From anti-aging creams to botox to anti-aging surgical procedures, there’s no shortage of methods and habits to prevent wrinkles and droopy skin. It’s been a staple for decades: the ongoing efforts to defy the passage of time and look just as young as one might have been in the past. But aging is not only a blessing but a privilege that should be appreciated, and the symptoms of aging shouldn’t be seen as disgraceful.
It seems to be that every other TikTok video or new trend is aiming to combat the classic signs of aging. However, the extent to which people will go to avoid aging seems to be ridiculous. Sipping from a straw might cause premature wrinkles; buy an alternatively designed straw to prevent this instead! Train your face to make expressions, but not in a way that might move your muscles in a manner that could lead to getting wrinkles! Go to sleep with these patches on your face to prevent you from making expressions that could lead to wrinkles while asleep! The list goes on and on, and at some point, it feels like the desperate desire to avoid growing old consumes the life you’re meant to live. Living shouldn’t be a laundry list of cautious decisions to ensure that decades from now, there aren’t as many laugh lines or crow’s feet as there could have been.
Nobody should live in fear that they weren’t diligent enough to prevent wrinkles. Life should be spent enjoying the endless wonders of the world and going through all the beautiful emotions and experiences we have the privilege to go through. The anti-aging craze that creeps in on people, especially women, younger and younger, is deeply troubling.
Life should be spent enjoying the endless wonders of the world and going through all the beautiful emotions and experiences we have the privilege to go through.
This isn’t to say that the fear of aging is unfounded, especially for women. While men get to age with grace and are still viewed as attractive in old age, women begin to lose their allure in society as they enter their 30s. Beyond that, they’re often seen as a lost cause. So it’s no wonder anti-aging products and procedures are gaining so much traction. If the world constantly says that you looked best in your 20s and now you’ve aged out of that, you’ll want to get as close to looking that age again no matter what — or preventing the aging entirely.
But aging is beautiful. Are the wrinkles not a testament to the time you spent on earth? Are they not a diary of all the joys and sorrows you’ve gone through? Is it not a privilege to be able to live so long to see the signs of it when centuries upon centuries ago, many would be lucky to reach that age?
There are many reasons, often imposed by unrealistic expectations, to avoid and prevent the signs of aging. But reframing those signs as something wonderful instead of appalling is long overdue. Growing to be old is a privilege everyone should learn to enjoy.