Why men age well and women, well.....we just age

It isn’t fair.  Most men could really care less about their looks. They don’t tweeze, moisturize, wear make up on any sorts, sometimes I bet they don’t even wash. And when they don’t shave for a day or two, it often makes them even more handsome. It really isn’t fair that as men age, they somehow start to look even better and they don’t even have to try. Men develop a nice, square jawline, defined cheek bones, and even their gray hair looks good on them. What is the most unfair, when we women age we rarely look better than we did in our early twenties, and we spend hours each week working on our skin, our make up, our hair.

So why is it that men age so well and women, well… we just age?

Dr. Rodan & Dr. Field explain in their book Write Your Skin A Prescription For Change that as men age, they become more masculine in appearance. The unfortunate thing is that women also become more masculine in appearance. A very flattering look for my husband, a not so flattering look for me.

As women age we lose the features that are associated with beauty… plump cheeks, puffed lips, and a soft, rosy complexion. As men age the loss of those features makes them look more distinguished. As women age, the loss of those features makes us look more like a man. Yikes!

As women grow older we have a decline in estrogen and progesterone, causing us to take on more traditionally masculine features. We lose the fat in our faces so they become less cherubic and more angular. Our eyebrows flatten along with our lips (which also thin). More facial hair grows (ewww but often true) and we look a bit more rugged rather than ravishing.

It’s not all our fault. It’s just how our bodies work.  Unfortunately the aging process just happens to look better on a man than a women.

So now that I have you feeling super bummed, I’m going to pick you back up! We can’t stop our bodies from aging.  You just aged three minutes reading this blog post, aahhh! But we can minimize some of the effects of our clock ticking. And luckily as females, it isn’t so taboo for us to use skin creams, pluck, wax, whatever. If we have a skin problem there is lots of help available to us and we are expected to use it.  If you are a man with skin issues, society makes you feel a little unmanly as you stand in the moisturizer aisle at Target. So, we at least have one thing going for us ladies in age department!

There are hundreds, likely thousands, of skin care products, vitamins, even injections and surgeries that are available to help our skin, but the most important thing to know before you start is…. Don’t feel vain about trying to look better.

Here are what a few experts have to say on the subject:

“Our skin reflects our state of health and much of what we want the world to know about us,” says anthropologist Nina Jablonski, author of Skin: A Natural History.

Zoologist Desmond Morris says in his book The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Bodythat the most universally desirable feature of humans is not flowing blonde hair, abundant breasts or long, lean legs…  it is healthy, clear skin.

Doesn’t that make complete sense?! Your skin is the first thing people see when they look at you. It is our first impression. It is not unnatural to want to put your best face forward. Now, I am not a believer in changing what God created.  I don’t feel surgery or things like that should even be an option.  I believe we should work with what we have and help keep it healthy. That is why I chose to be a consultant for Rodan+Fields Dermatologists. I want to help people solve their skin issues… acne, eczema, wrinkles….. I want to help people feel good about the face they are putting out to the world. I want them to feel confident in who they are without having go under the knife.

It’s not vain to want to look as good as you feel, to have confidence in your appearance as much as you have confidence in your brains. So women, we may not age as well as men, but we do have the power to change it. We just need to find the right tools, but first and foremost we need to have confidence in ourselves and not feel bad about wanting to look good.

So, the tip for today is: We CAN age just as well as men!

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Information from this post was gained from Write Your Skin a Prescription for Change by Katie Rodan, M.D. and Kathy Fields, M.D. with Lori Bush. Dr. Rodan and Dr. Fields have nearly 50 years combined experience as dermatologists.

Rodan+Fields skin care product recommendation for women and men wanting to age well:

• Reverse
• Anti-Age
• Take your PerSKINality quiz to find out what skin needs you have and what regimines can help.

These products and more can be found at meloniflickinger.myrandf.com. As always, please feel free to contact me with questions and we can work together to find your skin solution. bmtmflick@att.net