Throughout this time I religiously looked after my sensitive skin and was delighted to be chosen by Oil of Ulay in 1980 to appear in their TV ads. I was 40 years old.
Can you imagine how I felt 14 years ago, at the age of 56 - to be selected to launch Pro-Vital, Oil of Ulay's new range of skin creams specifically designed for MATURE skin! It's refreshing to discover a product specifically for older womwn and a company bold enough to use a "real live fifty something" woman to promote it! Surveys have shown that the majority of mature women do prefer to see a woman of their own age featured in advertising.
The young think we're "past it" over 50. I refuse to be written off and I know I speak for most of us here when I say that I'm enjoying life, I feel confident, experienced, energetic and happy with my life and my appearance. I'm proud of my laughter lines and don't want to erase them. They show I have a sense of humour!
But I do think it's wrong that the media and cosmetic companies put pressure on women to try to look 20 years younger. Looking good is about making the most of what you've got and feeling comfortable with youself. I don't think it's concited to look after my appearance, it helps give confidence - if you look good - you feel great! Some people look after their cars better than themselves.
"We can't beat Old Father Time no - but some women drive a mighty close bargain with him." Feeling good is about having a positive attitude to life. One should nver look back and dwell on failures or regrets but should look forward with an open mind. It's never too late to change your lifestyle - and you're never too old to get into the habit helping yourself by taking more exercise and eating healthily and keeping an open mind - and by continuing to listen and learn.
In youth we learn - in age we understand - hopefully!
FACES
The causes of skin ageing:
Skin ageing has very little to do with cronological age and far more to do with our skin type and how we look after it. According to skincare experts, with proper care it is possible to look 20 years younger than your real age. The first stage on this quest is to recognise the factors that cause us to look older.
Photo –ageing:
"Everyone is susceptible to intrinsic, chronological skin ageing as part of the process of growing older. However not everyone needs to experience the damaging effects of photo-ageing caused by exposure to the sun" says Prof Christopher Griffiths, Prof of Dermatology at the University of Manchester.
These damaging effects include coarse wrinkles, age spots, a leathery texture and small broken blood vessels. According to skincare expert Jan Marini, if we avoided the sun and took full advantage of the skincare science available to us, no one would need to look older than 25. The sun can also kill off skin cells and pose health threats. Cell damage occurs even before the signs of sunburn appear. The redness indicates deep-skin burning, which usually results in peeling, as the skin's healing response. Daily use of at least SPF15 on exposed areas is recommended, but anything higher than an SPF30 is considered unnecessary. The extra protection it affords is minimal and the additional chemicals can irritate the skin.
Lifestyle, laughter and sadness:
A healthy lifestyle is reflected in our skin and to a large extent our skin will look after itself if we look after our health. Scientific testing has shown that smoking, high sugar intake, excessive iron supplements, over vigorous exercise, stress and poor sleep, as well as sun exposure, all increase the free-radical production that contributes to the ageing process. The human face is the only part of the body where the muscles are attached directly to the skin - as opposed to the bones - making it a unique vehicle for expressing emotion. It is not the eyes but the flicker of an eyelid or the tightening of the lips that betray the way we feel. Every emotion we experience shows in our face and over the years becomes etched in our skin to contribute to the way we look.
Keeping happy and protecting a sense of well-being will go a long way towards delaying the ageing process, as positive emotions use fewer facial muscles than negative ones (it takes fewer muscles to smile than frown).
The better we look, the better we feel - and vice versa. Studies suggest that those who keep themselves looking young tend to feel healthy and energetic. Doctors have long since recognised that losing interest in the way we look is an early sign of illness or depression, while one of the first signs of a person being on the road to recovery is a renewed interest in their appearance.
Intrinsic ageing:
This is the term given to the 10% of skin ageing that lies primarily in the luck of the genetic draw, manifesting itself in a lack of firmness. Almost as soon as our bones stop growing they begin to shrink, and the excess skin becomes subject to the forces of gravity (especially once it has thinned with age). This process accelerates in our 50s and 60s and contributes to the elongation of parts of the face - most noticeably the nose, eyelids and jowls ( in smokers, this is even more pronounced, as cheeks are further hollowed by the muscular motion of inhaling). The best way of protecting against this deterioration is by taking exercise to protect the muscles and bones, and to avoid dramatic weight loss or gain.
Preening and pampering:
Recent technological advances in skincare mean that to a greater extent than ever good skin can be bought over the counter. As leading US dermatologist Dr Karen Burke says " We have moved beyond hope in a bottle. There is now science in a bottle" However, many of us are still not taking advantage of this. For instance, good cleansing is essential to skin health - without it the skin takes 25 days to rid itself of make-up.
Clinical ingredients are at last filtering through the premium end of the market and on to the high street, resulting in products known as cosmoceuticals and dermo-pharmaceutics. Most important in this development is the availability of budget moisturisers that contain high SPFs, dermatologists number one skincare recommendation.
Good anti-ageing skincare is now available and thanks to the new European Cosmetics Directive, companies are now prevented from making claims they cannot back up. The listing of ingredients on labels is good news for mass-market products, as they often contain almost identical ingredients to brands that cost three or four times as much. It is also good news for those who suffer from skin allergies. They now know what the product contains and if they are allergic to any of the ingredients.
Copyright and thanks to Diana Moran http://primetimelife.tv
www.primetimelife.tv does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this information. Copyright www.primetimelife.tv 2010. All rights reserved. No copying, downloading, publishing or republishing without written permission from www.primetimelife.tv authorised representatives. Full details of www.primetimelife.tv licence details are at
http://primetimelife.tv/home/factsheets/n40a728dc5288952a0c41c9f70b70efe9/
