Who Are Your Aging Role Models?
Hello acne healers,
I am taking a brief pivot from the typical acne email to write on something else clients ask me about a lot.... aging. As acne is more and more in my rearview mirror, the conversation on aging is something I have been increasingly visiting for myself too.
There isn't much about aging that gets a positive rap in our world. Nearly everything about aging is how to avoid it, reverse it, and fight back - basically how completely undesirable it is to age. We're told to buy creams, do botox, keep wrinkles at bay. But regardless of what we do, aging is an inevitable outcome for every single one of us. So why is it so bad to age?
I can't (and would never want to) define your aging journey for you. But I do want to share a bit about where I'm at with my authentic aging process so that it may help you in navigating and smoothing out your own.
One of the things that has helped keep me most grounded in my aging process is by looking for aging women who are doing it well. These women give me a benchmark of what I wish to emulate and grow into. Early into my career, I came across a woman named Cindy Joseph. A photographer who became a model at age 48, picked up by a Dolce and Gabbana scout the very day she chopped off the last bit of her color-dyed hair to reveal a full mane of silvery gray.
Cindy bucked the notion that older women are less attractive in a very bold and in-your-face way. She started a "pro-aging" beauty line (what?!) and advocated for women to claim themselves where they are completely. The interview with Cindy below will blow your mind.
Another woman I have recently fully fallen in love with is Justine Bateman. A famous actress in her 20s, Justine is now a writer, director, and producer. Her aging journey started with googling herself and the autofill came back "Justine Bateman looks old." It hurt, and it sent her on a journey to do her own inquiry work on what is aging and what it means to her.
What I love about Justine is how deeply authentic she is and how much she owns who and what she is. Nothing superficial can touch anything about how Justine feels about herself because she is deeply rooted in feeling that she looks rad and not caring at all about what anyone else thinks. BOLD!!
What both of these ladies have in common is confidence. They have done their work to examine what aging means to them and said screw it to anything that countered that.
Having these women as role models is extremely valuable to me as they are modeling what I wish to aim towards and authentically grow into for myself. And that is something I wish for every single one of us.
Homeplay: find an older person you wish to emulate. What is it about them that you are drawn to? Where can you cultivate that more in your life?
Elise May, CN + LE, is a holistic esthetician, acne nutritionist, and founder of Skin Nutritious. Since 2009, she has helped over 1,600 clients overcome acne with a unique blend of coaching, treatments, and holistic skincare.
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