Putting all the ‘obvious’ to one side for a moment, there is something quietly sexy, enchanting, confident, whole and beautiful about beauty that has matured. Like fine wine – cliched but true. When I say obvious, I am talking about how we’ve been educated to believe that beauty is reserved for the young.
The Truth About Mature Beauty
Most of us were never satisfied with our looks, to begin with. Paired with our youth-obsessed culture that fails to celebrate the beauty of older women, this is a recipe for a very unhappy life.
For our male counterparts, who it’s said to get better with age, women don’t enjoy this same privilege. We are bombarded with products to slow down the hands of time, encouraged to cover the grey and worse still, persuaded to invest in cosmetic surgery, to disengage from the fact we are getting older.
For years, women have been considered past their best midlife and youth is the only phase of life that matters.
Newsflash. It isn’t and the perception of mature is changing. Albeit slow, thankfully the narrative on mature beauty is shifting in a positive direction.
According to Smadar Ganzi, owner and creator of Israel’s leading modeling agency for women 45+, Proaging, mature beauty has never been more in fashion. She is the #1 cheerleader and advocate for age diversity within the fashion and advertising industry. Perusing through her portfolio of inspiring mature models, the energy of these women shines bright, alive with positivity, beauty, radiance, and honor. Smadar’s message is clear – mature beauty is something to celebrate, not hide and her growing Facebook audience suggests that she isn’t the only one who thinks this way!
About time.
Redefining Mature Beauty
In almost all populations throughout the world, there are substantially more older women than men. This 20th-century phenomenon could be explained away by biology, but women’s longevity over men means something quite powerful. Older women, being the majority, hold the potential to influence powerful leverage across a plethora of platforms including buying power, representation in commerce, business, and of course within the shallow world of image-driven social media.
This power can be used to help redefine and challenge what mature beauty looks like.
And whilst we can’t all age like Sophia Loren or be forever young like Joan Collins….there are many things that we can do to retain our youthful glow and make sure we age gracefully into the mature beautiful women we were born to be.
Mature Beauty: Top Tips to Graceful Aging
If you think that drinking from the fountain of youth is reserved for the rich and famous, think again. There are some very simple habits to adopt to ensure you promote longevity, age gracefully, and mature beautifully.
Full Acceptance
Aging is inevitable. Accept it and stop the fight. Remember, the alternative sucks (not aging) so let’s start by being grateful that we even get the chance to journey through to old age, it’s a privilege. And the truth is, it happens to EVERYONE. Being positive from the inside shows on the outside. Change the narrative about mature beauty and start seeing the deep beauty and wisdom that comes with it. When in doubt….repeat this mantra, Helen Mirren, Helen Mirren, Helen Mirren.
Be Confident
Everything stops and starts with you. You are wholly responsible for your world, your life, and how your journey through the world. Doing it confidently is going to make it just that bit more fun.
This is one of the most poignant, and important things to work on given that everything starts from within. Confidence is a real knowing of who you are and your place in this world. You can see it shine through your personality, your demeanor and in fact, everything you touch, do and say! Confidence is really feeling good about who you are as a person – including all the good and all the bad bits.
Not sure how to be more confident? Read our 9 Habits of a Confident Woman to get you started!
Maintain Healthy Habits
This healthy habit really applies to anyone, any gender, any age because without good health life just becomes that bit more challenging. However, for women midlife and beyond, creating and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits should be their #1 priority to ensure a balanced mind, body, and soul.
Remember, it takes around 28 days to create a habit that is doable in anyone’s world. 28 days that could potentially give you back so much more.
- Eat Well
Eating a healthy balanced diet plays a major role in how your body ages. Nutrition is key when it comes to anti-aging, prevention of a plethora of diseases and illnesses not to mention maintaining younger-looking skin. Eating foods such as oily fish (sardines, mackerel, and salmon), plant-based foods, legumes, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seafood, and healthy fats (extra-virgin olive oil).
Cutting back on excess salt, sugar, and carb-heavy unhealthy fatty foods (crisps (AKA as chips), soda, white flour, sugar, etc) – all of which can speed up the aging process.
Think of the Mediterranean Diet and you won’t go far wrong.
- Limit Alcohol
Evidence suggests that alcohol literally speeds up the aging process. I am not suggesting the odd glass of wine or beer, but excessive consumption of alcohol exacerbates premature aging meaning that signs of aging appear earlier than normal or are more exaggerated.
- Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise is the best medicine available to ensure you stay sane and grounded. Not only will it help with weight loss but more importantly, exercising will help maintain circulation and blood flow carrying vital nutrients and oxygen throughout our bodies to ensure all our bodily systems function optimally. From boosting brainpower, promoting a healthy heart as well as youthful-looking skin – exercise should be something you do on a daily basis.
- Sleep Well
Sleep is literally the holy grail of aging. Do not underestimate the importance of beauty sleep for staying healthy and happy. Research has shown a direct link between insomnia and speeding up the aging process. A severe lack of sleep negatively impacts your cognitive health which can be linked to low mood, depression, and other degenerative diseases.
Consider sleeping a gift. When we sleep the body is able to restore itself producing compounds that help restore collagen and elastin to ensure optimal skin health and structure, as well as lower the risk of obesity and heart disease. Getting your 8 hours of sleep a night should not be an option but an essential. If you do one thing for yourself, get more sleep.
- Protect Yourself From The Sun
Whilst a healthy glow can do wonders for your energy and glow to help you shine, mature beauty will benefit from a little protection along the way. Excessive time in the sun can lead to wrinkles, not to mention increasing the risk of skin cancer. However, applying sunscreen (daily) can help prevent your skin from aging. Making a habit of incorporating an SPF into your regular skincare routine, purchasing a sun hat, and/or wearing super funky sunglasses with pro UVA and UVB protection will add quite a few years in your quest to retain your mature beauty.
Consider Supplementation
In an ideal world, you would get all your body needs from the food you eat and the lifestyle you lead. However, who lives in this place called the ideal world, and does it even exist?!
So let’s get real. Our bodies occasionally need a little support and supplementing our daily diet can really benefit women midlife and beyond.
There are many, many nutritional health supplements for women over 50 that would be beneficial for boosting health and wellness however, for celebrating mature beauty my main go-to’s include the following:
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body. Free radicals are compounds that can cause harm if their levels become too high. Antioxidants can be found in foods such as green veggies (broccoli, spinach, cabbage, asparagus, collard greens, and kale), carrots, potatoes, artichokes, avocados, beetroot, radish, lettuce, sweet potatoes, squash, and pumpkin.
Antioxidant-rich supplements include Astaxanthin (often referred to as King of the Antioxidants), CoQ10, Glutathione, Irish Sea Moss, and more.
Collagen
I love collagen. I can’t sing its praises enough. There is no such thing as too much collagen for me. But let’s get to the point. Collagen is literally the scaffolding of your skin. As you age, it depletes and supplementation is essential.
Collagen boosting foods include eggs, bone broth, shellfish, beets, berries, leafy greens, legumes, cashews, and more.
One of the easiest ways includes taking a daily collagen supplement. Dietary sources for powdered or pill collagen supplements are derived from Bovine, Poultry, and Marine, each providing different types of collagen. Aim for an 8 gr daily serving for the best results.
Omega-3
A high daily dose of an omega-3 supplement may help slow the effects of aging by suppressing damage and boosting protection at the cellular level. Research has shown that higher levels of omega-3 in the blood could increase life expectancy and a diet rich in oils can help slow a key biological process linked to aging.
Similar to collagen, the active ingredients in omega-3 also work to boost hair, skin, and nail health as well as provide lubrication for optimizing joints. Omega-3 fatty acids are known for their ability to reduce inflammation in the body, which can reduce discoloration and puffiness under the eyes and boost optimal skin health also.
Be Social & Stay Connected
Being part of a community and staying connected with other human beings is a significant factor in promoting longevity. Spending time with people that matter isn’t just enjoyable, it can actually really help you live longer. In his quest to uncover the secrets of living longer, Dan Buettner discovered that strong social ties and a sense of community were common amongst people living in the Blue Zones, those areas around the world that have a higher-than-average number of centenarians.
Don’t ditch the invite, go.
Surround Yourself With Positivity
Surround yourself with other age-positive people who support you and support themselves by enjoying their unique physical appearances and are not afraid of their age, aging, or expressing themselves.
Mature Beauty – Challenge the Norm
Isn’t it time to start challenging the assumption that mature beauty is any less precious or relevant? Beauty involves something much more than just the physical outside shell that we call the body. It evolves, as we mature into the wise, beautiful, confident women we are destined to become.
Throughout our lives, we are fed the narrative that youth is supreme and that our looks and relevance fade as we age becoming invisible and unseen.
The truth is, like art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that should start with yourself every time you look in the mirror.
Now that is a choice we can all decide to make and we can start straight away.
