AGING NATURALLY
The way I did it.
I shaved my neck.
This experiment isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Although I’ve heard of women shaving their faces as some sort of super exfoliant, I didn’t shave with my husband’s razor, but he did call it shaving when I used the handheld red light + electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) tool that I purchased with the hope of reducing the unattractive appearance of my turkey neck. The edge of the contraption did resemble the shape of a traditional razor, and when I touched it to my neck, it made a humming sound … so the name did suit the action.
Every night for fourteen weeks—in reality, probably more like 95 nights since I missed a night here and there—I plopped on the edge of the sofa and “shaved” my wrinkled neck and what can only be called the beginnings of jowls where my checks should be.
I was going to say this experiment was a reader challenge. I’ve been calling for readers to submit their experiments, but that would be a lie. This experiment is founded in good ole-fashioned vanity. I’ve written about my décolleté resembling a peach pit, which is quite disturbing, but one day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the face looking back at me as my own. I truly thought an old lady was staring at me in horror. Who was that woman with the wrinkled, sagging skin? My outward appearance didn’t match the way I felt. When did that happen?! I was now more than motivated to do something about it.
The first thing I did was research surgical face lifts … and quickly ruled that out after looking at a few of the “after” photos. I found lots of anti-aging recommendations, such as exercising your face to reduce sagging skin, which makes sense. I go to the gym to lift weights, but contorting and scrunching up my face actually was making my wrinkles look worse. And that reminded me of an article I once read about Asian women who are famous for not having expression lines because they have trained themselves NOT to move their faces. Everyone else uses Botox to freeze their muscles, but I decided not to inject myself with poison.
There was a plethora of information about topical lotions and creams that promised to “feed” my skin. I’ve done a lot of research in that lane—my Shine cream oil is chock-full of antioxidants, humectants, and vitamins. I then set a timer to give myself an allotted research time. I’ve found that if I don’t, I can sit at my computer screen for hours and hours and emerge feeling quite awful. When the buzzer sounded, I decided to purchase a tool to use in conjunction with my Shine formula.
After three weeks, I thought I could see a little difference. After six weeks, my neck felt tighter, which was enough encouragement to keep at it. At this point, my skin feels more like the way I remember it … and at certain angles it appears as though my jowl buds and wrinkles are smoothing out.
Another thing I found while researching was a long list of famous women over fifty who have pledged to age naturally—Lauren Hutton, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts have all spoken out against plastic surgery. I especially liked this quote from Julia: “Your face tells a story ... and it shouldn’t be a story about your drive to the doctor’s office.”
Perhaps the most encouraging point in my experiment was when an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while said, “You look so young.” Release the confetti! Do a little dance! That compliment alone was enough encouragement to keep me going for another fourteen weeks.
The way I did it. Aging naturally.
This is part of what I’m calling Expeditionvision—my quest to find what a meaningful life looks like. One experiment per week: Possible strategies for a happier life. Trying things on purpose and paying attention to what happens. I’m not offering advice or giving instructions. I’m just sharing the way I did it. If there’s something that you’ve been wanting to try—but haven’t—I’d love to hear about it. I’m open to reader suggestions for future experiments.
Field Notes: For Paid Subscribers
Paid subscribers, I’ve added a short field notes section below with what surprised me the most, what I didn’t expect, what I might do next time, and things I’m still working on.