Wrinkles, life lines

“The most touching and beautiful thing is her wrinkles around her eyes. They have so much charm…” one of the visitors to the exhibition “Marilyn Forever” said thoughtfully. The camera of Milton Greene, a famous photographer and close friend of the actress, captured not a sex symbol of the era, but a fragile, sincere and vulnerable woman. The impression was only intensified by the fact that all the wrinkles of Norma Jean were clearly visible in the pictures. They seemed to tell the story of her life like lines on the palm of her hand. Visitors regarded them as a curiosity, frankly rejoicing that in those days there was no Botox, no Restylane, no Photoshop.

Smooth version

Modern beauty technologies have helped women realize the dream of smooth skin. Well, or see how others have done it. And here it turned out that not everyone likes the effect of newfangled procedures. “In the corridor of the clinic, I ran into a woman whose face was as red as a watermelon,” recalls Svetlana, 39. “I couldn’t even imagine that in half an hour I would look the same!” That it will hurt and that then you will have to hide from people for a week because of scarlet spots and peeling. If I had known this beforehand, I would have run away immediately! But I had to endure everything. Yes, I admit, the skin became smoother and softer. But for how long? And I’m not ready to be regularly subjected to such torment in the name of ephemeral youth!” Many patients, upset by the appearance of the first wrinkles, decide on cardinal correction methods. And they are disappointed. And often they begin to miss their former appearance. “After the Botox injection, there was confusion,” admits 42-year-old Galina. “I no longer felt like the mistress of my own face! She couldn’t raise her eyebrows, she couldn’t frown. How glad I was when I was able to wrinkle my forehead again!”

Read more:

• Erase random features

The face of the enemy

For many years, cosmetics manufacturers have convinced us that wrinkles are an absolute evil, from which only their active products can save. The brochures cheerfully reported: “Our cream smoothed the skin of the eyelids in 96% of women” or “…reduced forehead wrinkles by 31%.” Such formulations not only stimulated purchase, but also forced women along the way to treat fine lines on their own skin as unconditional enemies. Each acquired means inspired hope: the enemy would be, if not wiped off his face, then thrown back by a few millimeters. But few people thought that the promised results are visible only under a microscope or enlarged promotional photos. In real life, no one looks at us under a magnifying glass. And aging is not the depth of a particular wrinkle, but a change in the image as a whole. But such thoughts began to visit women only after a variety of methods and means had been tried.

Traces of feelings

Many experts believe that Botox worsens the condition of the skin. “Remember how pale those who are constantly injected with it look,” says therapist Anna Saldakeyeva. – In paralyzed muscles, blood circulation worsens, the skin receives insufficient oxygen and nutrients, it becomes drier, thinner. And the prospects can be the most dramatic.” There are also opponents who object that the superficial capillaries of the skin are not connected with the deep blood supply to the muscles. But where to go from such side effects as skewed features, “fallen” eyebrows, the mask effect? Be that as it may, the very lack of control over their face, along with side effects, makes many women give up on the idea of ​​completely getting rid of wrinkles. In addition, the general mood has become less categorical. We are already being called not to fight, but to care: a balanced diet, smoking cessation, limiting UV exposure and, of course, quality care. Not to the extermination of wrinkles, no, but to competent cleansing, moisturizing, protecting and restoring the skin. Following these postulates, you can achieve excellent results. Many women look younger than their mothers at the same age, but at the same time they do not make a cult out of youth, and enemies out of wrinkles. Moreover, often they have little to do with real age. Rather, with our experiences: concern and anxiety draw vertical lines on the bridge of the nose, frequent doubts – horizontal lines on the forehead, dissatisfaction and disappointment – bitter folds in the corners of the mouth … It is this bitterness that upsets us. But the “wrinkles of happiness” in the corners of the eyes, many no longer hide. On the contrary: more and more women, following the example of Jane Fonda or Meryl Streep, are striving to preserve these little cheerful features – witnesses of a life full of joyful events.

Make an alliance

“Wrinkles are not as scary for women as they used to be,” confirms Laurent Noguera, director of science communications at Givenchy. “They are still striving to look their best, but at the same time, many admit that they are ready to maintain certain features of age.” Having seen enough of the faces of many celebrities, depersonalized by injections and template plastic, we especially began to appreciate naturalness and charm. We are not so much worried about wrinkles as dull skin tone, loss of elasticity and dark circles under the eyes. All that makes the face tired and painfully puffy. The unspoken motto of today is that it is not important how old we look, but how we look at our own age. Realizing this, cosmetics manufacturers changed their priorities. More and more new products appeal not to a specific sign of aging, but to the general condition of the skin. “Fight” and “destruction” were replaced by the terms “optimize”, “supply”, “improve” … The skin is no longer an enemy, but an ally, and the task of modern creams is to provide cells with those substances that they lose due to age, poor ecology or other influences. Of course, anti-wrinkle drugs still exist. And they have an effect. After all, many lines on the face are still sad. And if there is demand, there will be supply. Another thing is that the effect of new smoothing agents is based on the establishment of certain processes in the skin, which fade with age. So, everything is based on the same actual complex impact. Here, each brand has its own recipe – from natural pomace to complex molecular complexes. It is difficult to say which one is better, because each of us is individual and chooses cosmetics based on our own desires, feelings and habits.