By Dr. Chau Phan, Pharmacist and owner of Pleasant Care Pharmacy
In thinking about the topic of this article, I looked up the definition of “depreciation”. Stay with me here, okay? “Depreciation: a reduction in the value of an asset with the passage of time, due in particular to wear and tear.” “Depreciation” is the word used by the world of commerce to refer to the decline in the worth of something, usually a purchase. A new car is said to begin depreciating in value from the moment you drive it off the lot.
Antiques and collectibles (such as coins, stamps or baseball cards), on the other hand, usually appreciate in value. Why is that? Because their age (in relationship to their physical condition, so “in mint condition” or “in undisturbed original packaging” makes them more valuable) adds prestige.
People “appreciate” and/or “depreciate” too. Women (especially those in the public eye) are often judged to be more valuable to the degree that their physical looks avoid nature’s signs of depreciation – such as wrinkles. I propose that we look at those same wrinkles from a different point of view (see my previous blog article, “How Did Wrinkles Become the Enemy?”). In other words, how about if we “appreciate” (in the other sense of that word) what those wrinkles represent?
Now we can get on with the main focus of this article: 5 easy ways you can make the best of wrinkles. All 5 ways have something in common: They are all based on the notion of appreciation – in both senses of those words – wrinkles are to be appreciated (that is, cherished) for what they represent and they are signs of how we as people appreciate with age and wisdom.
Here they are, then, 5 ways to make the best of your wrinkles:
- Accept the wrinkles that form as a result of the natural aging process. As I explain in the previous article and in my book, Age Gracefully: Make the Right Decisions for Your Skin, the intrinsic factors of aging will cause wrinkles. Once you accept that wrinkles are a sign of your appreciation in value as a human being, you can even embrace them. Instead of panicking at their appearance, you can relax into a new phase of your life in which you understand that your value goes beyond how you look.
- Do the things you can to prevent wrinkles from forming. You have control over the extrinsic factors that influence the formation of wrinkles. Staying hydrated and eating foods rich in protein, avoiding exposure to UV radiation, wearing sunscreen and lip balm, avoiding smoke (from smoking yourself or being around others who smoke) and pollution, eliminating alcohol (or at least reducing your intake), doing facial exercises…these are real things you can do now that will head off wrinkles. Good habits begun early in life can keep you looking younger longer and help you avoid the stress of obsessing over wrinkles.
- Do the things you can to reduce the appearance of wrinkles that have already formed. Pamper your skin in the areas where wrinkles tend to appear for you. In addition to doing facial exercises (there are some in my book), you can use moisturizers to help keep your skin hydrated. Chapter 3 of my book has some helpful information about the three types of moisturizers (emollients, humectants and occlusives) – when to use them (especially in connection with your age), how to use them in connection with each other – including an at-a-glance table. Doing things to counteract the effects of aging will help you feel better about yourself even as you make friends with the aging process.
- Pay more attention to the wrinkles in your brain than the wrinkles on your skin. You may have heard the myth that the more wrinkles in your brain, the more intelligent you are…or that you can grow more wrinkles in your brain by learning lots of new things. While that is not necessarily true, it is true that the wrinkles of your brain (made up of bumps [gyri] and crevices [sulci]) reflect your brain’s creativity in cramming more brain matter in a tight spot – and the more brain matter you have that you are using actively, the smarter you are. Consider this quote by Dr. Douglas Fields in his article titled “Brain Aging: The Truth Is Skin Deep” in The Huffington Post: “Preventing premature aging of the brain may not be as easy as preventing premature aging of skin with sun screen, but a careful look at your skin could tell you how well you are doing below the surface.”
- Age with grace. Each time you look in the mirror, see yourself with the eyes of love and acceptance. The face you see there reflects you as you present yourself to the rest of the world. Instead of counting wrinkles, count the evidence of intelligence, of kindness, of the integrity you see there. Your face shows others what you are really made of. As Malala Yousafzi (best-selling author and the young woman shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking up for girls’ right to an education) has said, “I don’t cover my face because I want to show my identity.”
Several of the products I offer on the humanitibeauty.com site may be just what you need to follow my recommendations in this article. If you would like more information about Humaniti Beauty’s products or about me, you can contact me at info@humanitibeauty.com or call me at 510.200.9984.
Sources for this article on wrinkles:
Borchard, Therese J. “Face It: 6 Steps to Help Women Deal with Aging”. World of Psychology blog on psychcentral.com. https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/05/16/face-it-6-steps-to-help-women-deal-with-aging/
Brad (regular M. D. blogger on the site). “Wrinkles and folds on the brain”. January 24, 2006. Blogspot website. http://anatomynotes.blogspot.com/2006/01/wrinkles-and-folds-on-brain.html
Fields, Dr. Douglas. “Brain Aging: The Truth Is Skin Deep”. The Huffington Post. August 17, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-douglas-fields/brain-aging-skin_b_878008.html
Freeman, Shanna. “Top 10 Myths about the brain”. The HowStuffWorksScience website. http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/10-brain-myths3.htm
Gholipour, Bahar. “How the Human Brain Gets Its Wrinkles”. August 18, 2014. LiveScience website. http://www.livescience.com/47421-human-brain-wrinkles.html
Hillman, Keith. “Why Is the Brain Wrinkly?” November 9, 2014. Psychology24 website. http://www.psychology24.org/why-is-the-brain-wrinkly/
Moritz-Saladino, Amanda. “25 Facts About Your Gray Matter You Should Know”. Modified on January 20, 2017. Brainscape website. https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2012/03/facts-about-your-gray-matter/
Nuwer, Rachel. “Why Are Our Brains Wrinkled?” February 28, 2013. The Simithsonian online magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-are-our-brains-wrinkly-29271143/
Phan, Dr. Chau. Age Gracefully: Make the Right Decisions for Your Skin. 2016.