Desperation at getting old

 Everyone goes through it: a reckoning with one's own mortality in the mirror, poking at eye bags and tugging at folds of loose skin... It's part of the human condition to fear ageing, but among millennials and gen Z there seems to be a heightened anxiety around growing older, coupled with an increasingly casual attitude towards getting fillers and Botox compared with previous generations.

Almost half of millennial women polled by the BBC in 2019 said they believed that having a cosmetic procedure was akin to having a haircut. I can say from experience that it is not. Like many I have fallen victim to negative anti-ageing rhetoric...

Only a Lock of Hair
John Everett Millais (1829-1896)
Photo Credit: Manchester Art Gallery [CC BY-NC-ND] 

I spent £700 on two rounds of filler with a trained doctor... But even though I paid top whack and went to the renowned Harley Street, my face did not take as well to the second round of filler, and it has left a visible dent under one of my eyes that I now obsess over in photos.

Despite this, getting more "tweakments" has still crossed my mind. Recently, after a period of prolonged stress, I became paranoid that it was showing on my face. "I'm getting Botox," I told several friends convinced I was developing forehead lines. But I didn't cave in - and I'm glad, as once I started looking after myself again, they disappeared...

So why are we all so desperate to pretend we're not growing older? There is a collective and largely premature fear of the effects of ageing. For my generation, being perpetually online and scrolling through the lives of others must also be a factor. It keeps us locked into a constant state of comparison. Then, the stream of bad news on war and the climate crisis is making us all depressed, anxious and nervous about dying... For women, our looks are aesthetic capital after all - and being beautiful can unlock social and professional success.

But these treatments often don't come with warnings; it's up to the consumer to research potential pitfalls. Botched cosmetic procedures among young people are on the rise, with too many treatments taking place in unregulated beauty salons and carried out by unqualified practitioners...

The pursuit of youth keeps many of us in a chokehold. And while I'm all for personal agency when it comes to cosmetic treatments, looking young  is not a panacea for all life's woes...

(Georgina Lawton, The Guardian, 2024)

Everyone goes through it: a reckoning with one's own mortality in the mirror, poking at eye bags and tugging at folds of loose skin. Everyone? No this is not true. A reckoning with one's own mortality in the mirror? Bunkum!

It's part of the human condition to fear ageing. Evidence for this please. It's never crossed my mind.

Almost half of millennial women polled by the BBC in 2019 said they believed that having a cosmetic procedure was akin to having a haircut. I can say from experience that it is not. Drawing on your own experience makes sense as long as you do not make generalisations from it.

 Like many I have fallen victim to negative anti-ageing rhetoric. Come off it. A victim? Aren't you a grown woman who has an independent mind - who doesn't just follow the herd?

Portrait of an Old Woman
unknown artist
Photo Credit: South Lanarkshire Council [CC BY-NC-ND]

For my generation, being perpetually online and scrolling through the lives of others must also be a factor. It keeps us locked into a constant state of comparison. Why compare yourself with other people? What's that got to do with you? Lead your own life.

Then, the stream of bad news on war and the climate crisis is making us all depressed, anxious and nervous about dying. Surely for many people these events do not make them all depressed or anxious or nervous about dying?

For women, our looks are aesthetic capital after all - and being beautiful can unlock social and professional success. Some modern thinking here!

But these treatments often don't come with warnings; it's up to the consumer to research potential pitfalls. Yes and Yes!

Botched cosmetic procedures among young people are on the rise, with too many treatments taking place in unregulated beauty salons and carried out by unqualified practitioners. This has been known about for years and years.

 looking young  is not a panacea for all life's woes... How true!