Staying beautiful after 60 may sound like the premise of a science-fiction movie, but one look at movie stars like Sharon Stone or Helen Mirren will tell you otherwise.
Women have always had a profound awareness of growing old. The worry of the face that looks back at the mirror every morning reveals a small measure of the distress that many women feel as they age.
For many women, getting older means being erased from a culture that once embraced them. In a society that associates youth with beauty, hope, and relevance, age can only be seen as undesirable. When you hold one value in veneration, its opposite must be held in disdain.
This cruel and ungrateful algebra is a product of thousands of years of cultural evolution. And it is difficult to change.
You Don’t Have to Be Young to Be Beautiful
To make matters worse for older women, the assault on their looks and worth is universal and brutally casual. It is fully endorsed by Hollywood and pop culture, and it often comes in the form of a subtle but pitiless indifference.
The deeper the lines on a woman’s face and the more frigid her hair, the more modern society is likely to assume that she is deaf, confused, and irrelevant. The age-beauty bias is so prevalent, its dogma so widely embraced that it is sometimes difficult to resist its seductiveness.
Prefer to listen rather than read?
If you’ve ever snatched a grey hair from your head or made a joke about Joe Biden’s age, or perhaps subtracted from your real age in conversation, then you know at least some of the older woman’s distress.
What most of society deems beautiful in women today is decidedly lavish with the features of youth, and it comes to us with all the tacky trappings of commercialization. For example, one of the strangest and most unsettling current fads is the emergence among so-called beautiful female celebrities of a single idealized face.
This face has flawless skin and prominent, high cheekbones. It has feline eyes and long, lush, almost cartoonish lashes; it has a small, button nose and full lips.
You look at this face on the cover of a magazine and it looks back at you emptily, as if its owner had vacated teh brain behind it or had fallen asleep with her eyes open. The face is distinctly Caucasian, but with vague ethnic touches.
This idealized vision, which we see in fashion runways, in movies, and on television, is quite aggressively the opposite of the physical appearance of older women.
The Beauty Bias Against Older Women
We can imagine how many senior women choose to simply ignore all this. And they do, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the AARP.
When researchers asked older women about the most popular beauty standards today, the top answers were reducing signs of aging (48%), using Botox and fillers (44%), accentuating features (43%), and being thin (34%).
Yet older women seemed significantly more likely than younger women to acknowledge beauty standards that allow for being natural, dressing casually, and wearing less make-up.
Still, the diminishing value that society attaches to an older woman’s looks can have some painfully tangible impacts on her life and well-being. Ours is a society in which older people often pay for having survived more, endured more, and lived longer.
Even worse, older women tend to bear a more significant brunt of age discrimination compared to older men.
In terms of employment opportunities, prejudice against older women manifests itself in various forms, such as unequal pay, limited career advancement opportunities, or even job loss based on a combination of age, appearance, and gender biases.
Staying beautiful after 60 Is Not About Concealing Your Age
There is, of course, nothing wrong with staying beautiful after 60. The desire to be beautiful—to take pride in one’s appearance—is in no way an unhealthy objective for anyone, let alone older women.
What many older women do find insulting is the cultural pressure to look young. Staying beautiful after 60 need not – and should not – be about concealing your age or pretending to be younger than you really are.
Tammy Stokes, founder and owner of the Cafe West Express in Atlanta, Georgia, and author of the book, “Live Your Healthiest Life,” points out that there’s a huge difference between wanting to be healthy and beautiful and wanting to be young.
The secret to staying attractive in your later years is to accept – not to defy – age, she says.
“By taking good care of yourself and respecting your mind, body, and spirit, age becomes less important,” says Stokes. “What really matters is how you feel throughout the process.”
6 Pro-Aging Tips for Staying Beautiful After 60
Skincare has often been associated with addressing specific issues or concerns, such as using retinol or other active ingredients to combat signs of aging. But the perspective is evolving.
Rather than solely focusing on reacting to issues as they arise, dermatologists have now shifted to proactive, pro-aging skincare. This new approach emphasizes prevention, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and being attentive to the changing needs of your skin over time.
