“When did I start looking like my mother?” a Costhetics team member asked recently.
After much discussion we decided the culprit is Calendar Year 2020. In the era of COVID, everything is being re-evaluated, including appearance, and many of us are feeling old beyond our age.
Here’s why…
1. You’re Spending Too Much Time with Yourself
Hooray for videoconferencing. It has kept businesses humming along and allowed families to gather safely to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. Unfortunately, all that time spent in front of the camera provides endless opportunity for self-critiques. Before you start thinking about cosmetic surgery, think about whether your appearance on-screen is accurate. Is it bad lighting that makes you look like you have a double chin? Would moving back from the camera make you look less like a balloon face?
2. Your Frown Muscles Are Working Overtime
The stress of coping with COVID often manifests itself in frowns, pursed lips, and furrowed brows. After months of making unhappy faces, many people have been left with an unwelcome collection of static wrinkles that just won’t go away. Giving your skin some extra love at this time with professional grade moisturisers and serums can help minimise the problem until you see your skin practitioner.
3. Sleeplessness Has Set Cortisol Free
Is COVID-19 keeping you up at night? That’s not good. The link between cortisol and collagen is well-documented, as is the link between cortisol and stress-related sleeplessness. When cortisol meets collagen, bad things happen. The cortisol slows the production of new collagen while at the same time destroying existing collagen. This leaves skin looking dull and deflated. To combat this problem, find a way to relax with meditation, music, magnesium, and other safe options.
4. Your Gray Hair Seems to Be Multiplying
While many people embrace the silver fox look of grey hair, others feel it ages them. Being separated from professional colourists during lockdown has meant men and women who are used to consistent coverage must face not only their grey roots, but also the increase in grey hairs since the last time they missed a treatment. Temporary root sprays provide an easy solution. You can also contact your stylist to learn about home colouring kits.
5. Your Gym is Closed & Your Circulation is Sluggish
It’s not only our faces that seem to be ageing before our eyes. Many people have had to give up their normal gym routine. This fact, combined with the fact that we are all moving less in general, can add kilos to your weight, while simultaneously reducing circulation. Poor circulation is something we associate with old age. Home exercise routines and a healthy diet can improve your appearance and the way you feel by hydrating your body, nourishing your cells, and giving your body a fighting chance.
When you’re feeling the weight of your years upon your shoulders and observing the effect on your face and body, remember this quote from Gabriel Garcia Marquez: “Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.