“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” – Coco Chanel
I think we all reminisce at least a bit whenever a landmark of any sort is imminent whether it is an anniversary, a reunion, or a special birthday. Of course, as I head into my 50th birthday month, I am examining and assessing many aspects of my life.
Given what I do for a living I am definitely taking mental notes as I look in the mirror each morning. Overall, I feel that I am doing pretty well, especially considering that my insightful husband has commented that I am the “hardest working lazy person” he knows. I am no different than many of you in that I have limited time and resources to invest in myself, whether we are talking about hair and nails, clothes, or face and body treatments.
I recognize that I am fortunate to have access and insight into the health and wellness industry – at least I know what I should be doing. Dyschromia, meaning pigment irregularities, has and always will be a problem for me. I’ve addressed significant facial volume loss and the lack of cheek bones with volumizers, my frowny mouth with fillers, my dropping brows, and mean, tired eyes with a little Botox here and there. I have managed to ward off a lot of rhytids (medical terminology for wrinkles!) with physician-grade skincare products including either retinol or Retin A and photofacials here and there.
As they say, “It’s never too late to start.” This applies to taking care of your skin. Believe me, as a farmer’s daughter who grew up as many of us did in the heyday of sun-worship in the worst way — actively tanning to a crisp — I tanned easily and rarely burned. So my level of sun exposure was over the top. I didn’t really start on any sort of regular skin conditioning regimen until I was well into my 30’s and I’m not always good about regular facials and such, BUT my point is, that I do my best (i.e. what I can when I can) and have started and am doing something. I know that I would be much worse off going into my 50th if I had not intervened at all.
Even something as simple and straightforward as using good products daily can TREMENDOUSLY impact the appearance of your skin as we can actually improve the physiological function of your skin. My skin looks better now than it did in my 30’s. One or two photofacials a year can stimulate collagen production and reduce brown spots and color irregularities. In-office injectable volumizers and fillers can take years off in a single session without surgery. The list is endless as far as the little things you can do for yourself here-and-there without making the care of your face a full time job. You can ask my husband and he will tell you, if I can do it, you can do it. But do something. Come in for a complimentary evaluation and we can get you started. We will listen to your concerns, determine your priorities, outline your options and put together a customized program just for you.
As insightful as my husband is about me, he still occasionally enjoys his headaches. What do I mean by this? He is still sometimes slow about taking something for a headache despite my supportive comments like, “Well, enjoy your headache …” Shouldn’t you want to do something about it if it is bothering you? Don’t wait until you’ve reached a point when you feel there’s no longer hope (although we can still help … shhh, don’t tell anyone …) Make it easy on yourself and your budget — get started when we are talking about small repairs and maintenance, not a big overhaul.