Adopting a pro-aging beauty regimen means taking care of your skin consistently and considering factors like diet, hydration, sun protection, and lifestyle habits that can impact skin health.
The “pro-aging” mindset encourages embracing the natural aging process and supporting the skin’s natural functions rather than solely trying to fight or reverse the signs of aging, says Los Angeles-based celebrity facialist Candace Marino.
Marino explains that the concept of pro-aging embraces the journey of life. It appreciates the natural aging process as a blessing. It involves taking care of your body, showing it love, providing it with proper nourishment from the inside out, and embracing the experience and self-assurance that accompany aging instead of fixating on the past.
This doesn’t mean that effective ingredients like retinol are obsolete. They still have a place in skincare routines, especially when used appropriately and in consideration of individual skin needs. In fact, they are a necessary component of staying beautiful after 60.
The list below provides six inspiring pro-aging tips on how to truly appreciate the process of staying beautiful after 60.
Use Eye and Facial Creams with Collagen Boosters
The under-eye area is delicate and often prone to dryness, which may cause itchy irritation and fine lines. Eye creams with collagen boosters like peptides or glycolic acid can be helpful for this area.
Collagen is a protein that maintains the skin’s structure and firmness. As we age, our skin produces less collagen, leading to dryness and sagging. Peptides are small molecules that signal the skin to produce more collagen, helping to hydrate and restore your skin’s protective elasticity.
Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that exfoliates the skin, removing dead cells and allowing better absorption of moisture. It also stimulates collagen production, promoting skin renewal and hydration – which are essential to staying beautiful after 60.
By using an eye cream containing these ingredients, you’re providing extra hydration and encouraging collagen production. This helps the skin under your eyes to look plumper, smoother, and healthier.
Address Hormonal Acne Issues
Staying beautiful after 60 means adjusting to your body’s changes. If you are starting to see a resurgence of acne or a sudden flare-up around, this could potentially be linked to the onset of menopause.
During this time, hormonal fluctuations, particularly a decrease in estrogen, can impact various bodily functions, including skin health. Acne resurgence or changes in skin condition during menopause are not uncommon due to these hormonal shifts.
If this is the case, reduce your dairy and sugar intake to address potential acne triggers. Medical research has associated both dairy and high-glycemic foods – like sugary items – with exacerbating acne in some individuals, though the impact can vary from person to person.
Eliminating or reducing these items from the diet might help manage acne symptoms for some – which is obviously important to staying beautiful after 60.
But do remember that it’s crucial to note that everyone’s body responds differently, and the effectiveness of dietary changes can vary. Consult your doctor or dermatologist to create an individualized plan.
Your doctor or dermatologist can assess the specific situation, consider personal health factors, and recommend the most suitable course of action, which might include dietary changes, skincare routines, or other treatments for your individual needs.
Use The Right Kind of Sunscreen
Staying beautiful after 60 means protecting your skin. Use a sunscreen that contains emollients and humectants.
As people age, changes occur in the skin’s structure and composition. One of these changes involves the skin becoming thinner and drier.
This is often due to a decrease in the skin’s ability to retain moisture and maintain its natural hydration levels. Factors like a reduction in the production of natural oils, external environmental stressors, and lifestyle choices can contribute to this.
When discussing hydrating sunscreen and staying beautiful after 60, the term “emollients” refers to ingredients that help soften and smooth the skin by filling in the gaps between skin cells. They create a protective barrier that locks in moisture, making the skin feel more supple and reducing the appearance of dryness and fine lines.
On the other hand, “humectants” are substances that attract moisture from the environment or deeper layers of the skin to the outermost layer, helping to keep the skin hydrated.
A hydrating sunscreen formulated with both emollients and humectants can offer dual benefits. It not only provides sun protection but also helps address the age-related issues of thinning and dry skin.
Take Good Care of Your Heart
Staying beautiful after 60 means taking care of your heart. Engage in physical activity to keep your heart strong and maintain circulation. It also means learning to manage stress. Chronic stress can negatively impact heart health, so adopt stress-relief techniques like meditation or yoga.
Heart health plays a crucial role in maintaining beauty and overall well-being as you age, especially by the time you reach 60.
