Ageing

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 I've never been the kind of person to get excited by cosmetic trends encompassing anti-ageing products until the sudden appearance of lines on my face has recently had me wondering if I should perhaps be a little more aware. Don't get me wrong, Botox and chemical fillers, let alone nips and tucks, hold no appeal whatsoever but perhaps the idea of ageing gracefully does, certainly since those wrinkles suddenly started to appear.

I was sure there had to be a reason for the abrupt materialisation of creases across my brow but the only one I could think of was that operation back in February 2022 when my ready supply of oestrogen was whipped away. At least that was my train of thought until recently when my attention was drawn to the results of a study which suggests that rather than ageing gradually the human body suffers two dramatic bursts of depletion at around 44 and again at 60. Okay, so those ages are history on my part but it does explain what feels like a sudden surge of maturation if not decline.

My worries have been confirmed by the proliferation of apps that endeavour to estimate your age. You feed in a photo and AI analyses it and then tells you how old you look! My results were not impressive.

The senior author of the study to which I have referred, Professor Snyder at Stanford University, is reported to have indicated the need for targeted interventions such as increasing exercise to detract from muscle loss. So far as I can tell there are as yet no wrinkles on my biceps or hamstrings and have you ever tried contorting your face regularly to try to dispel those facial signs of wear and tear? Believe me the results are never going to kid the AI analysis. No there was only one solution for that: a touch of make up!

Blusher, lip gloss and little mascara; they  knocked 10 years off the result. Now that put a grin on my face once again, until I realised that smiling too much is only going to cause yet more laughter lines!

Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay

Comments

Treaders said…
I think a couple of nips and tucks can, initially, make a celebrity look younger. BUT, if you see pictures of them down the line, too many interventions, to my mind, just makes them look older and less attractive than if they'd left well alone! Helen Mirren has obviously had work done but I don't think she ever attempted to look 25 and so she just looks to be an attractive older woman. And as for starting the botox/fillers etc in your 20s!!! Well, I never thought I needed that stuff when I was that age. There's someone on tic tok who was asking people how old they thought she was - and who was really upset when people were saying a "well preserved 45" when in fact she was only 22!!!!!
13 September 2024 at 08:33
Caree Risover said…
Love it! Mind, I’d be more than satisfied with “a well preserved 45” but being in your sixties gives a totally different perspective than at 22!
13 September 2024 at 13:06
Marksgran said…
I know, isn't it strange how the wrinkles seem to just appear with no warning! I am now considering them smile lines rather than wrinkles and like you a bit of makeup which I rarely wore in the past has now become my comfort blanket! I think its sad when you see young women with trout pouts and puffed cheeks, what a waste of youthful skin! I got my hair cut short recently as I felt I was looking old with my shoulder length bob. It's made a huge difference! I probably don't look younger to anyone else but I love it and that probably makes me think I look younger!!
15 September 2024 at 12:09
Caree Risover said…
Yes, I’m certainly getting my hair cut shorter too these days. Do you think the next step is to dye it pink?
15 September 2024 at 13:27
Christie Hawkes said…
I've definitely noticed my face aging in the last couple of years...maybe there is something to that 60 year mark. I'm with you, though, I can't start with the Botox, fillers, or surgery. I will, however, do what I can with makeup and sunscreen.
19 September 2024 at 22:06
Caree Risover said…
It’s comforting to know I’m not alone Christie, and thanks for the sunscreen reminder. With the summer weather we’ve had this year, that one had gone by the wayside.
20 September 2024 at 07:44
Jean said…
Before I retired I used to dye my hair until one day when I was out walking with some friends, the breeze parted the locks of the woman in front of me and revealed the tell tale grey line. It was not a good look and I instantly realised I probably look just the same between visits to the salon, so at least half of the time.
I thought I would hate my grey hair but in fact I love it. It definitely suits my "mature" skin tone better and, as the wrinkles have appeared I have learned to love those too. The only makeup I wear is lipstick and the brighter the better! It somehow works!
4 November 2024 at 13:26
Caree Risover said…
I think it was indolence on my part coupled with a reluctance to prioritise regular hairdressing appointments in retirement that caused me to accept the inevitable. I've even been asked if I dye my hair grey; wasn't it fashionable recently to do that?
4 November 2024 at 22:23
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