Audra: A lot of people would really relay on their look to land them a job, a man or the perfect life but it’s not as simple as that. Dr. Eva Ritvo is here. She is the author of the Beauty Prescription and although it might seem obvious she says that we’re constantly fighting a loosing battle and it’s the inner beauty that conquers all. Welcome to the show, good to have you here.

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Thank you, a pleasure.

Audra: Should we know that we’re supposed to think that way but it’s so tough with the images out there of what beauty is supposed to look like, the tall, the skinny, certain hair color, certain eye color. Do you think that we’re supposed to look the other way when it comes to those images or conquer them, tackle them ahead on?

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Well, I think it’s neither. I think we’re supposed to appreciate them. We are hardwired to look for beauty and we’re not going to be able to get away from that. And it’s very specific and we’re all looking for the same thing and that’s why Ms. World really resonates with us because it comes with our hardware, that’s what we’re looking for. Because those are the women that were healthy, fit and fertile and help those pass on our genes.

Audra: It has something in the books that called that the Park Bench Experiment and it really helps you to train your eye to look for beauty, how does that work?

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Well, we believe that that in each beauty, we don’t have to train ourselves. We all recognize beauty when we spot it. But what we’d like people to do is expand their concept of beauty and we call that evolving beauty. So we like women to go, sit on a park bench and notice something that’s beautiful in every passerby and that helps you to train your eye to look for beauty in other people. And then you can train your eye to look for beauty in yourself and expand what you see is beautiful.

Audra: And what about cosmetic surgery though? That seems like this days it’s normal for everyone to get it done. A lot of people are doing it. Do you think it’s—when do you think it’s too young, when do you think it’s the right time or not. I mean what's your thought on that?

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Well, I think it’s a very personal decision and I think what happens is once your eye gets used to having everybody without wrinkles that’s what you expect. And that’s why it’s a very contagious phenomenon. If your neighbors got Botox, you're going to want to get Botox. So right now, every celebrity on TV has it and we get use to seeing, faces without wrinkles.

But for each person they have to decide what's meaningful for them. If you make your living based on your looks, yeah, you better go get Botox but most people don’t. Most people make their living based on something completely different. And they don’t necessarily need Botox. So it’s a personal decision that people need to make, there is no too young or too old. The only time people get into trouble is when they really can't afford it and they're doing procedures they shouldn’t be doing. When they have unrealistic expectations of procedures then it’s not a good idea. But short of that, if it makes you feel going to give you that little boost and self esteem then I'm all for it.

Audra: Yeah, go for it. And speaking of self esteem there is a lot of myths out there and even truths when it comes to self esteem and in your book you talked about which once are myths and which are truth? From your prospective what would you say?

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Well I think one of the things that we see is that people do get bombarded with these images of perfection. And people forget that you know the media industry has searched the whole world to find the most beautiful face. And so of course were going to be exposed to that. But most women don’t need to compete with that, just that we don’t need to compete with Einstein to know if were smart enough.

Audra: Yeah.

Dr. Eva Ritvo: And why do we have to compete with supermodels to feel beautiful.

Audra: But should we compete with the European women though and I hate to cut you off because we’re almost out of time but you say we should kind of emulate them in terms of—with the way that we looked ourselves in beauty, right?

Dr. Eva Ritvo: Well our view is that the Europeans look at beauty in a much broader way than we do here in America. America were much more one dimensional like you said the media images. In the Europe beauty is about sensuality, it’s about who you are, it’s about self confidence, it’s about creating a beautiful and environment. The buildings are beautiful, the art is beautiful, the food is beautiful, the wine is beautiful and that’s what we mean when we say an expanded concept of beauty. You don’t have to have the exact right eyelashes or no lines on your forehead but you do have to be a beautiful person inside and out who can create beauty in the world, who feels confidence and who recognizes beauty in others.

Audra: We just have to remember that every single day. It’s so good to have you here Dr. Ritvo.

Dr. Eva Ritvo: A pleasure.

Audra: All right, and you can read Dr. Ritvo’s book its called Beauty Prescription and its available now.