Famous Women on Beauty and Ageing: Quotations

In any culture, beauty has been about perfection but concepts of what constitutes “perfection” have changed over the centuries. As the population ages, it could well be that concepts of beauty will shift. We live at a time of great variety of age, gender, style, background, culture and attitude and contemplating beauty brings pleasure to each of us yet it comes in all shapes, colours and sizes.

Chic, Autentic and Natural

“Being an English person, and having lived in France for 40 years, I am not as nicely turned out as the French but I don’t care like the English.”  Jane Birkin 

“I never put my face in the sun. I am determined not to go the way of my contemporaries and get surgery. I have a lot of facials and take scrupulous care of my skin.” Joane Collins OBE

“Self image is a complicated thing. I campaign against cosmetic surgery because it a grave act in which you don’t necessarily foresee all the consequences. The people who have it are lacking in confidence.” Emmanuelle Beart, French acress by Matthew Campbell for Sunday times.

“The more healthily you live, the better you look. We still want to look like ourselves when we grow older. We lose our sensuality when we have surgery, it takes away a part of who you are. If you look after yourself and use good products, you won’t need surgery or any other intervention.”   Sharon Stone for YOU, January 2012.

The Botox Lovers

“Botox, lasers and fillers have given us new control over ageing. Not by making us look younger but by slowing down how we age. Now, if you choose to, from your early to mid thirties you can enter a twilight zone of ageing in which you are in a reverse version of dog years – for every seven years you will only age one.” Newby Hands for Harpers Bazaar

“The psychological effects of Botox and fillers have been as profound as the physical – the elongation of the life span in which we can feel good about ourselves. Psychologically, women feel empowered by the knowledge that they have this as backup. This may have contributed to a more relaxed approach to ageing, women beginning to feel more comfortable in their own skin. We want to take care of ourselves but we do not mind a few wrinkles or few signs of ageing to show we have lived.” Betty Catroux for Harpers Bazaar

“You can get an instant snapshot of a woman’s character by looking at from whether she says yes or no to Botox… Just from that one apparently superficial decision…Botox lover likes to keep up appearances, is insecure to some extent in either in her relationship, social circle or work. She is competitive, keeps secrets from her partner, is a natural townie, on a diet of some sort, permanently, and not actively involved in the community. She does not have men friends, only admirers. She has women friends but the sort you meet for a glass of bubbly before shopping at the sales, not the sort you watch TV in bed with. She dresses for bed, exfoliates regularly. The un-Botoxed are brave. They will not be coerced – even by the threat of looking uglier than everyone around them – and that suggests a degree of courage as well as confidence.”  Shane Watson for Sunday Times

And Going for Surgery

“Another facelift? I’ll do whatever’s required.” Anne Robinson for Sunday Times

Anger, Botox and Smile…

“Bad Botox made Sally’s eyebrows pushed so far down that she looked constantly angry. She felt it, too. She felt angry all the time and was reminded by a therapist that if we want to lift our spirits, one of the ways we can do that is to smile. The opposite is also true.“

Research shows that controlling our facial expression controls our mood.  A smile can help to defuse a potential toxic reaction but Botox might paralyse you outwardly and inwardly into hostility.

It is meditation and yoga that are helpful in combating our anger and the natural methods of facial yoga and reflexology that achieve radiant skin, reduce wrinkles and improve definition.

Source: Sally Brampton, Seeing Red: How to handle your anger. Sunday Times

The Ideal Of Beauty

What women want is to look like better versions of themselves, without losing their expression and character. Nowadays, they are more vary of looking “done” than old – in light of celebrity images where Botox, injectables or surgery went wrong! Facial expression is crucial for basic human interaction. Lines are a proof that we’ve lived -we get them when we laugh and express ourselves. The mentality that encourages women to emulate perfection is about the safety of belonging. (Dr C d’Felice: Dare To Be You, Orion). In transforming themselves into living dolls, women feel they fit.

Forget the “ideal” image – when it comes to beauty, it’s time to embrace your unique features

• Your face is your business card – learn to care for it. Make sure you are doing 99 % right in terms of skincare, facial yoga and relaxation.
• Make a point of noting the positive aspects of your appearance in the mirror before you critique the negative.
• Cosmetic procedures can offer benefits but the dangers arise when they erase the features that give personality to a face. In general, people dislike the lack of variety that often comes with these procedures - and although we strive to look fabulous, we should also look real.

Source: Betts, H. Busting the beauty myth. Psychologies August 2010

Facial Massage Counteracts Negative Effects of Botox

Devotees of Botox and other forms of comsetic surgery are turning to “power massages” to bring their frozen faces back to life. Muscles paralyzed by Botox are repeatedly massaged to make up for the exercises they lack and to restore blood circulation. The benefits of facial massage have been well-known for some time now – including the short-term increase of blood flow improving skin tone and colour as well as the long-term stimulation of fibroblasts (the collagen-producing cells).

Nicola Joss, a celebrity facialist from London, confirms; “If you want a toned, defined body, you work out; the same goes for the face”. Nicola’s power massage treatment involves a massage of cheeks from the inside the mouth (90 minutes, £200).

Botox users don’t get the facial muscles to contract, limiting blood flow into the area. The skin is starved of oxygen and - with a change in immune response, it becomes stiff and dry.  However, primarily Botox users with cigarette-thin skin (caused by using too much Botox) will see true benefits of this therapy. For others, facial massage encourages facial muscles to eliminate Botox more quickly.

Source: Kevin Dowling: Pummelling unlocks faces frozen by Botox, Sunday Times, 17 July 2010

Replacing Botox with the natural technique of facial massage in the first place is beneficial for both our facial skin, muscle tension and definition. FaceWorkshops offer anti-ageing facial massage (60 minutes, £50).

The Face & Mind Connection

The appearance of our face is directly related to the way we feel. Our face captures and stores daily fatigue, upset and emotions that we project outwardly in the way that we look.  Research shows that frowning can make us unhappier and treatments that prevent frowning correlate with reduced negative mood.

Although Botox – currently a suggested treatment for depression - paralyses the frown muscles and limits facial expression of negative emotions that may consequently introduce a more positive mood, this action may not be always desirable in a social contact. Our emotions are controlled by our facial expressions: recent imaging studies have shown that imitation of facial expressions is associated with brain activity. Botox of frown muscles limits angry facial expressions and thus enables us to give a false signal. Given that people tend to mimic the emotional expressions of others, this may impact on the trust in the relationship.

Facial massage is a great alternative to Botox. It increases circulation and lymphatic drainage; it also impacts on skin turnover and collagen production by fibroblasts. It is an essential therapy not only for the face but also for our wellbeing. Relaxation, a learned response, in a healing and meditative atmosphere during the treatment, significantly enhances both the immediate and visible benefit of facial massage that entails reduced appearance of lines, wrinkles and sagging due to lifting, plumping up and smoothing effects.

“In our slightly touch-deprived society, any form of massage is very beneficial. Within massage, it is important to relax the mind, to switch off the intellect and focus on the pure sensation of touch.”

Source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18562330

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19250162

Event – 10 Years Younger Without Botox

***

I am giving a talk on skincare secrets in York. Come to find out why it pays to look after your appearance and what lifestyle habits age you most.  Also, why skincare textures and advertising affect your skincare choices and which skincare products ‘do what they say on the tin’.

8th October 2009, 6.30pm – 8pm

Briar House – The Healing Clinic (opposite to the Museum Gardens) in York

For more information please go to http://faceworkshops.com/venues/