In today’s world, being young and maintaining a youthful look is fashionable and appealing as portrayed by the media. Mass media has used flawless images that have greatly influenced lifestyle of the masses especially women. In this case people are willing to go an extra mile to maintain or regain a youthful look either through the use of cosmetics, regular exercises to maintain fitness or even observing diet. All these measures call for some sort of sacrifice and people in this modern world especially women are willing to pay the price and make it happen.
Efforts to maintain a beautiful body with age did not begin with the 21st
century generation as the past generations had various ways of maintaining youthful appearance such as use of plant products, mud and even milk. Today most of the modern beauty products contain the ancient products as part of their ingredients which is an indication that search for beauty and maintenance of youthful look started way back.
Old age has for many years been associated with declined mental and physical health and many people in the 21st century are working very hard not to experience such as they advance in age. In this modern society full of innovation and opportunities, many people and especially women and the youth have higher disposable income and therefore can afford to take good care of their health and maintain the best image of themselves.
The practicability of person of an advanced age looking young has been proved by the rich celebrities who despite their advanced age, that is being over 45 years, they continue to look young and in many instances their images are used to advertise various products (BAILEY, 2009).. Celebrities invest most of their resources and time in maintaining their bodies in order to remain relevant in the society. Celebrities are normally the first people to embrace beauty products that enhances their appearance in order to attract more following from the public and also attract business opportunities. Their huge reliance on the beauty products and their influence in the society makes the producers and marketers in the beauty industry to use them as the face of their products.
Older women have in recent times become the main target in the beauty industries as more anti-aging products have been fronted in the market. Women are normally very sensitive on their looks and they often don’t like to be associated with old age and therefore in most cases they are ready to embrace anti-aging products at whatever costs to regain or maintain their original young image (BAILEY, 2009).. Most of the anti-aging products exist in the black market which means their effects have not been established but women still go for them in a bid to look good.
Low self-esteem has also pushed women towards the use of anti- aging products. Being unattractive remains to be the main concern of any woman in any society. Women tend to appreciate positive complements especially when it comes to their outside appearance. This is a clear indication that looks are very important in the life of a woman.
The anti-aging products market has continued to grow over a period of time as many people continue to embrace the products. The main contributor to this steady growth is strategy used to advertise the products where top older identifiable celebrities are used as the face of the products (BAILEY, 2009). The adverts are normally placed in all forms of mass communication , that is televisions, billboards, magazines and other accessible forms of communications, this way information about the products appears to be credible and true thus pulling more customers. Having an image of a popular celebrity pushes the demand of the anti-aging product since consumers believe that celebrities have class and they can only use products that have been tested and proven.
The anti-aging products industry has made efforts to incorporate science in a bid to produce products that are said to have medicinal values. There have been also efforts to use the term cosmeceutical to refer to those anti-aging products that are said to contain medicinal value in them. The idea of trying to incorporate science in production of these anti-aging cosmetics is mainly an advertising strategy since there are no scientific tests done to support the said medicinal values (Roberta Honigman, 2006). Additional of the term medicinal value is meant to promote confidence among customers on the effectiveness of the anti-aging products. Although these products have not been tested and certified, women of advanced age have continued to embrace them with the belief and hope that they will regain their young looks.
The anti-aging producers and marketers have perfected the art of advertising the product in a way that have shaped the way of reasoning of many women. The use of images of celebrities who despite their advanced age, still look young and vibrant have changed the way women would have initially viewed old age. Today most women believe that they can hold on their beauty for as long as they want with the help of the beauty products and thus remain relevant in the society.
The promotion of the anti-aging products have made women to develop a feeling that they can effectively be in control of their ageing process (Roberta Honigman, 2006). Most women in today’s world are financially stable and they can access whatever they need and in a bid to maintain their status in the society, they tend to embrace the ant-aging products together with healthy living.
For a very long time the aging process has been characterized by pain and general despair but with introduction of the anti- aging products the aging process is becoming fashionable to the extent that good looking senior citizens can also be used as the face of certain products. Production of the anti-aging products have assisted in reducing anxiety that people experience when they think of changes in appearance during the aging process.
