Should you use anti-aging products?

Photo credit: Sura Nualpradid
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The day you are born, you start aging—but it’s really in your mid twenties that you begin to feel the anguish of your receding bodily splendor. It’s the time in your life when you get up early in the morning and rush straight to the bathroom mirror, only to whimper at those new freckles and age marks that’ve showed up overnight. You switch the television on, and as you settle your butts on the couch with a heavy heart, trying to comfort yourself with a cup of coffee, you see sexy models in bikini trying to sell their magical, anti-aging products—products you’re convinced would help you cover up those obvious blue veins, freckles, age spots and awful moles on skin!

It common for women to expend plenty of money on those magical products that would perhaps reverse the process of aging, and improve their supposedly hideous looks. Even though they work their butts off trying to overturn the dials of age clock, they continue to live an unhappy and miserable life, and envy others because of their beauty. The cause for their misery and dissatisfaction is deeply rooted in the idiosyncrasies of modern media conditioning. Women are hardened to believe that those sexy models on television shows looks so damn gorgeous just by using the products they’re advertising. In reality, they undergo a lot of cosmetic procedures to rejuvenate their skin to get that pixie look. It’s their job to look like a goddess to survive in the media industry.

I’d like to echo few lines from one of blog post where I wrote: Struggling to mold oneself into social standards of perfectness is more of a fool's pursuit as these standards, being dynamic, changes with the shifting epoch. Chasing physical perfection is about as prolific as chasing a shadow, and even people who go about in pursuit of what they have theorized as perfection usually do not end up contented or feeling any closer to perfection. And the rest is clear to you I guess.

One day while I was standing by the cash counter at a local mall waiting to pay my bills, I heard two ladies bantering behind me about some cosmetics they’d just bought. ‘Olay brings really awesome anti aging creams. It works wonders on me and makes my skin feel great all the time.’, said one who had the face of a banshee, horribly white. The other lady, who looked quite beautiful to me, replied, ‘Nah…I believe having a vegetarian diet and practicing yoga is more helpful in preventing anti-aging’’. The two ladies indulged into a ferocious debate attracting the attention of customers and vendors from the farthest corners, and then went out of the mall disputing all the way. I was left amused at the whole scenario.

These circumstances really help me explain the sophistication of media industry pretty well on occasions. The far-fetched hysteria of physical attractiveness which the alluring images of media have standardized, causes women to be more apprehensive in order to measure up to a such a refined media embodiment. Nevertheless, women who undergo positive media conditioning, like the yoga-loving lady I came across at the mall, are able to sustain their attractiveness in a better way.

I am not against the use of anti-aging cosmetics. I believe it’s important to be careful in choosing the right kinds of products. Take for example face scrubs. Face scrubs have become quite popular these days as an effective exfoliating agent. But do you know using any kind of face wash with scrub particles in it is bad for your skin? The sand-like particles present in face scrubs actually scuffs your face making it more vulnerable to the symptoms of aging.  On the other hand, products like sunscreen and moisturizers are very helpful in delaying the signs of aging, and keeping skin problems like dermatitis and melanoma at bay. However, when shopping for a sunscreen you should always make sure that the one you’re buying provides protection against both UVA and UVB radiations. 

As a health and fitness enthusiast, I recommend both men and women to keep their skin young and healthy by drinking lots of water, doing yoga daily, and using sun block and moisturizer every day. I also advice them to resist the temptation to apply any cheap chemicals on their priceless skin no matter how alluring it’s advertisement may appear. It’s  media conditioning after all.