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GRAVITY IS REAL
Before I dive in on this topic of wrinkles…I need to point out that I have some pretty strong feelings about wrinkles, aging + beauty.
One of my first posts here in The LIFT was “How to love your aging face” - which I just re-read. Some good stuff there! Go check it out. As you’re reading it, it will lead you to another one of my posts - “A rant against self care.”
When it comes to wrinkles, aging + beauty, I love them ALL.
I think we as women spend WAY too much time + money trying to get rid of wrinkles. Trying to resist aging. Trying to freeze time - as if beauty can’t exist with age.
Ultimately, I feel like this pursuit is a distraction + a way to keep us ‘in our place’. Maybe it’s just capitalism at its best. Create a problem. Sell a solution.
(And yes, I recognize that anti-aging is a growing concern for men now as well. But, for women, it’s not a new phenomenon. We’ve been buying it our whole lives. So, for the sake of my post here, I’m speaking from my experience as a female.)
Look, I know it’s not easy to watch your face fall down. To watch your skin lose elasticity. To feel younger than the face staring back at you in the mirror.
I get it. It’s weird.
And, it doesn’t help that society has drilled it into our minds that getting old + aging is the enemy. As women, it’s our full-time side hustle to fight + erase the signs of aging. To make sure we don’t get any older or at least look any older.
The sad part is that we are drilling this messaging into our next generation. They are starting the fight against aging even younger.
Did you know Preventative Botox is a thing? It’s quite popular among 20 + 30-year-olds. Nevermind the safety factor or long-term potential effects of that - just think about the implications of what it means to use treatments to get rid of a wrinkle before you even get it. It’s sad. Don’t you think?
I’ve been in the skincare industry for over seven years + I’ve learned a lot about the skin during that time. I remember when I first learned about the 11 lines. These are the two vertical lines between your eyebrows caused by years of muscle movement. I didn’t realize they had a name - more formally known as glabellar lines.
I don’t have those two vertical lines between my brows. Instead, I have one long deep line - more of a butt crack of sorts. It comes from years of squinting in deep thought. That’s what I tell myself.
That said, I DO have some 11 lines. Mine sit proudly on my upper lip. I call them Thing 1 + Thing 2. Remember The Cat in the Hat? You’d think I smoked cigarettes my whole life, but no. That’s just where I collect some of my deepest wrinkles.
Sure, it’s annoying that my lipstick bleeds into them. Sometimes my green smoothie gets stuck in there, which is kind of gross. They are deep creases. It’s gonna happen.
I could, of course, work with a cosmetic dermatologist to lessen the depth of these creases, maybe even eliminate them, but honestly, would that change my life for the better? I’m just not sure.
Sure, my lipstick would look better, but I’m not convinced that Thing 1 + Thing 2 are evil - a little mischievous sure - but evil? Worth annihilating?
And, if I got rid of Thing 1 + Thing 2, wouldn’t I have to get rid of the rest of them? (My real 11 are the other 11 deep lines that circle BOTH of my lip lines).
For me, wrinkle chasing is a rabbit hole I don’t want to explore. It seems like a worthless pursuit. Maybe I’m wrong. But I’ve reprogrammed myself. Instead of hating on my 11s every time I see them, I try to give them some love instead - a little extra moisturizing + massage never hurt anything.
I think it’s working.
Not that it’s shrinking them in any way, but it’s making me see them differently. In fact, they talk to me.
Am I freaking you out yet? I’m sitting here telling you that my wrinkles are talking to me. I’ve even named my biggest ones! But, stick with me. You might be surprised to realize how much your skin is talking to you, too.
A WRINKLE IN TIME
Our skin is our largest organ. A living, breathing organ. It’s a protective barrier. A sensory organ. It’s a constant communicator. It works with our immune system. It communicates with our nervous system + our brain.
It’s also our most visible organ. It’s what we show to the world.
I don’t think any of us would argue that healthy skin is beautiful skin. You can tell when someone is radiating health. They have a glow. They also tend to have a lot less wrinkles. Coincidence?
As women, we are too quickly sold on this idea of a solution, potion, pill or treatment to magically erase the signs of aging + turn back time. We will try anything - often without even looking at the ingredients or the potential long-term impacts on our health. We will take anything our dermatologist hands us without asking about the ingredients or any potential long-term health impacts.
It’s kind of crazy when you stop + think about it.
Here’s something to think about:
What if these lines we are busy erasing + ignoring + hating are actually telling us what our body needs?
Maybe if we would just stop all of the hocus pocus on our wrinkles we could hear what they have to say.
Our skin is talking to us all of the time. It is showing us ways we can improve not only our appearance but also our overall health.
When we look at our face, we can tell when we need more hydration, more rest, more stress relief, more fun, more time outdoors.
Our wrinkles show us where we need attention. Where we need extra LOVE.
So, here’s my proposition:
Instead of looking at our wrinkles + erasing them, let’s LISTEN to them. What is our face telling us? What is our skin saying to us?
When we LOVE our skin, we listen to it. We give it what it needs. We care for it.
Healthy, happy skin doesn’t come from eliminating wrinkles. It comes from having + fostering good health + self-care practices. It comes from love, not hate.
The ultimate wrinkle buster is LOVE.
