Ageing is natural. Ageing is inevitable. We all age. And there isn’t much anyone can do about it.
But in our modern world, ageing is looked upon as a curse. Something to be discriminated against. A 2018 study emphasised that in the world of the fair and the glamorous - Hollywood - ageing is considered to be the death knell for meaty roles.
According to the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, women over 40 are marginalised to say the least. Unless they have the mantle of being a Meryl Streep or the legacy of a Nicole Kidman, their chances of being in speaking roles and making an impact through their talent disappear.
In fact, Hollywood is notorious for casting younger actresses in roles that clearly demand more maturity. And it is not about the fabled “role fit”.
You may argue that the fact that an industry running on the notion of perfection shuns age isn’t anything to be shocked about, but let’s bring the problem closer to home.
How about healthcare?
The paper “Discrimination against older women in health care” says that older women are less likely to receive proper care for renal, dental, and cardiac complications, as compared to their male peers. Moreover age discrimination laws are ineffective when it comes to older women in the workplace. They are a unique demographic because they have vulnerabilities due to both their gender and their age.
We can agree that a lot needs to change in the world to support, protect, and cherish older women. But the sneakier “villain” lives in your head.
The reverence for youth is so deeply ingrained in the minds of women that the words “anti-ageing” don’t even lift eyebrows.
That ageing is something that can be embraced and celebrated isn’t an option.
Our society is about suppressing the changes our bodies go through as the decades inch towards 50.
Real change needs to start with the people who are being denied and deprived.
In this case, real change needs to start with you!
This is why the Pro-Age movement has been conceived.
It is a beacon of hope for mature women who want to go with the flow of time, feel good about how far they’ve come and what they’ve accomplished, and set their own standards of beauty, health, and grace.
Those who have seen the TED Talk by activist Monica Lewinsky, remember her little joke “I do not want to feel 20 again”.
The truth is, while “feeling 20 again” is romanticised in movies and in our culture, many women have rocky youths… and the calm of maturity together with the reason of experience set in with the years; making the 40s and the 50s the “happiest times” of their lives.
But this inner equilibrium is not appreciated, and women are actively encouraged to “turn back the clock”.
The Pro-Age movement says “NO”.
It is all about empowered ageing.
Pro-age women understand that they grow more valuable in their inner resources with each passing day. And their focus is on being the best at their age that they can be.
It’s intensely personal. And it frees you up to cherish your own progress in life, without the challenge of “perfection” looming on the horizon.
Pro-Age is the first step towards real equality with men, who are viewed with increasing respect and authority in deference to their age.
And Pro-Age desperately needs your pledge and support.
To understand what pro-age make-up is, we need to understand anti-aging.
Anti-aging is a sentiment that shames you for the signs of aging. It says that because you've been around the sun more number of times that somehow your instrinsic worth has taken a hit. Anti-aging proclaims that it is possible for women over 50 to look like a 20-year old, and not just that — it is essential to be 3 decades younger to qualify as being "beautiful".
Pro-age make-up is born of the pro-age lifestyle.
The difference between anti-aging & pro-aging is subtle yet powerful.
Pro-aging says physical looks have nothing to do with your self-concept or self-worth. Beauty afterall is subjective. It lies in the eyes of the beholder. It transforms from one century to another, and even from one decade to the next.
Pro-age make-up is cosmetic and skincare that's researched and tested to:
Identify age induced damage.
Heal the signs of aging and instruct your cells to engage in healthy turnover.
Cement this new found skin and cell health well into your 50s, 60s, and beyond.
It's not about hiding, it is about healing to reveal your best self, at every age.
But pro-age make-up isn't the end all and be all - the revolution also lies in the support. Pro-age brands must build a community nurturing this pro-age sentiment. Helping women look their best — but also helping them wake up to the fact that experience trumps youth and like fine wine, aging renders them more graceful, more valuable, and a lot more worthy.
1. Identify a brand that understands the pro-age meaning. You can either see the words “pro-age” used in their copy. Or just go with one that does not make you feel bad about who you are and the changes your body has gone through as a result of the natural process of ageing. A simple google search for “Pro-Age make-up” may also do the trick.
2. Identify your goal from the make-up or the cosmetic product you wish to purchase. You have to be honest with yourself. Are you looking to enhance what you have? Or are you still seeking to hide the “signs of ageing”?
3. Learn more about what healthy means for you. This is absolutely essential. What does healthy and glowing skin, lashes, lips look like for a woman your age? Despite what the media has hammered into our psyche, 50 is not supposed to look like 20. It’s unnatural.
4. If you have problem areas, what are they? Don’t confuse the changes due to ageing with the changes that result from poor diet, too much stress, or lack of exercise.
5. Once you have educated yourself and have an eye out for the lure of anti-ageing, evaluate products from pro-age brands for the following:
Research conducted by the brand to solve the specific problems that you’re facing at your age.
Simple and proven solutions to these problems.
Education. Knowing yourself is on you. But your pro-age make-up brand should also help you live the pro-age way with lifestyle suggestions and content that stops you from making mistakes which exacerbate your problems.
Role models. 20-year old YouTubers are not people you should follow for beauty advice. Pro-Age brands need to walk their talk and introduce mature experts who can inspire you to embrace yourself and script your own definition of beauty.
Pro-Age make-up helps you look good on the outside, and feel good on the inside.
It may just break the “cycle of perfection” that has plagued women for almost a century.
It’s an exciting time to be whatever age you are!
Celebrate yourself.