You may recognize Carol Alt as "The Face" that graced hundreds of magazine covers and starred in countless TV and film productions in the 1980s. But for over ten years, the supermodel-actress has been living a life dependent on raw foods.

When Carol was 34 years old, she began to experience weight gain, dry skin, chronic colds, and changes in her mood. After learning that a friend's doctor helped her to defeat cancer by following a raw diet, Carol thought she'd give it a try. "I thought that if raw foods can help with something as serious as cancer, can you you imagine what it can do with my sinus infections, my headaches, my colds and flus?" said Carol. "I was tired of doing the same thing over and over, and not getting any different results. So, I just took a shot."

Since then, she's been free of sinus infections and headaches and within two weeks, she went from 134 pounds to 122 pounds!

StyleList recently got the chance to talk to Carol about her new raw skin care line, Raw Essentials, transitioning to a raw foods lifestyle, and what exactly she considers "raw."
STYLELIST: Did you find getting into a raw foods diet difficult?

CAROL: "It was the easiest thing I ever did. It's basically just reading labels and eating foods only prepared one way. I eat everything and I stay skinnier and healthier and it's freaking amazing!"

STYLELIST: What are you looking at when you're reading the package? Is it basically vegetarian?

CAROL: "What you look at when you're reading labels is you look for raw, cold-pressed, unpasteurized, crudités, unprocessed or unrefined might also good. I eat tartars, carpaccio of fish and meat. I eat raw foods that are for vegans and that's what confuses a lot of people. They think they have to be vegan. I am not a vegan."

STYLELIST: What were the immediate differences you noticed?

CAROL: "Oh, my God! Everything! I haven't had a headache in 12 years. I wasn't taking 222s, which is a Canadian Tylenol with codeine, like three times every two weeks. I haven't had a cold, flu, or stomachache. I haven't taken a Tums since then -- and I was taking eight Tums a night! I was right back in fighting weight. I wasn't moody anymore. I wasn't tired. I had energy. It took a longer time for my hair, skin and nails because I was still using conventional products. Once I changed over to my own products, I had better results."

STYLELIST: How long have you been doing HSN?

CAROL: "Just a month. And believe me, there's nobody harder than HSN in making sure the things you send in are correct or the things you say are proper. They're allowing us to teach people what's raw skincare and what's not."
STYLELIST: How difficult was it to develop a raw line?

CAROL: "So difficult. We found an unbelievable chemist who's into natural, non-synthetic things and had a meeting of the minds. I was really hard on my formulator and he came up with something so unbelievable."

STYLELIST: Does it have to be refrigerated or does packaging take care of that?

CAROL: "No. We've found a non-synthetic preservative that's all natural and paraben-free. But I always suggest people refrigerate it if they don't use it right away."

STYLELIST: What is your favorite product?

CAROL: "In my bag I have my body wash, my body moisturizer, and my face moisturizer. My moisturizers will blow your socks off! Your skin gets so soft that when somebody touches you they immediately notice a difference. And people will stop you to ask you what you've done. It's smooth. It soothes and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. And in conjunction with the cleanser you get much more amazing results quickly. I want this to be your skincare for life. I don't want you to be looking around for something else."

STYLELIST: What does your raw line mean for beauty?

CAROL: "What the skincare industry does is they're allowing people to call things natural that aren't natural. We're getting unbelievable results. I'm like beyond floored by some of the testimonials, women writing in. I wanted to share the miracle that I had found to save my skin with other women. All I wanted was integrity. I mean it carries my name."