Written by Dr. Naeemah Ruffin

Recently I was speaking with one of my clients about her face fitness goals for 2022. During our conversation we quickly landed on the topic of what does it mean for women to age gracefully. Early in the discussion we both quickly agreed that men seem to be held to a different standard versus women when it comes to “accepting an aged appearance”. Some men seem to breeze by with lines etched into their skin in every direction, have salt and pepper hair or even a full head of gray hair and still can be called distinguished and handsome. However, it appears that the moment women dare to let a few gray strands appear on their heads and have a few facial creases they are put into the “old” category.

My client is smart, beautiful, intelligent, driven and in her late 40’s. She is confident and very comfortable with getting older and looking older. Given her C-suite executive level position within a multi-million-dollar company she made it very clear to me that as she grows older, she wants to achieve a look that is mature, yet youthful. She said, “Of course, someone who looks like she’s in her 20’s wouldn’t hold my position, so I don’t want to look 20 but I do want to look ageless. I want to look older but not old”.

This request resonates with me in the work I perform by helping women and men achieve an ageless appearance. I’m sure we’ve all heard the names and seen the faces of beautiful and successful women who have defied the aging process such as Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, and many other women who’ve decided to celebrate their natural beauty without compromising who they are. We applaud them and secretly desire to be like them.

However, living in a society that is obsessed with youth makes it difficult to know how to age gracefully naturally. For example, many companies that market anti-aging products and services advertise with models in their teens and 20’s. Models this age have no need to use these products, at least not yet.

This situation creates an image dilemma. First, many individuals believe that they must resort to invasive cosmetic procedures and surgery in order to achieve this advertised young look. Unfortunately, this path will require ongoing treatments and the loss of the ability to age gracefully naturally. Second, those who do not go the route of invasive cosmetic procedures or surgery falsely believe they are left with no other option but to accept a fate of looking old.

So how can you age gracefully naturally? what does it look like and how can it be achieved?

For centuries women have been trying to achieve the goal of aging gracefully. This term has historically meant to embrace the aging process without any cosmetic procedures or plastic surgery. Yet, as society has been more accepting of the practice of cosmetic surgery and invasive procedures, many have generalized this phrase to mean whatever one defines it to be. However, being the purist that I am, I will stick to the historical meaning of aging gracefully in this article.

A key component to understanding how to age gracefully is that true beauty is expressed from the inside out. True inner beauty is neither vain, false, or superficial and cannot be measured by chronological age. It is ageless, fearless and lives life without the fear of getting old. It is mature, authentic, self-accepting, and exists as your true self-expressed outwardly.

True and lasting beauty gets better with time like the making of fine wine. One of the most important steps in making fine wine is aging and it cannot be achieved without it. Furthermore, the longer wine ages the better it becomes.  Fine wine is known for various traits that contribute to its excellent taste. Similarly, there are parallels to beauty traits in individuals who age gracefully naturally.

In the chart below I compared the attributes of six fine wines developed through the wine aging process and compared these to beauty attributes achieved through the human aging process. As you will see some fine wines and natural beauty cannot be achieved without aging. Beauty and aging are inextricably linked.

Fine Wine and Aging Gracefully

True beauty resides within us and becomes more beautiful with time. Therefore, how do we naturally enhance our external beauty to allow our inner beauty to be fully expressed? As we grow older there are three reasons our facial appearance does not express our inner beauty: facial expression, facial contour, and skin health. Changes in these three areas leave many feeling that their face often betrays how they really feel inside. One may feel youthful and energetic, but this doesn’t show on their face.

To naturally maximize your beauty at any age and defy the aging process let’s dive deeper into these three components of facial aging and learn how to bring about a natural facial appearance that reflects who you truly are on the inside.

1.    Facial expression: Our resting facial expression can leave marks that reflect the accumulation of life’s joys and disappointments and everything in between.

2.    Facial contour: Over time there is a decline in fat volume and loss of muscle tone in the face. This leaves less of a buffer to hide the changes taking place inside our bodies.

3.    Skin health: Nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, and stress all affect your skin health.

Bellantz Face Enhancing Fitness Program

Bellantz’s Face Enhancing Fitness program (FEFP) is a holistic and guided approach to aging gracefully naturally. The program is designed to bring about natural facial rejuvenation by addressing your facial expressions, contour changes, and skin health. Our program empowers you to move to the next level of self-care by nourishing, cultivating, and cherishing your face and your mind. It also encourages you to honor each chapter of your life, build your self-confidence, and bring out the best version of yourself which will be reflected in your facial appearance.

Our approach is aspirational but yet encourages realistic expectations. The focus is not just on looking younger, which you most certainly will, but it also emphasizes the inner self. We help you shed beauty stereotypes and embrace the beauty and power of the current season in your life. You will develop a deeper compassion for your face and love what you see in the mirror. Below is how our program specifically address these three key areas.

Facial expression:  This part of the program uses mirror feedback exercises to help you unlearn facial patterns of expression that make you appear older. You will be encouraged to strip away anything you’ve been holding onto about your facial appearance that’s false. This will involve bringing a level of what is going on subconsciously to your conscious mind by increasing your level of awareness and concentration.

Facial Contour: This part of the program teaches you how to build and strengthen the link between the skin and the facial muscles. You will be given personalized facial exercises to build new facial muscle memory and discover new ways to keep your face looking and feeling youthful and healthy.

Skin health: This portion of the program teaches you how to properly care for your skin by using natural and organic skincare, feeding your skin with proper nutrition, and making lifestyle changes that positively impact your skin health.

In conclusion, true and lasting beauty does not come about without aging. I recently read an article that said that reaching 90 years old will soon be the new 60, given the medical advancements expected over the next decade. Since this is the case let Bellantz help you show your best face to the world.