Proud to Have Wrinkles

Okay, I’m not the best looking woman on the block, even though most of my neighbors are in their seventies and eighties. But I’m proud to have wrinkles and age spots and even a few moles and scars.  They prove that I have lived and loved, laughed and cried, worried and wondered for 62 long years! Consider the alternatives: death, or spending a fortune trying to make my face look like it did when I was twenty.

I’m sure you’ve read or heard of the FDA’s recent warnings to several cosmetics firms about their deceptive claims for some of their anti-wrinkle products. Apparently Lancôme crossed a line by claiming that its Génifique can "boost the activity of genes" and contains special ingredients that "stimulate cell regeneration to reconstruct skin to a denser quality." The FDA says that if it really did that it would be a drug and could not be sold over the counter!

“The FDA defines anything sold as a drug as intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease. The intended use of a cosmetic is for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance. A product may be both, but can only be classified as a drug if it has gone through rigorous testing that proves its effectiveness.”

And Lancôme was not the only company to get a 15-day warning. Other producers of anti-wrinkle products, including Avon were also told they must also comply with regulations. The FDA considers several Avon products to be “intended for uses that cause these products to be drugs” under the Act. The FDA went on to say that Avon’s products “are not generally recognized among qualified experts as safe and effective for” the cited uses and, because of this, “are new drugs” under the Act.

It will be very interesting to see what the companies do and how the public reacts to changes in the advertising or in the products themselves. In the meantime my question is why do people care so much about having or not having wrinkles when there are so many more important things to be concerned about? Why do people spend so much money on creams and potions when that money could be spent on improving their general health? Why do people believe the crazy claims made by cosmetics companies? I could have used Photoshop to take ten years off my face before I posted it. Why would I want to do that????

Comments

[Megan]

I wish i looked younger. I cant tell you precisely why aging matters. It is inevitable. If you figure it out let me know.

[Christina Haney]

Only few are proud to divulge their wrinkles if they have. It is not very common for those people who have it to be open to the public. They are ashamed of it. They are not feeling beautiful if they have wrinkles.