Beauty And The Blog

Is it possible to age gracefully? Or do we just accept every wrinkle, line or dark spot nature flings our way? Do you  fight it or ignore it?

And just what exactly is aging gracefully? I think it means different things to different women. For some of us it means full on acceptance because we are all meant to grow old. And for others it means fighting tooth and nail to still look 30 something.

For me, I look at two facts. I’m going to get older as long as I keep living. And with that comes the usual (dreaded by most) signs of aging.

So do I want to try to look a decade or so younger than I am? Or do I want to just let it flow, let go and look old?

No, I so totally don’t. Neither of those choices are at all acceptable to me. So there must be  a ‘gray area’ between the two. And that is where I find the answer to my own question.

What I want is to look (and feel) the best I can at the age I am at. I don’t want to fight it to the point of looking ridiculous (“mutton passing for lamb”, ever hear that one?) but I don’t want to roll over and give up either. How about you? Where do you stand on aging and aging gracefully?

There is a certain amount of ‘work’ involved with that gray area I mentioned. It’s called self-care. To look your best for the age you are, is work. You need to find the correct products for your skin. The products that contain ingredients that will encourage your skin to ‘behave’ as it did at an earlier age.

No, you aren’t going to look like you did at that earlier age, but you will look better, fresher and more vital than you would if you did nothing at all regarding skin care and anti-aging regimens.

I get questions from readers (and women I know) asking me what I use, what I recommend.

I use what works best for my skin.  But I know how to find the good stuff. And I know women who use products that I don’t and have great results.

So, for those of you who want to know what I use/do (I’ve already explained why), this is it:

I cleanse my face using a Clarisonic, and I plan on writing a post about that device. I use Rhonda Allison Skin Care and Paula’s Choice RESIST  Line.  When weather conditions are very dry or air conditioning seems to be sucking my skin dry causing dehydration, I add hyaluronic acid to my serum and pure olive oil derived squalane to my moisturizer. I also add it to my body lotion.

And that brings me to another issue on the subject self-care and aging gracefully. Exercise for your body (btw- it’s good for your head too as it reduces stress, ahh, most of the time anyway). If you want to look the best you can at any age, whatever it may be, get some exercise. I do free weight exercises (at a fast pace, no resting, to get my heart rate up for cardio benefits and time saving) and Pilates. But that is a whole ‘nother blog I don’t write….

Are you 20 or 30 something and reading this? Thinking “how does this apply to me” ?  I too, would have thought that at one time. But, and it is a big ‘but’, the products and ingredients we have now weren’t available when I was 20 and 30 something. Now they are. And you are crazy if you aren’t taking advantage of them right now. Not only do they help women of a ‘certain age’ look fresher and more youthful, they will and do slow the onset of the signs of aging. So get on it…

Now, below is an interesting bit I found from the founder of Paula’s Choice Skin Care, Paula Begoun. It is her take on “Aging Gracefully”. At the top is a link to to one of her sites. At the bottom is a link that will take you directly to some of the products I personally use (and looove). And a link to Beautypedia, a mind blowing collection of product reviews from 100′s of skin care makers.

Aging Gracefully? Theres Nothing Graceful about It!

By Paula Begounwww.CosmeticsCop.com

Just to allay the argument, if you want to age gracefully you can. I personally don’t understand what aging gracefully means because for me, there is nothing about aging that is particularly graceful. But whatever philosophic approach you choose is up to you.

From my point of view, aging sucks. You deteriorate along the way and when you are 70 there is very little left that looks like you did at 20, 30, 40, or even 50. At the end of all that, well, we all know what happens. None of that is graceful to me.

A few years ago I was in Australia doing media appearances for a new edition of my book. After 60 interviews (and five presentations to women’s groups) in 8 days, I was a bit overdone and less patient with the questions I was fielding than I was at the beginning.

On day 7 I was doing a phone interview with a reporter about anti-wrinkle products. This particular reporter wasn’t quite getting what my book was about. She assumed I was as anti-makeup and anti-skin care as she was (of course I’m not). In essence, she thought women were brainless and infantile to bother with cosmetics in general and those that did were succumbing to the pressure of societies that oppressed women. What had I gotten myself into?

I said I didn’t feel oppressed and that beauty was really an issue of having facts, not advertising hype and how we choose to express ourselves, not about women being smart or stupid. I asked her if she was buying clothes based on how good they looked on her and was getting her hair cut to look attractive, and if so, then was she being oppressed too? She didn’t like that question at all!

We argued a bit more about what skin-care products could and couldn’t do. She was especially upset when I said there absolutely were products that could make your skin look younger. She was expecting me to say that none of it works. In years past, I would’ve said what she wanted to hear, but we know so much more about how skin functions and what improves it that my perspective, which is based on published research, has changed.

She kept asking what was wrong with just washing your face with soap and water. I responded saying there is nothing wrong with soap and water any more than there is nothing wrong with using a typewriter instead of a computer (in other words, who would, after using a computer, ever go back to a typewriter?). Boy, she really didn’t like that answer!

Finally, in an exasperated voice she said,” Well in some societies older women are revered and honored.” I said I didn’t know what societies she was talking about. I travel the globe and universally women are buying beauty products to look younger. But there are plenty of us who just want to look devastatingly gorgeous and attractive. Who says a woman can’t be gorgeous and respected? Certainly not me!

As you may have guessed, the interview ended rather abruptly. That was fine with me, as I’d rather not waste my (or my reader’s) time debating such opposing ideas about what it means to be beautiful.

One more point: For those who want to RESIST Aging (I know, a shameless plug for my products), click here. And, you can always go to Beautypedia.com to find our recommendations for the best antiaging products from other product lines, too.

Photo by Me. Yup, that’s me up there.. yikes!