Forget Young At Heart, Do You Have To Be Young At Work?

IN a new self-help book called "How Not to Look Old," chapter headings in screaming capital letters warn readers of the dreaded signs of aging that are to be avoided at all costs.

"NOTHING AGES YOU LIKE ... FOREHEAD LINES" admonishes one chapter introduction. Another chapter cautions: "NOTHING AGES YOU LIKE ... YELLOW TEETH."

Nothing, apparently, also carbon-dates you like GRAY BROW HAIRS or SAGGING SKIN or RECEDING GUMS, according to the book written by Charla Krupp, a former beauty director at Glamour who writes a column for More, a magazine for women over 40.

The book is the latest makeover title to treat the aging of one's exterior as a disease whose symptoms are to be fought to the death or, at least, mightily camouflaged. But the book offers a serious rationale for such vigilant attempts at age control, arguing that trying to pass for younger is not so much a matter of sexual allure as of job security.

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