So, why (and HOW) should we love our wrinkles?
LOVE POTION NO. 9
If you want healthy, happy, youthful skin, eliminating wrinkles is NOT going to get you there - at least not for long. Loving them, however, will take you where you want to go + beyond.
Because November is National Healthy Skin Month, I’m going to share some ways you can love on your wrinkles + bring new radiance to your face.
Most of these will not cost you a dime. And, ALL of these will improve your overall health (which is actually when your skin looks its best).
Some of these things will give you crazy fast results. Others take a little bit of time. But your skin renews itself every 28 days, so you can make surprisingly significant improvements in a short amount of time when you pay attention to these.
Don’t feel like you have to do them ALL. Sometimes life gets in the way. When there’s an area you can’t control, double down on some of the others. No matter what is going on, you can always do at least a few of these. And, they will all serve you well.
If you want healthy, happy skin - these are the ways to get it.
Sleep: 7-9 hours. They don’t call it ‘beauty sleep’ for nothing. Sleep is one of the fastest ways to improve the appearance of your skin - texture, tone + radiance. It will vastly improve a lot of other areas of health as well. Committing to good sleep takes some work, but it’s worth it for SO many reasons. If you’re having trouble sleeping, there are loads of resources out there on how to improve your sleep hygiene. Start there. Make it a mission to prioritize your rest + recovery.
Hydration: Start with 64 oz. daily. Most of us are dehydrated. Simply increasing the amount of water you drink will instantly improve your skin. It not only helps hydrate + plump skin, it also clears toxins that hurt + age your skin.
Stress reduction: Stress causes breakouts + rashes. It triggers reactions + flare-ups in skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, etc. There are countless ways to reduce + relieve stress + your skin will be noticeably thankful.
Exercise: Movement is a great way to reduce stress. And, exercise is great for your skin for lots of other reasons, too, especially when you can get outside in the fresh air. Sweat helps clear your body of toxins. Being outside helps your overall gut health. So many benefits to exercise. Perhaps the biggest is that it will bring a smile to your face because movement helps mental health + releases endorphins.
Less wine / alcohol / sugar: Yep. I didn’t have to tell you this one. If wine or sugar are your go-to’s for stress relief, it’s going to show up on your skin. Try an experiment of cutting them out for a few weeks + look at what happens to your skin. It’s amazing how quickly your skin responds.
Improve your diet: There are so many foods that will help improve the appearance of your skin + help your body produce collagen. Focus on fiber + healthy fats. Fiber helps your gut health which is where your immune system is housed. 95% of Americans are not getting sufficient fiber. Aim for at least 25-30 grams/day. Fiber comes from veggies + plants. So, eat lots of veggies. Antioxidants like blueberries, kidney beans, grapes, kale + spinach are also great. Healthy fats like avocado + nuts are great wrinkle-busters, too.
Environment: There are lots of things that contribute to skin issues + aging in our environment. Changing your laundry detergent + personal care products can help. Read labels. Avoid fragrance, SLS + SLES. Use a humidifier when the air is dry. Shorten showers to avoid too much hot water stripping your skin.
Skincare Routine: A simple 4-step skincare regimen that is designed for your specific skin type is a game-changer. It is something you should be doing before you invest in a fancy serum or expensive professional treatment. If you need help with this, reach out. Ingredients are super important + so is making sure it’s addressing your specific skincare concerns.
Sun Protection: This goes without saying, but given the fact that the sun is responsible for 90% of the signs of aging, this is another thing to prioritize before spending a nickel on any sort of treatment. A broad-spectrum sunscreen will protect you not only from harmful UVA rays but also damaging blue light emitted by our phones + computer screens. This is another area where ingredients matter. If you need some help with that, let me know. Sunscreens are also FSA eligible, so if you have a few bucks left in your FSA account, stock up now.
These are just 9 ways you can LOVE on your wrinkles. What I love most about these is that the benefits go way beyond appearances. These are things that will enhance every aspect of your health - mental, physical + emotional. So, pick one + get started! The sooner the better.
YOUR MISSION:
This week, I invite you to see your wrinkles in a different light. See them as communicators. Lean in + listen to what they are telling you. Where does your body need a little extra LOVE this week?
IN SUMMARY:
I know this is a lot + we can’t always do all of these things. Life happens. Duty calls. But, it’s nice to know that there are always things within our control that we can turn to for a little extra self-care + LOVE. If we just listen to our body + put a little LOVE onto the root cause, rather than treating the symptom, we can get much better results + feel better in our skin.
P.S. Beautycounter just kicked off our Black Friday sale so it’s a great time to stock up on all things skin. Reach out to me if you need help or recommendations.
See you next week?
Meanwhile - you can read thru the archives here. And, please reach out to me anytime!
Email: karen@becounter.com
Instagram: @redefiningkaren
Super article full of deep truth & humor! Maybe add ‘laughter’ to the list ... because some of my own wrinkles seemed to melt away as I recognized myself. The list of suggestions is very doable.....and as you reminded us, just doing what we can will make a difference. Ill have to say tho’...as I read thru the 9 tips again, they are ALL doable. Thank you!!
So I hope to do more #2 and less #5!! I already have lots of laugh lines and plan on even more.
Thanks for the reminders!!