aging looks

ceridwen

Anyone got any good strategies for ones looks vanishing with age? Thoughts of a facelift (well I havent got £thousands available anyway!) to deal with the problem - but I guess thats not the answer anyway.

I used to be attractive once upon a time (not beautiful or pretty - but attractive enough to be pleased with my looks) and its now gone courtesy of advancing age. I had a good look in the mirror today - and I'm on the booze tonight to drown the sorrows so to say! I literally didnt recognise myself. I havent put on weight over the years - thats pretty much as it was (various bouts of dieting later) - so at least I'm not thinking "what a heffalump of a body" - but the face and hair - ohmygod! (x 10). I honestly wouldnt have known it was me - if I hadnt known it was me if you see what I mean.

I know it comes to us all and I dont want to be one of those self-deluding women who dresses in the styles of their "youth" and then goes out to capture a "youth" (as in a toyboy young enough to be my son). I feel I would be making a laughing stock of myself if I went down that route. But it is very difficult to handle having to transition from attractive to "just who the heck is that awful woman in the mirror! - darn its me". I am in my 50s now and my mother tells me it gets worse - shes telling me "you wait till your 70s if you think looking in the mirror in your 50s is bad. You will look terrible in your 70S".

It would probably have been easier to have been plug-ugly in the first place. This sounds horribly shallow I know - but a lot of women must have been where I am now.

How do you cope? What strategies do you use to deal with the transition from attractive to "oh my god" to "..........!"?
All suggestions welcome - short of full-face yashmak (:rolleyes: now theres a thought - perhaps I should just get on the first plane to an Arabic country to pick one up):rotfl:

moneylover

well, I have got to 60 and now I think much the same. I am now very fussy about diet (eat to live not live to eat) drink water, get plenty of sleep and use factor 15 sunscreen all the time.
I am lucky enough to have excellent skin but I have frown lines and everythings drooping around the mouth/nose now. Its just the luck of the draw isnt it! My mum had good skin and becuase she had a lovely bone structure her face was still lovely in her 90s!
I use Elizabeth Arden Prevage - people in the costmetic industry rate it. Doesnt improve anything (what cream does) but hopefully slows stuff down. Its about £125 here so you have to get someone to bring it back from USA for you where it is £70. I havent wanted to buy off ebay but you can.
Botux is good and other fillers for around nose, mouth but not lasting so you have to budget about £1000 a year. I havent done that yet but I might. If I didnt have good skin I would have laser treatment as I have seen a friend have it and its did marvels and of course it lasts which most treatments dont..
I have managed to find a really good hairdresser and I have a modern cut andget my hair coloured at the hairdresser too. In between I use good shampoos and conditioners that I buy at the hairdresser. Maintenance is certainly more these days but I work full time and have brought up 3 children so its time to spend some money on myself. I just want to look as good as possible for sixty but am not trying to look fifty. If I had the money I might but like most people I don't!!

skyrocket

Botox and fillers are good, and a good peel too helps.
Why not consider a little nip and tuck if you are worrying about it?
The way I see it is the technology is there and if you feel miserable about it why not go for it? I intend to. If you can afford it and do your research properly. Like the previous poster said a good cut and colour and maybe a spray tan can do wonders for your self-esteem and then see how you feel. Good skincare system too.

vix2000

Don't worry you're not alone. You describe how I feel perfectly.

My daughter had some weight loss surgery in Belgium last year at a fantastic hospital (I stayed with her and it was spotless-a bit like ours decades ago!!! virtually zero mrsa and c-dif aswell) with an excellent surgeon who has a highly recommended colleague who does cosmetic surgery at a fraction of the UK cost. As soon as I have saved enough I will be over there.

I don't want to be a freaky distorted face case, just a bit of tightening on my neck and 'jowls'. I have lost a lot of weight due to medical problems so my face literally HANGS!!!

In my book if you can make yourself feel better then why not.

skyrocket

ally - how often does this need to be done?
xxx

bubblybabe

Basically all it's doing is heating your skin/folicles up to about 70oC. I'd come out of there and my face would practically be on fire (but not quite), and over the following days I would definitely notice a vibrance in my skin.


so does it hurt then-:eek: how did you find a safe placetogo :eek:


x x x

ceridwen

Thank you to everyone for replies - and if people wish to continue this thread with info re lasering etc procedures feel free.

I guess/know I didnt make my own personal take on this very clear - and I personally am looking for natural ways to deal with this. I am a health food eater/alternative medicine user sort of person and gradually using up conventional cosmetics and replacing them with natural homemade ones. So this is my personal starting point - with that I obviously look and am a lot healthier than the average 50-something British woman anyway. But - I am still concerned about loss of looks - as someone else would be. In my case - I am wondering about things along lines of natural cosmetics/complementary health (i dont mind if its in the "wierd and wonderful" category - I'll investigate something from the outer slopes of Mongolia if need be:rotfl: ).

So - I dont know if anyone has any suggestions in line with my own personal way of thinking about things like restoration of skin texture/hair thickness/whatever.?

(edit: of course if anyone from the Daily Mail or similar reads this and wants a "guineapig" for natural restorative methods - I might be available lol)

Petal_3

Why not look into having acupuncture? I've read that facial acupuncture can be good for giving a bit of a lift.

~x~

larmy16

I so sympathise with the OP. I am in my early fifties and avoid looking in the mirror unless strictly neccessary. When it really hits home though, is going out for a night and putting on some make up - all that crepey skin - how did that happen???? I especially hate my neck.:(

I don't have the money to have surgery or any of the face treatments as all my money is going on saving my teeth!!!

Guess, apart from checking I have nothing sticking to my face or teeth, I am going to have to keep avoiding that old mirror!

fabwitch_2

I know exactly how you feel but getting older is a fact of life and although we dont like looking older there is only so much we can do naturally to minimise the ageing process. I'm lucky to have always had good skin and have always looked much younger than my true age. Yet like you I hate the little lines that are starting to apear especialy around th mouth which makes me look miserable. I use boots beauty serum which wotks a treat. I feel much more confident the older I get. Drink lots of water, eat well and a little gentle exercise for the body and your mind hopfully will help us all feel better about ourself with the ageing process.

juliettet

I have observed: myself (I am 47), other friends, workpals & family and truly believe that the aging process can be much less sore if,
1, Keep scrupiously clean hair and shower/bathe daily
2, Find out the hairstyle that suits you and not too long.
3, Wear less make up but more often. Daily applied it really makes you feel good and there is a lot of free advice on make up counters everywhere.
4, Have some daily exercise even a short walk will blow away the cobwebs.
5, Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise everywhere & does not have to be expensive.

Hope this helps