This is because a well-functioning heart ensures adequate blood circulation throughout the body. Good circulation delivers oxygen and essential nutrients to your skin cells, promoting a healthy complexion.
Poor circulation can lead to dull, pale skin and even contribute to conditions like acne or eczema.
A healthy heart also supports the delivery of nutrients and the removal of waste products, which aids in the maintenance of firmness and elasticity in the skin. Poor heart health may contribute to premature aging, including the development of wrinkles and fine lines.
A strong cardiovascular system ensures that your body efficiently transports oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs, including muscles. This can help you maintain higher energy levels and overall vitality, contributing to a more active and vigourous lifestyle – which is among the most important secrets behind staying beautiful after 60.
Eat the Right Kind of Food
Staying beautiful after 60 means eating the right kind of food. Consume a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. These include berries, oranges, spinach, kale, carrots, and bell peppers. They help combat oxidative stress, support collagen production and promote healthy skin.
Be sure to incorporate lean protein sources like fish, poultry, tofu, beans, lentils, and nuts – all of which are important to staying beautiful after 60. Protein aids in tissue repair and helps maintain skin elasticity. It keeps the skin supple and smooth. These are important beauty factors for women who are interested in staying beautiful after 60.
Include sources of healthy fats such as avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds. These fats support skin health, help maintain moisture, and reduce inflammation.
Choose whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, oats, and whole wheat bread with your meals. These provide fibre, which aids digestion and helps in the removal of toxins from the body, contributing to clearer skin.
Consume omega-3-rich foods like fatty fish (salmon, mackerel), flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts. Omega-3s support skin health, reducing inflammation and keeping the skin supple. Remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep your body and skin hydrated. Herbal teas and infused water can also add variety while keeping you hydrated.
Minimize intake of processed foods, sugary snacks, and beverages, as these can contribute to inflammation and skin issues.
Staying Beautiful After 60 Means Quitting Bad Habits
If you smoke, quit it now. Staying beautiful after 60 means getting rid of unhealthy habits. Smoking has numerous negative effects on a woman’s looks, impacting various aspects of her appearance.
Perhaps the most obvious consequence of smoking is that it accelerates skin aging. Smoking reduces blood flow to the skin, depriving it of oxygen and vital nutrients. This leads to a dull, uneven complexion, and premature wrinkles, particularly around the mouth and eyes.
Smoking can also cause a yellowing or greyish hue to the skin, resulting in a lack of radiance and a generally unhealthy appearance. Tobacco smoke damages collagen and elastin, crucial proteins that maintain skin’s firmness and elasticity. As a result, smokers are more prone to sagging skin and a leathery texture.
Tobacco use stains teeth causes bad breath, and can lead to gum disease. Over time, it can contribute to tooth loss and a far less attractive smile.
Quitting smoking can significantly reverse some of these effects and improve overall health – a key to staying beautiful after 60. After quitting, the body can start to repair itself, improving skin tone, reducing wrinkles, and boosting overall well-being.
Consulting with a healthcare professional or seeking support from smoking cessation programs can be beneficial for women looking to quit smoking and improve their appearance and health.
The Take Away
For many women, the sudden freedom from the youthful erotic leering of men can trigger a sense of grief and loss.
That need not be the case. Staying beautiful after 60 does not entail fighting the aging process. Aging is the sum of your experiences and the many conflicting emotions and forces that have shaped you.
But it can also lead to a new sense of self-determination and sweeping new possibilities to redefine yourself. Staying beautiful after 60 can open new doors for you – many of which you could not have known when you were younger.
There is no right way to get older. If there is, it appears we haven’t quite mastered it yet. But over time, we have learned that staying beautiful after 60 is quite possible. In fact, many women manage to look astonishingly beautiful in later life just by loving themselves.
After all, real beauty – the kind of beauty that endures and shines despite the years – is more than just skin deep. What do you think?
Disclaimer
The content provided on MySeniors.World is for informational purposes only and is not intended as either financial or medical advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any investment or health-related decisions.
Posts may contain affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission – at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Your support helps us continue providing valuable content.
