally; the juice is taken internally. Aloe juice has laxative properties and acts as an anti-inflammatory; it can be used as a remedy for intestinal problems such as indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome. There may be bigger roles for aloe vera down the road too. Researchers are currently exploring the potential of aloe extracts to boost the immune system, combat HIV and treat certain types of cancer, particularly leukemia.

But for now, when buying aloe vera products for healing purposes, keep in mind that those containing “aloe vera extract” or “reconstituted aloe vera” may be much less potent than pure aloe (98 percent or more aloe vera). Aloe should be the first ingredient listed on the label.