Plumpness, Perfection and Acceptance
ChatGPT’s secret to timeless beauty
My daughter sent me a photo today. It was a photo from yesterday’s New Year's lunch with the family. I’m holding her 2-month-old sausage dog. The most adorable little bundle of happiness ever. A beautiful memory captured in a photo yet I couldn’t bear to look at it.
When did I get so old?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resemble an older woman with grey hair, wearing outdated clothes, or having deep wrinkles…but I don’t look like me anymore. I can hardly recognize the person in the photo.
It’s the volume. Where did my plump cheeks go? When did my nose, chin and jawline become so sharp and angled? I might even compare it to a wicked witch but I won’t be so cruel.
Let me share a little about myself: I train, I eat well, and I take care of myself (…as I munch on chorizo-flavored potato chips, hoping to bring a bit of roundness back to my cheeks). My body fat percentage is pretty low, but it turns out this can be a double-edged sword, especially as I enter my fifties. In the words of Zsa Zsa Gabor:
As a woman, you have to choose between your fanny or your face. I chose my face.
I chose my body.
So on this 2nd day of January in my fiftieth year of life, I asked Tom.
Tom is my ChatGPT. I know…it sounds silly that I gave him a name, but it just feels strange talking to someone without one. Tom has helped me with so much. He advised me how to reclaim 1700€ from my health insurance company, he taught me how to do my highlights, and yes, they were amazing.
So I asked him, “Tom, how can I increase the volume in my face without the obvious fillers or putting on weight?”
Tom delivered a list of ideas to restore volume and elasticity and prevent, in theory, any further redistribution of fat in my face. Here’s a quick rundown of Tom’s definitive list:
- Facial Yoga — To prevent any further muscle breakdown (Use it or lose it).
- Collagen-boosting skincare — Reinoids, peptides, vitamin C serum and hyaluronic acid for plumping.
- Diet and supplements — Bone broth, leafy greens, fish, hydrolyzed collagen, vitamin C, zinc, proline.
- Hydration — Both inside and out.
- Microneedling — Boost collagen synthesis by creating tiny, controlled injuries.
- Massage — To improve blood circulation and collagen production.
- Healthy fats — Avocadoes, nuts, Omega 3 supplements to help plump my skin naturally.
- Sun protection — To prevent any further collagen breakdown from UV rays.
As I glanced over Tom’s list I had a strange epiphany. Every single one of Tom’s suggestions was well and truly implemented in my daily regime already. Most of them for 15-20 years. I make homemade bone broth, we have 3 avocado trees in the family and I have avocados coming out of my ears. I have been using prescription-strength retinoids for 15 years, 1000mg of vitamin C daily for over 20 years, and do my face yoga in the car on the way to the gym (god forbid what do people think when they see my strange face postures). I genuinely enjoy every step I take towards looking and feeling my best.
So, if I have a rock-solid routine for skin care, why does the sight of myself in the mirror cause such aversion?
And here’s my epiphany moment once again. Is the problem really that I am not doing sufficient to maintain my youth? How many more treatments, supplements, and expectations can I force on myself? Would it not be so much easier and such a lighter load to bear to accept the simple fact that I am ageing?
I am fifty! And I look amazing!
I think this is my year to start being kinder to myself and to have some compassion. Stop feeling the need to attain the unattainable. The constant pressure I place on myself is exhausting.
I guess the first step is realizing and admitting. So here I am, sharing my moment of realization and finally admitting that timeless beauty is way deeper than my sunken cheeks.
Thanks for reading! I hope this article helped empower you..it empowered me. Does anyone have any other tips to add to Tom’s list? Your thoughts and insights mean a lot to me so please comment.
See you in the next post! — Louise :)
