Youth for Beauty No More

In case you missed it, Martha Stewart was recently featured in the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. My initial impression was “Good for them! Featuring women in their 60s!” Then I learned that, in fact, Martha Stewart is 81.

Martha Stewart is 81. Jennifer Anniston is 54. Charlize Theron is 47. At least half the celebrities in my beauty ads are of an age to be AARP members. Which naturally makes me wonder, “How can I, a mere mortal, keep my skin dewy and glowing forever?”

The answer, obviously – “Have millions of dollars to spend on specialists and products!” They make it look so easy. It’s so tempting to get caught in, “Well if they can, I can.” mindset. At least we’re opening the door by allowing aged women to be in makeup ads, but I almost wonder if that’s worse. When all the models were in their 20s, it was easy to brush off their good looks. Now it would appear that Cindy Crawford hasn’t aged in 30 years so we can no longer tout the “Well, they’re just young!” excuse.

The question of why we feel the pressure to maintain physical perfection gnaws at me. Especially as I contemplate how to raise two girls, preserving their confidence and buffering them against the unrealistic expectations of beauty that persist. Are the expectations growing or shrinking? I’m not sure.

All that to say, I don’t expect to look like Martha Stewart when I’m 81. But, for better or worse, I would like to try and maintain what I have, if nothing more than as a running experiment and setting an example for what DIY skin care can look like.

Skin Care is Self-Care

When I received my recent promotion to boss lady back in September, I made several commitments myself. A reset of goals to align with my renewed interest in a professional career. One of those commitments -wash your friggin’ face. Wash your face & skincare routine to be exact. Every night, no excuses.

I’ve never read Girl. Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, so I can’t speak to her basis for the title. My basis is that you must, especially if you are a pernicious I-can-have-it-all mothering type, take 5-10 minutes out of the day to care for yourself. Anything more than that is unrealistic for the amount of time I have to give or too expensive for me to bother.

But with approximately 80 million skin care products on the market, what does that even look like? Washing my face and putting on lotion seems like a great idea until I find myself opening a drawer cluttered with bottles and jars, the total dollar value of which I absolutely will not name here. Do I need retinol or retinoid? How many types of acid exactly do I need? Shouldn’t a self-care routine be more relaxing?

Skin Care Basics

Instead of continuing to mindlessly empty the shelves of Ulta and Sephora searching for the perfect product, I finally decided to settle in and do some research. When I was 21, I worked in the Whole Foods Health and Beauty department where I received my first education on what good skincare looked like. (I also received a lot of free product from vendors thus leading to my bottle addiction, but alas. You take the good with the bad.)

1. Investing in good product is worth it. Better product not only gives better results, but it normally requires less material making it more economically friendly than it first appears.
2. Treat your neck with the same care you treat your face.
3. You only really need 3 things. Cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen. All else is optional.

I’ve been following the rules with little scrutiny since, so I decided to see what the experts have to say. Trolling beauty blogs and dermatologist sites yielded similar advice. Yes, they’ll gladly offer you a plethora of added options, but if you can at least keep the three basics, you’re good.

But I’m aged and have sensitive European skin wrecked by the sun, so, let’s talk about those extras.

Serums, Toners, and Peels -Oh My!

I’m too scarred from the early aughts version of toners to invest in them, but otherwise I found this to be just the type of helpful graphic I was looking for. Confirming my order of placement was part 1, figuring out what serums and treatments I should be targeting was next. What’s the difference in all the specialized ingredients anyway?

Again, the dermatologists are already to the rescue with articles summarizing the major additives available. While some ingredients purport more clinical trials than others, suffice to say, any of the options will help. Make retinol a go to and otherwise, pick your poison. Which one works best? Honestly, who knows. If something was actually a standout in terms of efficacy, don’t you think there’d be a little more consistency in what dermatologist recommend? I went through at least 20 articles researching for this and got 20 different recommendations. Find something you like that makes you feel fresh and use it consistently.

And finally -drink water. So much water. Hardcore advocates of skin care will tell you to stop drinking alcohol and caffeine, but I prefer to leave joy and pleasure in my life. I’m happy to compensate by drinking a gallon of water a day, and so should you.