Wrinkles on the skin, gray streaks of hair, and dark spots across the body. All of these are completely normal things that humans experience at one point in time. I am, of course, talking about aging. Growing old is something that you really can’t avoid, as you are always aging, every year, every month, every day, every minute. Everyone is constantly growing older, even if that age is not visually significant.
Throughout history, people have tried almost anything to look as young as possible. From this worry, many stories were born. The fountain of youth, which allows you to stay young forever, vampires, who remain the age they were when they were turned, witches who sacrifice young women to stay “beautiful” and “young.” People in the real world have taken extreme measures themselves to stay youthful, such as urine facials and putting mercury on your skin.
The misconception that beauty is the same as looking young or child-like is not only creepy but very harmful. It pushes the belief that people are at the peak of their life when they are in their developing years, and that once they hit a certain age it’s all downhill from there. People believe that once you’re “old,” you cannot have fun, you cannot feel good about yourself, and no one in their right mind would find you attractive or beautiful.
Tiktok especially pushes this idea. Influencers push this idea that you must look fresh out of the womb at all times, and if you don’t then you’re basically on your deathbed. You can’t emote properly, smiling causes smile lines, and furrowing your brow causes frown lines and forehead wrinkles. You are encouraged to spend hundreds of dollars on putting one of the most poisonous substances in your skin; botulinum toxin. All of this, just to look like you’re twenty for a few extra years.
This fear of aging has been heavily monetized. Anti-aging straws, which were originally made for people with disabilities, are now being sold and bought en masse. Despite no studies backing them up, people are saying that these straws will prevent wrinkles because you’re not pursing your lips. Another big thing that influencers love pushing down our throats is supplements and skincare products. Scrolling through Instagram or Tiktok, chances are that you’ll be advertised some ridiculously expensive product that has ‘anti-aging’ said somewhere on the packaging or advertisements.
While some of these products definitely work, most of them are just plain scams. One of the most popular things that multi level marketing companies sell are actually cosmetic and anti-aging products. Most, if not all supplements and teas are also, unsurprisingly, complete lies. They convince you that, without these “luxury” products, you’re just like everyone else. Without them, you’re some hideous beast.
People who have passed society’s definition of their “prime” should be allowed to have fun, too. Just because you’re no longer 19 years old and freshly-graduated, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have friends or go on adventures. You don’t have to lock yourself away, and spend the rest of your life working and doing taxes. If you find yourself falling into this loop, you’re able to break yourself out of it. No matter how old you are, you still have a life to live.
