Healthy ageing

Embracing the Ageing Process

Embracing the Ageing Process Patsy Kensit

I was chatting with some girlfriends the other day, and the subject of a wellknown former boy bander, now in his late forties, came up. It was agreed that age has been kind to him, and the grey hair and wrinkles were appealing, compared to the rather bland prettiness of his youth. But can you ever imagine someone saying that about a woman?

We all bemoaned how unfair it was that men could look so much better as they age, whereas women still feel like we must hide the ageing process. Thinking about the conversation the next day, I stopped short. Why do we do that? The late, great Carrie Fisher hit the nail on the head when she said: ‘men don’t age better than women, they’re just allowed to’.

Reality check

There are lots of signs that older women are getting some attention. Jennifer Lopez is 50 years old and recently strutted the Versace catwalk in the same dress she wore 20 years ago, looking utterly amazing. I love J-Lo, however, I don’t think women should hold themselves against her as any kind of benchmark of progressive ageing.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with the best trainers and aestheticians throughout my career, and I promise you, looking like her is a full-time labour of love. It’s simply not feasible for us mortals to aspire to.

Do what makes you happy

That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong at all in the more youthful look modern mid-lifers rock. I think we all know we’re going to get older and are rebelling against the notion that it makes us ‘less somehow. But, if we’re honest, there are some signs of ageing we’d rather acknowledge than others.

For example, the ‘greynaissance’ movement has liberated thousands of women from feeling like they must dye their roots. However, there are plenty of others who can’t countenance the idea of grey hairs. And that’s okay, too.

The idea that we older women aren’t stylish, is dead in the water. Women, such as Gillian Anderson and Angela Basset, are inspiring the rest of us with their effortless glamour. Designers and high street stores regularly feature women of all ages in their campaigns. But some women don’t want to aspire to fashion slavery forever and they shouldn’t have to.

Revise and refocus

You won’t find a group of 50-plus men huddled in a bar pouring over pics of an older woman pointing out why she looks amazing. By-and-large, men don’t really do that – women do. So, the answer to the question, ‘when are we going to see ageing as beautiful?’ is when we women allow it to be.

I believe we’ll reach that point when we stop talking about getting older at all. When we focus on how brilliant, talented and competent we all are, and celebrate our myriad experiences, whether we age well or with utter disgrace (exactly how I intend to do it) will just be irrelevant; exactly as it should be.

Patsy Kensit Her beauty range, Preciously Perfect, is available from Ideal World. Search idealworld.tv to discover the full collection.