It's not easy being female. At any age.
When I was a teenager, I combed lemon juice through my hair, slathered coconut oil all over myself and sunbathed to within an inch of my life. The more tan I was, the less my acne showed, which was always a plus. And any lemon juice prompted blonde highlights in my Roseanne Rosannadanna hair at least attempted to hide the frizz. At five feet ten inches tall, I weighed 120 pounds and was constantly trying to "get" skinny.
I don't try so hard anymore, but I still make kind of an effort. Just last week, I spent an hour or so trying. My hair was piled on my head with a deep conditioner slathered on, I had a biore pore patch on my nose to rip out blackheads, a jar of moisturizer next to me to put on my dry skin after my acne treatment was over...and I was plucking dark hairs out of my chin. Am I in adolescence or menopause? And is there a significant difference?
This is just so unfair. No one should have to buy both wrinkle lotion and zit cream. Long, luxurious tresses should be on your head, not on your legs. You can't even go out and get a tan to cover your wrinkles, since now they tell us that this is how we got the wrinkles to start with. This is not the way it's supposed to be. I try to not fall into the pop culture trap of "needing" to be a size two, or that "blondes have more fun", or that no one over thirty can be as interesting as a twenty year old. I'm comfortable with myself, flaws and all, but even I have limits.
On the other hand, at least my mustache covers up my acne.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
middle aged teenagers
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12 comments:
One should not still be suffering from acne while one is also being subjected to wrinkles and gray hair. It is cruel and unusual.
I have an appointment next week for highlights to cover the natural highlights that keep cropping up in my hair.
You are not alone. :)
It's criminal. I have a face with zits that look like the big dipper. Oh Look! I can see Orion's Belt right there on my chin. I wish the whiskers could at least cover them up. I've a zit on my forehead right now that's big enough to have it's own zipcode. I've gotten used to using a magnifying glass to see the whiskers I need to pluck because even my progressive lenses miss hairs a quarter inch long. Sucks.
On the other hand, I don't miss my monthly friend in the least. She was a bitch. Yin and Yang.
When I was a teenager I felt my life was ruined by acne!
Now I am fed up with the black & grey hairs that shoot out of my face! Yuk!
Don't get me started on ageing. Why in my head am I still a sporty and nubile 18-year-old when on the outside I'm a matronly woman with thread veins and and grey roots? So annoying!
Thanks for that post RC LOL - I see we can all relate. I think it is god's sick joke to make us too blind to see the hairs sprouting on our chins!!
Aging, grrr! I have this mental image of myself as about 25. I'm actually 41 so you can imagine the disappointment when I look in the mirror. So far, I don't have a problem with spots or hair in the wrong places (I'm sure that will come), but I have come to realise gravity is my enemy. Pesky forces of nature.
well, my friend joe, who recently was divorced, sends me the same kinds of emails--he has braces on his teeth and acne on his face and dating jitters, and he wonders when he turned into a teenager again, after 18 years of marriage and two kids.
we're all in the same boat, men and women....
It's all culturally conditioned, of course. What we really need to do is to persuade society that saggy and hairy is attractive. That firm bodies are to be pitied, sleek is so yesterday, and youth? well, who on earth would want to be YOUNG for heaven's sake?
Only trouble is, how would we do this? We need to start with the glamour magazines, and celebrities. Once we've persuaded them, the rest will follow.
One thing I would say, though. I think the pressure is worse over here. In Britian, we admit defeat earlier, and with less of a battle.
Grey. Grey could be the new black, for hair. They could sell grey highlights in bottles, and the commercials could have pictures of elegant grey-haired ladies saying "Why wait? Mother Nature can be so slow. Give her a little help. You can have grey hair tomorrow, with THIS. Grey is great!"
Twenty-somethings with shiny blond and brunette hair would queue up to get some dull greys put in at the salon - "very seasonal" they'd say in winter. I can see it all now.
(Sorry, that should be gray throughout - grey is the English spelling.)
Oh God! I'm with you on this!
Why? oh Why?
I spend more time plucking my billy goat hairs on my chin and my mustache - then I have ever spent on putting on makeup.
Cruel - simply cruel....
I'm pretty cool with the whole aging thing. I love being around old people. They have the most amazing stories and experiences. I have a close friend who is 105 this month. I think she is so beautiful... I know I'm pretty alone in this, but the saging and extra hairs don't get to me.
Grow older gracefully, RC. Pull out the hairs, pop the zits, moisturize the wrinkles and then that's all you can do. Except what is inevitable and say to yourself that it is good enough. Even Jane Fonda is photo shopped. We must except our blemishes and put up our heads high and smile in the face of lesser fortune. It's what makes us human.
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