Beauty

[tansy]

Like at @DiAnne, I grew up on the Southern California beaches, plus I had a backyard pool.  I was a tow head blonde with blue eyes and actually liked to get a sunburnt nose.  

I moved to WA state when I was 30 and basically never saw the sun again 😜

I think I look my age -- not terrible, not great.  I have had two patches frozen off my nose in the last five years.  Not too bad for all of the sun I got.

[Enufstuff]

  The combination of good genes, avoiding sun, good skin care, good nutrition and hydration, I believe have given me healthy looking skin that people have been complementing me on since I was young. My mother always said that my skin was peaches and cream. As a teen and 20 something, I hated looking so young. Being 5 feet tall did not help either.

   When I was 12 years old, I starting using moisturizing lotion and when going to the beach it was Bain de Soleil. I still remember the delicious scent of that suntan gel. Also, that was when I began to wear sunglasses all the time in the sun, because they were fashionable. At that time I didn't realize it kept me from squinting and getting lines around my eyes later in life. At 74, it is only in the past few years, I've gotten a few lines at the corners of my eyes. I still wear sunglasses all year.

    In my teens, I did tan in the summer, but not excessively. In my twenties, most of my time was indoors raising my children. We had a shady backyard and I mostly would just tan my legs.

We did go to the beach occassionaly, but I never got a sunburn or let the children sunburn.

    By my forties, I started using Estee Lauder face creams and

drinking lots of water and always wearing a sunhat at the beach and on vacations. Again, I mostly would only tan my legs or used Jergens self tanning lotions. My hands have also stayed sunspot  or freckle free with no wrinkles. The only problem is arthritic knuckles.

    Something I began doing in my forties was taking calcium, magnesium and zinc. I didn't know at the time, but taking minerals can keep hair from turning gray. I still have never had to color my dark hair, but I do see a few grays sprouting up.

My daughters have all been coloring their hair since their 30's.

They are in their 50's now and when we go out together, people think that we are sisters. My grandmother, mother and aunts all had great genes and never looked their age. My mother's youngest sister is 91 and looks like she is in her 60's. 

[monicakm]

@SeaMaiden 

Do you ever have zaps of stinging pain in your hands?  Almost like hard pin pricks or like you've been stung by a bee?  My pain tolerance has registered as -5 on a scale of 1-10 so maybe it's just me   I have to have injections in my knee this week which is totally asinine!  Dr already said I had to have surgery if I ever want to walk without pain so why make me go thru the torture of injections?  My primary has prescribed 2mg of Ativan.  Between that and the injection, they'll have to carry me out on a gurney LOL  I'm such a sissy when it comes to pain!

[monicakm]

@Enufstuff 

All I can say is WOW...and you rock!

[LTT1]

It is! Like moving to a different country lol

[Enufstuff]

@monicakm  Thanks!

I remember Billy Crystal years ago playing a character saying

"It's better to look good than to feel good darling."

 I don't know if I can fully agree. Many times I wish that I could feel better than I look. With fibromyalgia and arthritis in hands, feet and knees, I don't feel that I "rock" any longer. Heck, I can't even wear all those cute shoes with heels any longer or most of my rings. I guess I had a good run, though.

   My daughters and grand daughters have been inheriting a lot of my shoes and rings. I wish they would listen when I tell them to wear sunglasses to avoid squinting and wrinkles.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I’ll be 64 soon.  I do have some fine lines here and there but my skin is is good shape (smooth, soft, clear, no acne, no excess oil) for all my years.  I purposely started caring for my skin about 20-ish years ago +/-.  Before that, I’d go in spurts.  I’ve said more than once that I could see a difference between my skin now and my siblings who don’t do much of anything to care for theirs, when they were my age, so I can’t say it’s all in the genes. Genes are the foundation but I also believe the right skincare ingredients, lifestyle, diet, water consumption, and certain supplements make a difference.  

[Enufstuff]

@monicakm  Are you getting the pain zapping in your fingers?

 When I started developing arthritis in fingers, it began one finger at a time. Then one year it was two fingers on my left hand. For about a year, it was shooting pains down both fingers at the same time. The doctor said that the cartilage was pressing on nerves, causing the pain. I would not take the pain medication, because it could cause kidney damage.

   Have you considered trying some of the topical creams like Blue Emu? I can't use anything with capsaicin, my skin is too sensitive. There are several products available at the pharmacy

without prescriptions.

   My orthopedic doctor also told me that I need knee replacement. ( Of course, that is how surgeons make money)

They told my best friend and she refuses. She gets injections twice a year for pain. It is not cortisone, it's something newer.

She has been doing this for 10 years. I don't plan on any surgery either.

[Icegoddess]

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@Enufstuff wrote:

@monicakm  Thanks!

I remember Billy Crystal years ago playing a character saying

"It's better to look good than to feel good darling."

 I don't know if I can fully agree. Many times I wish that I could feel better than I look. With fibromyalgia and arthritis in hands, feet and knees, I don't feel that I "rock" any longer. Heck, I can't even wear all those cute shoes with heels any longer or most of my rings. I guess I had a good run, though.

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@Enufstuff I would rather feel good than look good.  I've never been particularly pretty anyways.  I hate having my picture taken because I never look like I feel I should.  I have finally learned at least how to take a selfie that doesn't make me cringe, so all my sefies are done at that angel.  No looking down into the camera for me, but I don't think most people look good that way anyways.  I see the health of people my age around me and I am so thankful I don't ache and am able to still do so much even if I don't have the stamina I used to.  I have my issues, but mostly they don't keep me from doing what I want to do.  And, I'm still wearing high heels on Sunday.

@SeaMaiden et al, I think it's a combination of both although I don't know how much of each.  I had terrible skin as a teenager through young adulthood.  Having a baby did at least clear up my acne, but I continued to to have oily skin through much of my adult life.  The only skincare I did then was to use Safegard soap on my face since I heard a dermatologist once say that antibacterial soap was good for acne skin.  And, no, it didn't dry me out. I started getting into skincare with SSC in my 30's.

I think HOW we age, wrinkles vs sagging and where wrinkles or sagging occurs is mostly genetic, and the conditon of the our skin is mostly skincare.  I still say the best thing I did for my skin was not wearing makeup on a daily basis, although now my eyes get irritated with the eye makeup when they didn't before.

My biggest wrinkles are on my forehead and between my eyes and I have had those most of my adult life.  I'm beginning to get a little sagging and wrinkling around the mough area now, but that's it.  My only other issue is some broken capillaries I would love to get something done about, one in particular.  Besides that, I think my skin looks great.  I don't wear sunscreen unless I'm working in the yard.  

[Good4u]

The one thing I wish I had in my life is beautiful, poreless skin.  Avoiding sunlight, imo, is not good for your health.  You should get an average amount about 20 minutes daily where possible.  Good skin care is far more important than cosmetics and the older I get the less cosmetics I now wear especially as a result of COVID masking.  Genetics also plays a part but not the only part.  Genes + proper skincare + sunlight will make your skin the best it can be with what you have.