Aging sucks.
I am a woman of a certain age. Not that I mind it- I am grateful to be in my 50s, to be healthy, to have three healthy children and a career I love. I knew this was coming, as I have treated the changes of perimenopause and menopause for years. But it still sucks. And with our current selfie zoom world, where facebook or shutterfly show you “your photo from 5 years ago!” you are reminded of the changes daily.
Some basic things to know.
Aging is not linear. It feels like a cliff.
I see this all the time. “I looked great last week, and all of the sudden I look terrible!” Welcome to the hormones of aging. When you go through perimenopause and menopause it is like a one two punch, and everything changes quickly. You go from your belly looking okay to having it sag. Your neck goes from something you didn’t notice, to something with wrinkly skin your kids play with when they hug you. Your boobs sag. Your eyelids hood. It is not pretty. And it seemingly happens overnight.
Your skin quality changes quickly.
And there is nothing you can do about it. Sure there are lasers and creams which will “tighten” your skin. All of these are temporary and don’t do much (if anything at all). Your pores get larger. Hairs grow out of nowhere. Your skin loosens. Exercise won’t fix it. There are things you can do- sunscreen, don’t smoke, don’t have wild weight fluctuations, wear good bras, eat whole foods- which may help. But they don’t stop aging. (Though there are possible things on the horizon to help with aging at a cellular level- see my blogs on the science of aging HERE. And read about the benefits of fat grafting stem cells. I love those. BLOGS)
The timing of this is predictable. Age 46. Age 51.
The exact timing varies from person to person of course, but perimenopause tends to hit most women around age 45-46, and then the second punch of menopause around 51 – 52. You will likely see the most rapid change around this time.
Plastic surgery can help.
Please know I am not a used car salesman telling you to buy another car. But I do a lot of eyelid surgery, facial fat grafting, breast reductions and lifts, and tummy tucks to fix a lot of these changes. And know, many of them are fixable. Or at least make-better-able.
Fixing many of these issues is not just cosmetic.
Eyelids hood, so you can’t see well and causes eye strain. (And if you are doing botox to the forehead, the wrinkles are getting deeper because your eyelid skin has stretched. Fixing the eyelid helps fix the root of the problem.) Really droopy or large breasts make it impossible to exercise and cause back and neck strain. Hanging belly skin with stretched out muscles can lead to back issues and urinary incontinence.
Know you are not alone. This is normal, just part of the circle of life.