Embracing a healthy living as a way of life is also an important aspect in ensuring that a person gets to old age gracefully with joy and looking forward to experience much more success in life. A healthy life style protects people from facing health challenges that are associated with old age such as high blood pressure, diabetes and many forms of diseases. Each and every person longs for a longer life that is full of joy and a sense of fulfilment and therefore it is important to embrace healthy living as a way of fulfilling this desire. There are several things that a person can do to protect his or her future;
To begin with, having a balanced diet is an effective way of warding off aging related diseases. A balanced diet protects an individual from diseases and also promotes mental alertness. A healthy person who is of an advanced age can easily handle his or her duties effectively hence living a fulfilled life where he or she enjoys and experiences the great feeling of being totally independent. It is also advisable that people should avoid use of drugs which expose them to diseases.
Having enough sleep is also another aspect of promoting healthy living among the aging people. A good sleep activates the rebuilding process of the skin cells and this helps in reducing aging look on the skin. Sleep also helps in rejuvenation of the whole body and also helps in reducing stress.
Proper hydration of the body is important in preventing effects that come with old age. Water held in detoxification of the body and also plays an important role in the maintenance of the skin. Human body require water to ensure that all body systems continue to function normally.
Having regular physical exercises is a way of slowing down the aging process. The exercises assist in improving vitality, maintaining body flexibility and also prevents heart problems. The aging people should participate in activities that they can handle with ease or even seek for assistance from trainers who can assist in ensuring that there is consistency in the exercises.
Another way of ensuring that a person ages gracefully is ensuring one remains productive and participates in activities that he enjoys. This enables the person to experience fulfillment and thus avoiding stress. Being productive also enables one to stay connected with other people which keeps the brain active most of the time.
A graceful aging must be supported by a good financial base. Financial planning is therefore essential in readiness of handling future medical costs which aging people normally face. It is therefore advisable that people should start preparing early enough for the aging period in such a way that all required resources would be easily available.
The introduction and noticeable marketing of anti-aging products and the push to embrace healthy living have changed the perceptions that people held over time. The fear of facing old age is diminishing and people are ready to enjoy the so called sunset days. For a long period of time old age was associated with diseases and weakness, things that the youth and even the corporate entities could not agree to be associated with but today due to the efforts that were made by the beauty industry and the medical fraternity in pushing their various ideas, the aging can as well enjoy and fit in the society without looking down on themselves.
The idea of coming up with anti-aging product and further using women who are of an advanced age as the face of the product has in a way assisted in restoring confidence among aging women and further promoted their productivity (Petersen, 2016) . This form of advertisement has shown that the aging have a bright life ahead of them. It has also made them feel accepted as important members of the society as opposed to the earlier position where they were viewed as people who were only awaiting death.
The push to have people embrace healthy living is good way of preparing for stress free aging period. As I have indicated above healthy living promotes self-reliance on the part of the aging people since they face low chances of getting sick. Being healthy also boosts self-esteem of the aging and thus making them active and more productive.
Conclusion.
Generally the development of products that would cater for the aged in a way that would make them feel young and accepted is a major stride towards ensuring that the aged are properly taken care of. The 21st century society is complex and all people regardless of their age are offered the same platform unlike in the past where the aging were never in the picture. Today therefore our expectations of aging period has been boosted with confidence of having a brighter future even in old age.
References.
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Roberta Honigman, D. (2006). Aging and cosmetic enhancement. [online] PubMed Central (PMC). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695163/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].
Petersen, A. (2016). Towards a sociology of ‘anti-ageing’ | TASA. [online] Tasa.org.au. Available at: https://tasa.org.au/blog/2016/09/15/towards-sociology-anti-ageing/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].
Forbes.com. (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thehartmangroup/2017/10/31/older-consumers-redefining-health-and-wellness-as-they-age/#2187967915fd [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].
Rodriguez, D. (2013). 7 Steps to Healthy Aging, Happy Aging. [online] EverydayHealth.com. Available at: https://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-health/understanding/index.aspx [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].
Kilkenny, K. (2017). How Anti-Aging Cosmetics Took Over the Beauty World. [online] Pacific Standard. Available at: https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-anti-aging-cosmetics-took-over-the-beauty-world [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].
