Beauty, Treatments
In January Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) and Allergan, the leading maker of facial fillers, hosted a discussion around the perceptions of ageing and the changing attitudes to aesthetic procedures.
I couldn’t attend the debate but it didn’t stop me from internalising my thoughts on the subject. My initial reaction was why would the two be mutually exclusive? Surely you can be a feminist and still want to look good. I say good, because realistically, I don’t know any woman who considers herself beautiful or at least not one that would admit it. We are often harsh on ourselves and although we know that self-love is a valuable commodity in the bank of life, we don’t practice it when it comes to our looks.
I wish I could remember exactly when I first noticed my face was ageing, I don’t mean to sound blasé, I was just so wrapped up in bringing up my children that I wasn’t the main focus. Luckily enough I wasn’t working, competing in a corporate environment with women half my age, stoked with collagen and a confidence that I had hung up with my power suit. Had I have been working I might have noticed sooner.
Ageing didn’t concern me in my thirties and early forties I was too busy trying to be everything Martha Stewart told me I could be. She didn’t warn me that when I hit fifty I would be considered old and people’s perceptions of me would change. I had always been ‘very young to be holding this position’ or ‘so lovely to have children as a youngster’, it was a rude awakening to arrive at fifty and be the subject of negativity. At the time, and I’m pleased to say attitudes have changed in the past six years; there was so much negativity surrounding older women.
Although there’s less negativity the pressure remains. Women are working longer, competing against younger women and the rise of social media means we now carry around a constant reminder of our ageing faces. Youth is vital, youth is attractive and we want to feel as attractive as possible for as long as possible. Thankfully we now have procedures that can make that happen.
These are the results from research carried out by Allergan to find out how we really feel about ourselves, it makes interesting reading:
When CEW hosted the debate about ageing and aesthetic procedures the audience comments reflected the research, with one person saying “It’s ok to have whatever you want done, it doesn’t matter what people think of you, it’s what you think of yourself. If you look nice and feel good that’s what’s great.” Another highlighted the action of keeping treatment a secret by saying “The biggest betrayal of the sisterhood is secrecy i.e. not telling each other when you’ve had treatment and therefore allowing other women to think you look that way naturally.” And one even suggested that “Lying about your treatment is the modern equivalent of lying about your age!”
I have never had fillers or any aesthetic treatment, not because I have any aversion towards them, I just haven’t felt ready for them. Maybe I’m in denial, in the same way research has shown we feel younger than our true age, I’m convincing myself that I don’t look too bad without them. But at the moment I’m approaching ageing in the same way I did the menopause, positively and holistically, and arming myself with enough information that if, or when, the time comes I need more intervention I know what course of action to take. And believe me, when the time comes I want every weapon in the arsenal to help me in the fight against ageing.
I feel strongly about women’s rights, about choice, and about how we are accepted as we age and I believe that aesthetic treatments carried out safely by qualified doctors can be life enhancing. That’s why at Fighting Fifty we will always discuss the alternative ways of ageing and offer as much information on the subject as possible.
I truly believe that you can be a feminist and love fillers. Do you?
Interested in finding out more about Juvederm aesthetic treatments in general? You can discover your local reputable practitioner and clinic here: https//locator.juverderm.co.uk
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Allergan
