Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1507658
Exclusive member benefit: Get the ASCP SkinPro app at ascpskincare.com/skinpro 57 feelings around aging. According to a study from Yale University, thinking positively about aging could extend life by as much as 7 ½ years, more than the longevity gained through exercise and not smoking. 3 Thinking positively about aging could also help counter the fact that more than 93 percent of adults aged 50– 80 say they experience at least one form of ageism every day, negatively impacting their physical and mental health. 4 A positive outlook on the process of aging and reduced ageism could mean a longer, happier life. WHY NOW? Claudia Fabian, an over-50 beauty influencer and licensed esthetician, suggests that Generation X has catalyzed the shift because the generation is moving into its 50s. "I think we're the ones leading this discussion, and I feel proud to be part of a generation that's changing the way we look at aging. We're the ones saying, 'Wait a minute, why is wrinkling bad and gray hair unattractive?'" Fabian notes that 50 today looks a lot different than it used to look, thanks to an increased availability of products and services that address aging that were once reserved only for celebrities and the very wealthy. However, now that these products and services are not only more accessible and affordable, but also relieved of their shame and stigma, aging has become a much more choice- driven process. H umans seem to have a constant desire to look younger, feel invincible, and live forever. During the Renaissance, "The idea of pro-longevity developed out of the belief that individuals could control both the length of their time on earth and the quality of their existence." 1 With time, this excitement for life changed into a disdain for the elderly. "By the early 20th century, to most authorities, aging was a disease that destroyed both the body and the mind." 2 Old age became something to fight against, something to fear, and something to prevent at all costs—even through unsafe procedures or untested herbs and medicines. In the late 20th century, the very idea of growing old became something humans needed to "cure." As aging evolved into a problem to be fixed, anti-aging soon became the normalized term, and the door opened for companies to create and sell sometimes outlandish solutions to combat it. However, today's consumers and skin care professionals are starting to experience a subtle shift in thinking, looking at the natural and inevitable process of aging in a new light. WHAT IS PRO-AGING? Pro-aging is the movement to remove the "anti" from anti-aging. It's the belief that age is to be embraced and celebrated. The movement removes shame from aging and encourages people to live in the moment and embrace who they are, not who they think society is trying to tell them to be. But it's also about giving people the freedom to choose what's best for them from a place of security rather than insecurity. Ashton Applewhite, speaker, activist, and author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, writes, "The pro-aging movement is powerful because older people are growing in number, because we're challenging the decline narrative by continuing to be in the world in all sorts of interesting ways." In other words, there's more freedom to exist in our uniquely beautiful bodies (and skin!). While pro-aging might be seen as a trend, there's research to prove the importance of removing the negative by Erica Buehler and Jen Anderson