What do we actually mean when we say pro-age?
It's another buzz term that we hear a lot in the holistic space, but it can have different meanings depending on who you talk to.
First and foremost, many women have a complex relationship with aging. Aging is accompanied with life enrichment, wisdom, lessons, challenges and hardship. We can appreciate the people we become as we head into midlife and also feel sadness over change, loss of youth or regret. I'm apprehensive to use the popular phrase "Aging is a privilege" because I feel it discounts what women go through. I'd rather say: "Aging is valuable".. it's a valuable part of being human.
I'm afraid that the term "Pro-Age" has been adopted by those who want to fight against the desires of women... and the anti-aging cosmetic industry as a whole. I don't think the desire to stay youthful is completely fabricated by society - I think it's a natural instinctual response. I sometimes hear people say "if you're not aging, your'e dying"... OBVIOUSLY. It's a stupidly literal take and an oversimplification of our complex relationship with aging. I'm not a fan. This type of talk actually shames women for feeling grief over aging. It's healthy and natural to feel grief. We don't have to coddle every little discomfort out of existence by pretending it's not there.
"You should be happy you're aging because you're not dying."
"You should embrace those lines you've earned because they represent a life time of emotions."
"You should ignore beauty standards and do more meditation on yourself."
I hear these things over and over, telling women to not believe their lying eyes and dismiss their very real feelings. It's as much bullshit as the beauty industry telling women they need to conform to societal beauty standards. It's one extreme over another. Can't we find some middle ground so women aren't damned if they do, damned if they don't? While I dont love unrealistic beauty standards and believe they are damaging to women, especially young girls and teens... I worry that telling women they MUST embrace thier age lines is disempowering. I also believe its disempowering to tell women that sleeplessness, unexplained weight gain, and irritability through perimenopause is "just the way it is".
To those telling Women to "stop being afraid of aging":
❓️Did you ever consider that its not Fear?
❓️Have you considered that our relationship to aging is complex?
❓️Have you considered how hard it must be to not feel like yourself?
Do you know what comes along with aging? Peri-menopause and menopause, a Rollercoaster of hormonal changes that affect every aspect of ourselves. Bone loss, including in the face, skin laxity, sleeplessness, irritability. That steady stream of hormones is revoked or altered and we are left to reconcile how we feel without it... physically and emotionally. Its a VERY REAL transition that cant be resolved with healthy food and manifestation.
While its positive to tell women to lean into their age, their lines and nourish themselves more, its kind of patronizing.... we are exhausted.
Don't ask women to take on one more chore, self care or not.
Dont tell women to suffer because its natural.
We have raised babies, worked and worked out, meal planned, taken on alllllll the invisible mental load, and suffered hardships nobody knows anything about.
This year, I encourage society to Stop Telling Women how to feel. Stop telling women they shouldn't be upset. Stop telling women they shouldn't do interventions. Stop telling women what to do Period. Stop Dismissing Women.
Judging or shaming certain options is a regressive and damaging move against women.
The message of "grin & bear it" is over. This goes for womens health and skin care through all seasons of life.
Whether it's stubborn weight gain, perimenopausal symptoms, new wrinkles, stress, or any other things we want to improve... Society should stop dismissing women and allow her full access to any measure, intervention, or procedure she desires WITHOUT shame.
There is nothing wrong with well planned, informed-consenting self improvement. That's one thing about aging... we know ourselves better than ever. We're informed, we're intentional, we know what we want. We can choose to age with nothing but soap and water... or we can choose to age drenched in botanicals. We can age sitting with a cup of tea or we can age hitting the weights. We can age with a little botox or we can practice gua sha. We can have the hormone replacement therapy AND eat all those hormone supportive foods.
For us as a brand, Pro-Age means we support the biological aging process by staying as healthy as possible. It means we use botanicals in our products that support the skin's natural ability to heal, regenerate, protect, and function. Its one amazing option out of countless beauty & wellness interventions available to women. Outside of skin care, Pro-Age means we're finding positive and non-harmful ways to stay as youthful and vibrant as we can biologically.
EXAMPLES of PRO-AGE Lifestyle CHOICES:
- Exercise
- Weight Lifting
- Healthy diet filled with protein and fiber
- Rest & Recovery, including good sleep
- Botanical Skin Care
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- Red Light Therapy
- Radio Frequency Devices
- Gua Sha
- Trentinoin
- Botox
- GLP-1 Therapy
- Talk Therapy
- Microneedling
- Laser Skin Care
- Supplementation
- Getting Outside into the fresh air and sunshine!
These are all individual and personal choices that should be made without being shamed. Pro-age means you're doing what's best for yourself in aging. There's nothing shameful about aging, aging is beautiful and aging is individual. There's also nothing shameful about self care.
So do what you want, ladies. We're here to support your skin the natural way no matter what.
