My wrinkles have tan lines, and how I’m coping with that

As I looked in the mirror to pluck a WAY out in no man’s land eyebrow hair, I raised my right eye and tilted my head up towards the light. There before me was revealed the fact that I had tan lines in my wrinkles. The wrinkles around my eyes are now deep enough such that when you pull at the skin after a couple of weeks away spending daily time in the sun (with full sun protection, mind you.) there are little bright white lines.

How am I coping with that realisation?

By smiling a knowing smile about all the wonderful experiences in my life that gave me those wrinkles AND the experiences on this trip away with my gorgeous son that meant I was smiling enough and squinting in the beautiful sunshine to get tan lines in my wrinkles in the first place. The wrinkles over the years have come from smiles and laughs, the squinting in the bright summer sun on my uncle’s speed boat spending summers with my mum’s family in Mauritius, the screams and face contortions in labour that brought me my little man, the smiling every time something lovely has happened in my life – even all the tears from which I have learnt my toughest lessons. Every experience has made me who I am today and has contributed to these here wrinkles.

Here’s an idea for us all…

Love the wrinkles. Love the story they tell. Shun the expectation to remain wrinkle free – for what!? Why?

I remember using anti wrinkle creams at 21 in the prestige cosmetics industry. I laugh now and I cry a bit too about that… How dare I be made to feel at 21 that I needed to ‘eradicate lines’ for fear of having them ‘start to creep up’. The very language they, ‘we’ used to use and is still used today. Everywhere we turn women are made to feel like failures for ageing, yet it’s a privilege and a joy.

Many don’t age. Many are taken away far too young. Many are worrying about real problems and faced with real injustices – unimaginable ones. What right do we have to worry about something like wrinkles and invest energy into the worrying.

Just use a nice not too expensive eye cream to protect the area in general – like this one or this Weleda Rose one (the one I use) or simply extend your rosehip or jojoba oil to the area, and voila. Job done. Other things to worry about – or smile about!

What if we were grateful for every wrinkle because it meant we’d got to spend so many days here exploring this magical world.

I much prefer that idea to feeling imperfect, not young enough or not pretty enough. Enough for what? I’m 40. I’m good with that.

Here’s to wrinkles AND the weird tan lines they give you if you’re having fun on a beach holiday. A bit of a fuzzy pic but you get the idea!

 

Going ‘low tox’ isn’t just about chemicals, I truly believe it’s just as much about mindset, getting in touch with gratitude and peace in our lives. We can do many things to of course maintain health skin – plenty of water, healthy mix of wholefood based fats and a multicoloured diet high in plants. From there, I reckon our little lines that form as we age are beautiful little badges.

A life without wrinkles is a life without smiles. No thanks!

As Saramai says “My Wrinkles are my stripes”. I like that a lot. Will you pledge to worry less about wrinkles and instead celebrate getting to be here? Have you struggled with the ‘ageing complex’ of our society? What do you think?