It is the particular time in the year where we want to look our supreme best for attending all the staff, family and friends' parties that come with the season. That is when we realise that we have been neglecting ourselves since the summertime if not for longer, even years for some. Panic and guilt set in and we rush to contemplate a quick miraculous fix - a few cosmetic injections perhaps, spending a fortune on fancy treatments which promise all this delusional magic.
How many times have you blamed an indifferent attitude for your looks? Or made excuses like being too tired or having no time for yourself? How many times have you felt sorry or hated yourself to the extreme of hiding every mirror in the house? Well, the truth is, none of that will do the trick. Changing your mindset about your limits and life expectations is the key to make an improvement not just for Christmas or as a New Year’s resolution but as a “new love yourself lifestyle”.
How long has it been since you had a relaxing facial, a foot massage or even a stress unwinding body massage? Do you consider this a luxury, which you simply cannot afford or have time for? And yet you are ready to go under surgery or tedious injectable procedures with the lovely thought of looking younger overnight. Personally, whenever I hear about somebody who has done or is thinking about doing Botox in-fills, I feel I really want to throttle them as I’ve had to have Botox for a chronic voice condition as a medical intervention and not as a beauty remedy. Not only because of this terrible experience, but also as a life philosophy, I would always opt for natural beauty and not for artificial fillers which, at the end of the day make us all look identical.
I hope to grow old gracefully and try not to get hung up on wrinkles without excessively fighting the ageing process. There is nothing any of us can do to alter the passage of time but I do believe in making the most of what we have, and a skin care regime is a priority.
Most of us today do look after their skin and buy the necessary products to clean, tone and hydrate but are we using the RIGHT skincare in the proper way for our skin type. Every day at work in my beauty salon, I meet women of all generations who show me expensive top notch products but feel singled out by unfair results or maybe not as satisfied with the way their skin feels.
A middle aged lady who told me that she had been going through a 50ml serum for two whole years in total oblivion of shelf life let alone the right way of massaging it into her skin. She looked so shocked when I told her that only her perfume should be used in that scant manner.
The festive season and the motivation that every New Year brings with it is a fabulous time to start getting treated holistically, not just to feel and look good but also to treat ourselves kindly as an energizing boost to our wellbeing. A course of relaxing facials suited to our skin needs is divine to deep cleanse and optimize the cell system to detect and repair itself. Results can be seen after even one facial treatment, however a programme is needed seasonally to specifically cater for environmental damage accordingly. This would also be a fantastic time to discuss ideal products for home use and other relaxing body treatments.
Our skin is constantly developing different needs as we age so guidance from the right source is what we should all be after. I always look forward to the healing energy I boost up during a facial or a body massage, even just an eyebrow trim for that matter. It certainly gives me more lasting benefits than any filler would, physically as well as psychologically.
Make-up is also an important thing that helps me face the world in any situation or occasion, as it is the only thing that instantly makes me look and feel better. I always protect my skin from environmental damage particularly in our Maltese summers but I also wear an SPF, even in the winter months. Sun damage is not only reflected in wrinkles but also in pigmentation, which really increases our perceived age. In fact pigmentation is also referred to as age spots or liver spots hence their brown colour and splattered blotchiness, which find their way not only on the face but on any unprotected exposed area such as our hands and arms.
However, will I be paranoically avoiding the sun in the future in order to sidestep a possible patch of pigmentation at some point in my life? No. Being sensible without slathering on SPF is my reverence to all the sun gods. Life is for the living and if that involves a sunspot or two along the way, then so be it. Our faces are after all, a tiny glimpse of the whole picture and nothing will deflect a little brown patch or a few expression lines more effectively than a smile.
A smile is the first step to make you feel and look younger. Small children laugh about 400 times a day on average while adults certainly even smile a small fraction of that. Not only does smiling keep us looking better but it is also a form of tension busting formula. As opposed to smiling, frowning creates wrinkles and a strained tired look, which we do not associate with young people. As we get older even our voices become deeper and more monotone, so smiling while speaking especially on the phone gives a youthful lift to our voice.
Relearn how to put a spring in your step as you walk. We tend to stiffen our movements as we age, so if you want to look younger, improve flexibility through exercise such as Yoga or Pilates. Try not to sink into your hips and make an effort to lift up the balls of your feet off the ground to give you a bit of a bounce.
Curiosity is a youthful trait. We tend to stop asking questions as we go through birthdays, so we need to recapture our inquisitive mind which will also help us not to fall into the ageing trap of rigid thinking. Life is to be enjoyed at every stage without worrying about the future or missing our past. We have to start with the little things that take control of our lives... our diets, housework and other similar obsessions we all cling to. Change is youthful but it has to start gradually or it might trigger more stress.
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