Looks

Looks and preferences

What do we consider “looks and preferences”?  The definition for this topic;

Looks; all externally visible display of a person and personality by its way of dressing and physical expressions.

Preferences: personal choices connected with interpersonal relationships, looks, culture, expression and all other display of personal choices and wishes.

Every person is shaped by external influences. The individual is a reflection of its environment for at least 50 – 80%. Free choice and free will are limited to a small 50 – 20 % of all activities. This margin is still high as most people have an even smaller margin than 5 – 10%. They are merely a reflection of society and have limited personal freedom for social recognition. This is considered the norm.

Free will and free choice are rare. Every person takes part and must fit into a specific social/economic group in society. Each group has specific unwritten rules for clothing, behavior, and customs. Within this group rules, there is limited space for free interpretation. This raises an important question: is free will and free choices needed to grow old? The answer to this question is important for many people who have an idealistic vision of society.

Looks are very important in life. The story that pretty, good-looking people have an easier life than others is true. The question is why is this true? Has it been always like that at every level of society?

For a better understanding, it is important to divide the segments between countryside and city as done with other topics before. People in the countryside have different norms and values related to clothing and certain behavior from people in the cities. In cities all over the world control of clothing had a direct correlation with social class and economic status. In the countryside, only the specific people who were calculated to the upper social class did distinguish themselves from the rest of the population by a certain form of isolation. This isolation took place through their way of housing, living, and behavior. Most interesting is the fact that these “better” classes hardly ever did reach an old age in the West. This is contrary with Asia were royal and related classes did so. The indulgence of a luxurious life did harm them.

The most important part of aging in the past was personal and social hygiene. This has not been changed. Lack of proper hygiene is a source of disease which limits the physical resistance of an individual. The knowledge on hygiene (reasons of when, where, why and how) came from the medical discoveries. These discoveries gave the aging process a strong boost. They are partly responsible for a plus 30-year increase of our age.

With an increase in hygiene, the looks and preferences did change. Science brought the bathroom and toilet indoors. A bathroom was introduced and a toilet constructed. People were thought how to take care of themselves.  The need of cleaning and maintaining the skin, hair and body odor became apparent. Imagine the people from the past had to use all kind of smelly products to cover the personal body odor but perfumes, as we know, did not exist. In historical stories, we find different mentioning of “hard to bear body smell” in houses, ships, and parties. The mixture of “odors” must have been awful when people of “standing” came together in meetings. To understand the influence of looks and preferences on aging it is good to look at a number of major issues.

Skin: the skin is the border between the environment and internal health.  The skin is the first parts that show the signs of aging. All large and medium companies in cosmetics and cosmetic surgeries focus on this as a priority. Sales of skin care products increase year by year. Male and female alike have found the skin as a major issue for the personal reflection of health and beauty. Understanding how to take care of the skin and its functional biochemistry is a need for the professional.

Hygiene has improved the ability to clean the skin of dangerous bacteria and influence of virus among dirt and pollution. To keep the skin in a clean and good condition is a need. People in the past did not see a need nor there was always an opportunity to do it. Cleaning is needed but this is also a danger. Many people “overclean” and mistreat the skin. To keep the skin a healthy barrier one should respect its biological needs and chemistry. Washing with soap too often wipes out the defense system and take away the fatty cover needed to catch intruders.

Treatment of the skin need knowledge and a real “trial and error” approach:

