Aging beautifully and gracefully, then vs now: Who did it better?

[PrettySquareGal]

Up until maybe the 1970s, not sure when it really started, women generally looked their age. By that I mean they weren't dying their hair in the numbers we see today, faces weren't puffed up with Botox and Collegen and plastic surgery wasn't as rampant. While oppressive and unfair it seemed to be generally regarded that a woman of a certain age was washed up and no longer sexy. Having said that, when I look at old photos and footage of aging people, I see more grays and less of the 45-is-the-new-12 look, but I also see a generally better looking population!

I know it's a personal opinion, but to me, most of the artifice of today beyond hair coloring is blatantly such and doesn't make one look more youthful. To me it looks fake, desperate and inelegant.

I am not stating that all "work" on one's face is a bad thing or always looks terrible. It's just that we are now a culture of Frankenfake faces and I don't like it.

What are your thoughts? Will you get "work" done to fight the face of aging?

 

[splintercellsz]

I agree PSG. To me, I like natural. Botox... is just.. bleh. Espically when they go overboard with it. They look surprised constantly. And who are they trying to attract with the clown faces?

But then again, I am not a big fan of dying the hair (so many fake blondes around here now, espically the blonde & black undertone combo), or the fake bodyparts/injections to make the wrinkles go away, etc. We all age, stop trying to hide it, because in the end, you look like a goof.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I did a little research and found this about 2011: "Women had almost 8.4 million cosmetic procedures, 91% of the total. The number of cosmetic procedures for women increased over 208% from 1997."

http://www.surgery.org/media/statistics

I wonder what the increase is from 1960, 50, 40, 30 and 1920?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I dye my hair, and have since I was in my twenties -- I started to get a grey streak when I was sixteen, and the last person I want to look like is Susan Sontag. I also refuse to get it cut into the Menopausal Helmet. My grandmother never did, so why should I?

As far as face work goes, I'm pushing fifty, and I didn't look twenty even when I *was* twenty. Why should I want to now? As my mother says, I've earned every one of these bags and wrinkles.

 

[hatophile]

Oddly, some of our basic good health strategies are also good for our skin and limit the aging effects on our looks:
Good hydration, fruits and vegggies, avoiding excess sun exposure, avoiding smoking, plenty of rest and excercise.
One of the worst effects is prolonged sun exposure, which was avoided in the earlier part of the 20th century, but in the later part of the century, the tanned body became desired. Now many women and men are suffering the consequences, not only in premature skin aging, but in a proliferation of skin cancer. The younger generation are also starting to have more skin malignancies as well.

 

[m0nk]

Up until the 70's, environment also didn't play quite the same role in aging. It's been proven that people's skin has been affected by poor air quality, and more processed foods causes such a wide range of ailments that the population scrambles to make up for it with even more synthetic means. Additionally, with the proliferation of cosmetic procedures (and their availability and accessibility) along with the viral spread of vanity, you'll see more of these procedures being performed. The new world culture sees beauty in different ways than they did 80 years ago...

 

[Aerojoe]

One of the worst effects is prolonged sun exposure, which was avoided in the earlier part of the 20th century, but in the later part of the century, the tanned body became desired. Now many women and men are suffering the consequences, not only in premature skin aging, but in a proliferation of skin cancer. The younger generation are also starting to have more skin malignancies as well.

I agree. Sun bathing is a very bad habit. I don't understand why still nowdays, a tanned skin is considered healthy and nice.

 

[Paul Roerich]

A spectacular success at aging beautifully. Lucky genes, good health, healthy habits, good makeup/hair, and exceptional plastic surgery can lead to this: http://shine.yahoo.com/the-thread-s...hion-weeks-oldest-runway-model-220400722.html


Carmen Dell'Orefice, age 81:

And in her 'teens:

 

[Paul Roerich]

By way of comparison, here's Carmen in the late 1940s and early '50s:

 

[hatophile]

I agree. Sun bathing is a very bad habit. I don't understand why still nowdays, a tanned skin is considered healthy and nice.

The other part of the equation is the fact that nowadays there is very limited skin coverage at the beach or pool. Most female bathing suits now don't leave much to the imagination or much covered, so the sun damage is even more widespread.

I think things may be changing, as I'm seeing my young nieces and other young women who seem less obsessed with tanning.

By the way, that 81 year old actress is a beauty at both age extremes.
My wife is very careful to avoid excess sun exposure and looks years less than her age.

 

[Undertow]

I look at hair dye like blood pressure medication: some people need it as they age, others don't, but it's not something one should do out of boredom (pink hair, green hair, etc). To me, it's like makeup - a lady shouldn't feel guilty for dying her hair anymore than using cosmetics, but a little modesty goes a long way.

Men dying their hair is vanity. If a man needs to be vain to get out of bed, fine, but he's still vain nonetheless.

I'm also not too big on plastic surgery. Work with the cards you're given. Sure, if you're disfigured or burnt to pieces, or if a chimp bites off your face, I get it. But if you're getting wrinkles, suck it up and smile.

 

[filfoster]

Unfairly, perhaps, men often age better than women. Think Sophia Loren or Racquel Welch as notable exceptions, and there is the comically enhanced Joan Rivers, but more Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and even James Caan. Yes, well Al Pacino and Robert Redford fell apart early, and there are scores of examples of self-induced calorie Kamikazes of both genders.

 

[Yeps]

I think that the big difference is that men are allowed to age. The culture wants its women to look young, but men can get better with age.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Bingo. And that's worse now than it's ever been. Did anyone ever say to Eleanor Roosevelt, "El, honey, you know, a little tuck here and there would work wonders."

 

[Paul Roerich]

It's a shame that men are allowed to age...if 'aging' means letting oneself go, and becoming a lethargic tub of lard.

 

[Paul Roerich]

Bingo. And that's worse now than it's ever been. Did anyone ever say to Eleanor Roosevelt, "El, honey, you know, a little tuck here and there would work wonders."

No, but I've seen a letter written by W.C. Fields in which he says that Eleanor "has a face like a torn pocket".

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Unfairly, perhaps, men often age better than women. Think Sophia Loren or Racquel Welch as notable exceptions, and there is the comically enhanced Joan Rivers, but more Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and even James Caan. Yes, well Al Pacino and Robert Redford fell apart early, and there are scores of examples of self-induced calorie Kamikazes of both genders.

Pardon the pun, but men have less "upkeep."

 

[Paul Roerich]

Pardon the pun, but men have less "upkeep."

Upkeep, meet Viagra.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Upkeep, meet Viagra.

Yes, after I submitted my reply, I thought of that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

No, but I've seen a letter written by W.C. Fields in which he says that Eleanor "has a face like a torn pocket".

That was one of the kinder critiques. Her political enemies made remarks that would blister paint. And she just smiled sweetly and ignored them. That's class.