Anti-Aging Cream Is Not a Good Look
Growing up, I would always see women in my household getting ready for the day with their meticulous skincare routines consisting of anti-wrinkle creams, serums that prevented age spots, and powders that hid blemishes. I would hear relatives gossiping about their high school classmates’ posts on FaceBook, commenting about how they look “two decades older’’ than their actual age, worried that they would “be next” to experience the oh-so horrifying wrinkles.
The fear of aging is not just within familial influences, but socially ingrained as well. In the article “Aging in America: Ageism and General Attitudes toward Growing Old and the Elderly” Raqota Berger writes, “At the center of this marginalization and devaluing of the elderly is the mass media. The mass media has largely become the central nervous system of American society and has a massive impact on people’s values, beliefs, and perceptions.”
In a society that values self-image, it can be difficult trying not to be self-conscious about your appearance, especially with influencers promoting beauty and skincare products on social media. What’s concerning about this is that many of these products are being targeted towards children as young as 10 years old, specifically young girls.
In an interview with The Guardian, Dr. Anjali Mahto, a consultant dermatologist from Self London, mentions that it’s a common occurrence for her to see younger patients at her clinic. “Most have been heavily influenced by social media (TikTok in particular) and influencers who are showing their in-depth routines, most often accompanied by luxury skincare brands. There is often an unhealthy focus on anti-aging too, despite their young age.” According to Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the only products preteens need are a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunblock. If their skin needs additional products, they should speak to a board-certified dermatologist. Any other product, especially if it includes retinol, would be harmful for their young skin.
But with the rise of preteens frequenting beauty stores-–dubbed as the “Sephora kids” — this raises concerns about some of the products’ side effects on their young skin, such as Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe. One preteen who experienced some of the side effects, Leora, says that she got into skincare through her friends and YouTube, stating they wanted the “trendy products” and to look “preppy.”
As someone who has had a skincare routine since they were a preteen (thank you acne), I completely understand these young kids’ worries about wanting to fit in with their peers and look like the people they see on the screen. However, it’s concerning to think about the internal, long-term effects this will have on them, particularly on their attitudes on aging.
It can be difficult trying not to worry about aging in a society where being youthful is highly valued in comparison to growing in age, with fashion trends such as the coquette aesthetic on the rise. Writer Ian Kumamoto describes the aesthetic as “fundamentally about nostalgia and reverting back to a childlike state of comfort.” While wearing bows and lacy dresses are not infantilizing, those are common markers associated with childhood due to their soft, dreamy nature. And while I do love the reclamation of femininity the coquette aesthetic inspires, it also makes me skeptical of its role within society’s pedophilic beauty standards towards women.
In Taylor Percella Smith’s article titled “The Infantilization of Women and Pedophillic Beauty Standards in Western Culture” she comments on this, stating, “Our society has normalized this infantilization of women with pedophilic beauty standards and sexual expectations, and although it may be a controversial take, it is clear as day once you begin to see examples of it manifest around you everyday.”
Smith continues, “From hair removal, to pornography, to child pageants, to the erasure of tweens, and the emphasis of appearing youthful, the signs are flashing red all around us.” Essentially, the problem of pedophilic beauty standards are deep-rooted in our society. That’s not to say following any of these standards is wrong; in fact, I shave, I pluck my brows, and I love wearing cute dresses. But what’s frustrating is that we’re expected to maintain a certain level of youth, even if we’re considered to be “past our prime.” With the underlying prejudice of the elderly in mass media, it can be difficult to unlearn internalized biases towards getting older.
But despite this, there has been some progress made in striving to change ageist attitudes. By unlearning our own internal biases towards aging — and changing our overall mindset — can help destigmatize our societal views on aging. For instance, on Sept. 8 and 9 last year, media critics from different ages came together in a symposium at the Annenberg School for Communication to discuss how aging should be portrayed in media and the impact it leaves on its audience. UCI assistant Professor Philana Peyton references her research on how Black actors from old Hollywood experienced getting older. For them, growing older “was a triumph and not something to be feared.”
Similarly, influencers past the age of 50 are using their platforms to uplift their age in the beauty industry, focusing their brands to cater towards older demographics rather than younger consumers. One influencer, Lyn Slater, who has worked with luxury beauty brands including Ilia, Hermès Beauty, and Dior Parfums, with the condition that they don’t use “anti-aging” while marketing their products. Determined to break down the anti-aging rhetoric in the beauty industry, she says, “Ageism is a prejudice against everybody’s future self. You’re all going to get there; you’re all going to have wrinkles. It’s inevitable.”
While we do have a long way to go, the current progress that’s been made in deconstructing our internal biases towards aging makes me hopeful for a wrinkle-friendly future. Maybe then we’ll be able to show off our gray hairs and smile lines are achievements in our lives.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Debra Longwill
