Aging: What’s Your Beauty Standard?

Pluck, dye, plump, smooth…hiding signs of aging isn’t beautiful

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When I turned 40, I called my mom and said, “I need to start using moisturizer; which one should I get?” It was the first time I noticed the lines around my eyes. Buying face cream was my “walkabout journey” into middle age. (She kicked it old-school and recommended Oil of Olay.)

I didn’t resist this new phase — I saw it as a natural part of life. I had a harder time accepting that I was moving into the years when I would no longer be fertile. I didn’t want more kids, four was plenty, but something left me feeling a little melancholy that this body that had been such a good nest for fostering new life would stop being hospitable.

Along with the biological changes, I started to notice just how many products are pushed on a daily basis that promote my hiding what’s happening to my body. As if aging were so off-putting we needed to fool those around us so they wouldn’t notice.

If you watch the commercials, social media ads, and products showcased on shopping networks, you may start to think that covering the signs of your age is how to preserve your beauty. The underlying message is:

Don’t let others see what happens to a woman’s body as it ages.