What I Stopped Buying When I Stopped Buying Into Anti-Aging
The last expensive serum I bought promised to "visibly reduce fine lines in just 14 days." I used it religiously for three months. The only visible change was my bank balance.
That was years ago, when I was barely in my 30s. But I'd already been seduced by the anti-aging industry's promises. It took me a few more years to begin paying attention to the ways women are conditioned to criticize ourselves. Longer still before I started looking closely at the words and phrases beauty brands use.
Our list of "must-have" products includes retinol serums, collagen supplements, eye masks, face masks, vitamin C treatments, peptide creams, neck-firming lotions, under-eye patches, facial oils promising to "restore youthful radiance," and devices that vibrate or emit red light and claim to lift what gravity has decided to clutch at. It's not hard to spend more on these treatments than most people spend on groceries.
In my teens and twenties, I lived in a constant state of mild to major dissatisfaction with my appearance, always working toward some future version of myself that would finally be acceptable. As the years went by, I gained more life experience. Travel opened up a whole new world for me. Reading too. Loss and grief impacted me, creativity and adventure shaped me. The more I truly lived and explored, the less intense my self-loathing.
It’s hard to lose loved ones too soon and still begrudge your visibly aging body. It’s hard to witness how harrowing some people’s lives are and still insist on picking yourself to pieces.
On principle, I haven't purchased anti-aging products for years now, but the messaging is as relentless as ever. Despite aligning with the values of very few brands, I'm regularly contacted by companies who praise my pro-aging stance and then proceed to offer to send me products that they believe align with my message and mission. When I visit their website to check their language, they're almost always still pushing anti-aging rhetoric even without explicitly using that phrase.
I used to think that if they weren't specifying the words "anti-aging" then that was good enough. But that was my viewpoint five years ago. I’ve changed since then - in many ways. However, the beauty industry seems to be stuck in a timewarp. They care about their billions, not our self-esteem.
These days I expect more. I don't want to "soften wrinkles" or "noticeably firm" my neck. And I'm tired of the assumption that this is a given for an aging woman. That of course we want to erase or minimize signs of aging. We’re encouraged to adopt an anything-is-still-possible mindset, but we’re not permitted to actually look old when we're saying these things.
The Truth We're Avoiding
We are all going to age, and we are all going to die.
I don't want to sugarcoat that truth. I want to be as blunt about it as I can because that way the message might actually register.
I might have another 50 summers left in my life. I might have five. Or, it's possible that this might be the very last one. My final chance to enjoy perfectly ripe peaches or smell the salt water as I walk along the river. To feel sand between my toes or watch fireflies blink in the dusk. To have long conversations on my favorite trail and watch summer sunsets make magic in the sky.
What a shame, what a tragedy it would be to waste that precious time by worrying about my face and body visibly aging.
What I Stopped Buying Into
The overpriced serum was just the beginning of what I walked away from. I also stopped buying into the idea that my face was a project requiring constant improvement. I abandoned the belief that looking my age (or older) was something to apologize for.
I stopped purchasing clothes designed to hide rather than celebrate my body. No more shapewear that promised to "smooth and sculpt." No more tops with strategic draping to camouflage areas I'd been taught to see as flaws.
I gave up working out and restricting food as a way to stay slim and instead focused on strengthening and fueling my body.
Most importantly, I stopped buying the anxiety that comes from being at war with your own body. The mental energy I spent worrying about my perceived imperfections could have powered a small city.
We say it's all about choice, but really it's about coercion. It's about an entire industry that is set up to find flaws that we didn't even know existed and then constantly convince us we need to part with our time and money in order to fix these flaws. Which we never fully can - but that's really the best part for them. Because in the pointless pursuit of the illusion of youth, we will keep spending. The metaphorical dangling carrot we can never quite catch.
At 51, I'm much more interested in exploring and re-examining my world view than figuring out how to please the world. I want experiences that feel meaningful rather than painstakingly presenting myself for praise or validation. Time with people who see me as more than the sum of my physical parts.
When I do buy beauty products now, it's from a different place entirely. I use moisturizer because my skin feels dry, not because I'm trying to erase decades of living. I refuse to purchase anything from a place of shame.
The money I save is nice, but it's the smallest benefit. The mental space I reclaimed is vast. While I may still be caught off guard by my ever-aging reflection, I no longer catalogue flaws or compare myself to others.
My face tells the story of my life. My body is the map of me. I am evidence of a life fully lived.
The anti-aging industry wants women to believe that looking our age is a failure. I've stopped buying that story, and I'm happy to say it's been one of my better investments.
If you're ready to reclaim mental space from appearance anxiety, personalized support can help make this mindset shift feel less overwhelming.
Elevations are custom meditations designed specifically for your life right now - whether you're releasing old stories about aging or navigating any other meaningful change. No generic affirmations about fixing yourself. Just personalized guidance for exactly where you are.