• Beauty is only skin-deep. The skin is built in different layers which have different functions and react in different ways on the environment and internal physical events. Sometimes skin can show a conflict between internal and external influences. Most of these conflicts show up as colorations of the skin, irritation, flaking, discoloration, vesicles or other visible changes. Every change of the skin is a message but not every one of them needs to be taken seriously as many come and go within 48 hours. In TCM and Ayurveda, there are many websites written about skin analyzing and anamneses.
• The skin changes partly because the aging body produces less collagen (a tough, fibrous tissue that makes skin strong) and elastin (which makes skin flexible). As a result, the skin tears more easily.
• The fat layer under the skin thins. This layer acts as a cushion for the skin, helping to protect and support it. The fat layer helps to conserve body heat. When the layer thins, wrinkles are more likely to develop, and tolerance for cold decreases.
• The number of nerve endings in the skin decreases. As a result, people become less sensitive to pain, temperature, and pressure, and injuries may be more likely.
• The number of sweat glands and blood vessels decreases, and blood flow in the deep layers of the skin decreases. As a result, the body is less able to move heat from inside the body through blood vessels to the surface of the body. Less heat leaves the body, and the body cannot cool itself as well. The risk of heat-related disorders, such as heatstroke, is increased. Also, when blood flow is decreased, the skin tends to heal more slowly.
• The number of pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) decreases. As a result, the skin has less protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, such as that from sunlight. Large, brown spots (age spots) develop on skin that has been exposed to sunlight, perhaps because the skin is less able to remove waste products.
• The skin is less able to form vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. Thus, the risk of vitamin D deficiency increases.
• The skin begins to show “age spots” at a certain age. These spots a coloration of the skin, often brownish, and are unevenly divided over the skin at places exposed to sunlight. Most women do “hate” these spots as they are a clear sign of aging.
• During aging, the skin loses flexibility due to a degradation of elastin and loss of muscle mass. Exercise and massage of the skin to keep in good condition is important. Special techniques are available to apply, not every move is effective. The use of masks and chemical treatment (Botox) are unlikely to be healthy and are not advised for a healthy aging process. Some artificial injection or other technologies have been proven dangerous and harmful to the entire body not only the skin. Beauty has also a limitation.
• Skin is separated in exposed and not exposed to the sunlight. The section that is exposed to the environment needs to be treated with protective elements (creams and oils) in a supportive way. The skin parts that hardly ever come in touch with direct environment elements. This skin is venerable and cleaning must be limited to the needed amount. This skin must be treated with oil like substances of natural resources. Climate is important due to its direct influence.
• Skin intrusions such as tattoo, piercing or other ways of decoration are a damage to the original skin tone and may have a negative influence on health. All ink or metals used for these decorations enter the bloodstream and leave toxic elements. Even a minimal amount might be toxic for the individual body. Regular blood checks are advised. More research on this should be made.

Everyday treatment to take care of the skin is often done following commercial directions. These directions are not always safe. The use of high doses cleaning products damage the natural skin cover and bacterial balance. Hair removal of different parts of the body has become standard. Shaven parts must have extra care as they are sensitive and hair roots easily can get infected causing secondary issues in and under the skin. It is advised to follow next suggestions of care:

• Clean the skin in a natural way. Do not use strong soap(like) products that take away all fats of the skin. In a current society where people shower daily, soap is hardly ever needed. Use soap products only when the skin is dirty otherwise the use of water is enough. Water is a solution with products inside to keep the water clean, these ingredients take a lot of fats from the skin and some people can get irritated. In other words, the water we use is already a cleaning agent.
• Dry the skin in a natural way. Use towels which have been cleaned. Do not use heaters or blowers as they open the pores and give way to unwanted foreign objects to enter.
• Treat the skin after cleaning by proper creams or powders and give it time to recover. If possible let the skin be in contact with “open” air for at least 10-15 minutes after a shower/bath. Creams and oils must be of a good source and contain simple ingredients which do not bleach, stretches or color it. Aggressive chemical ingredients have a destructive influence on the skin. Wrinkles, scars or dry out is the result.
• Treat the skin with a healthy dose of sunlight, do not burn it. Sunlight is needed for vitamin production. The short sun is good and productive. Age and duration are important calculation factors. Some people cover their skin most of their life and have a sensitive pigment. These persons should be real careful with the sun.
• Do not cover the skin with clothing which disables the pores to “breath”. Clothing must give way to the pores to exhale sweat and inhale air when needed.
• Depending on the profession and way of life, hair at some parts of the body is needed. Removal of hair can be useful and important for hygiene, for instance on the private parts, but always keep in mind that when the situation changes, habits must do also. Meaning that when hair is needed to protect your body you should leave it to grow. Remove only when possible and comfortable.
• The skin comes in multiple ways. There are many skin types with even as many subcategories. If possible get a specialist (beauty specialist or others with the right qualifications) check the skin. During aging, every person grows skin “impurities” which vary from color changes to pustules, warts, pimples or otherwise. Any of these can develop in a melanoma. It is important to discover any change before something serious is happening.

Our skin is a complicated and very important organ. It must be treated with care and respect as it is the border barrier with the outside world.

The effect of aging is seen on the skin from a certain age. The beauty industry tries to promote their product to use from the age of 20/21 which is, considered the current knowledge of aging, a very young age. The visual effects of aging can be seen at different ages and individuals but also is different between races and climates. But WHAT are the signs of aging in male and female?