Anti-Aging Is the Anti-Hero

We are anti-anti-aging. Which is a grammatically incorrect double negative to say we are here for aging. For decades, the overhyped marketing term "anti-aging" has had a heyday in selling products by simply saying they will help you not age. At the risk of sounding dramatic, if you are anti-aging, you are anti-living. While the beauty industry is finally and gradually moving away from this term, the question remains—are we truly comfortable with the concept of aging?

What is anti-aging, and where did it come from? Anti-aging is a marketing term for a product that will help you "look young." What does that mean exactly? It means absolutely nothing. It's a really catchy term for skincare products to sell, once again, by scaring people. It's brilliant because while most skincare products can only market to a specific concern or condition like acne or dry skin, the term "anti-aging" is easily marketed to everyone because everyone is, in fact, aging.

Recently, we talked about how Botox is a Botox is a skincare bully bully. Well, if Botox is a bully, then anti-aging is the anti-hero. Since not aging is not an option, we should stop chasing the fountain of youth. Whatever happened to "live for the moment" anyway? Because we've all been surrounded by this anti-aging nonsense for so long, of course, we want to look young – but what does that mean? It's similar to how young people try to make themselves look older; we always want what we don't have. However, one big benefit of aging is wisdom, so let's change how we talk and actually feel about our skin.

No ingredient is anti-aging except, technically, sunscreen because the sun's UV rays damage our skin's DNA. A skincare ingredient doesn't necessarily give us younger skin but can give us healthier skin. Are you healthier in your 30s and 40s than in your teens and 20s? Many people become more passionate about health and wellness as we age, so it's odd to aspire to look younger. You may think healthier skin looks younger because younger people have an easier time faking looking healthy, but as cliche as it sounds, true beauty is ageless. 

Yes, there is something to be said about the bouncy skin and bright eyes youth comes with, but unfortunately, those are the hardest things to fake, and the only way to keep that up is to support your health with good nutrition and collagen production. The "industry" may have you running towards erasing every line, but the truth is that people don't see those lines like you do. They see you as a whole person and the glow that your skin and persona radiate. There's no true serum of youth, so you are right to be skeptical when you see any product that claims to reverse aging. A good product, a good routine, and a good aesthetician should use the word "healthy," not "young," and they should never say "anti-aging."

So, let's shift the focus to healthy skin; it's what we've always promoted at Skin MPLS. Work to determine what your skin needs to be healthy and find the right products and lifestyle changes for you. Maybe your skin is feeling tight and needs hydration to feel healthy. Perhaps it's feeling dull and needs exfoliants to brighten. It may need peptides to help thicken your skin. These are all specific and legitimate concerns you can treat with the right products and treatments. You can be in your 80s, 90s, and 100s and still have bright, even, and supple skin. Of course, there will be some changes along the way – but we promise you if you take care of your skin, you will see and feel the difference. 

So it's settled, the term "anti-aging" is officially canceled. Look for that track on the next Taylor Swift album. But, in the meantime, it's not enough to just change the verbiage – we need to really be anti the age shaming movement that hits women hard. It can have serious consequences beyond just buying face cream. The fear of aging skin can make women feel really crappy. Why do men get to buy a motorcycle or get a full-sleeve tattoo while women have to seriously question their self-worth? That's a blog for a different day, but for now, try looking in the mirror and seeing everything you may have once seen as a flaw; see instead of a definition of time, laughs, and wisdom – AKA life.

Tell your aesthetician about your goals for what you want to change, but listen when they tell you your skin is beautiful. We don't say that to butter you up; it's because we are frustrated you don't see what we see. Why can't we see ourselves the way others see us? We'd laugh off the laugh lines. We would see aging as the hero and us as the heroine.