5 Biggest Misconceptions About Ethnic Aging

Krizia from www.myBeautyMatch.com

In an earlier post, I spoke about how ethnicity does play a role in aging. This is very true, some skin behaves and responds differently than others, which is why there are so many products out there for every combination of skin. But there are many stereotypes and misconceptions out there and I want to reveal where these ideas come from.

Many years ago when I was still working in the corporate world, I had dinner with a group of colleagues and ended up chatting with one (Caucasian) colleague who had turned the big 5-0 and who had so many concerns about aging. Her daughter, who at the time was my age, had just had a baby and she was now a grandmother, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to assume the role. I remember trying to comfort her by telling her that she looked amazing and that no one would believe she was over 41! She looked at me with a half smile and said “it’s easy for you to say because you’ll never have any wrinkles or sagging skin because black skin never ages!”

I know from experience that every time I go for a facial, visit a cosmetic dermatologist or interview beauty experts, they often comment on the condition of my skin. I always remind them that it’s not so much my ethnic makeup that allows me to age this well, but it’s the fact that I treat my body like a temple and I’m quite careful with my lifestyle choices.

The truth is that black skin does age and there are many black people walking around with wrinkled and sagging skin because their lifestyle was not conducive to aging well.

On that note, I’d like to sum up by looking at what I see as the 5 most prevalent stereotypes associated with ethnic aging:

1. Blacks never age: Most black women don’t have to deal with fine lines and wrinkles, but they do have to deal with droopiness and skin sagging.

2. East Indian women have no aging concerns: East Indian women deal with a lot of the same skincare issues as black women. Their major concerns deal with skin discolouration, patchiness and blotchiness. In some cases, East Indian women deal with severe dark circles around their eyes.

3. Asians always look so much younger than their age: A lot of people associate aging with body size and since many Asian women tend to be on the petite side, many people view them as “looking younger than their age”. That said, if you look at the face of Asian women you’ll notice that as they age they’ll have to contend with dropping eyelids, under eye puffiness and deep marionette lines around their mouth.

4. It’s inevitable, Caucasians will always look older than their age: A lifetime of excessive sun exposure WILL leave Caucasian skin subject to premature aging, severe discolouration and deep wrinkles. When Caucasian women stay out of the sun they significantly reduce their chances of looking much older than their age.

5. Blacks don’t have to worry about skin cancer or sun burns because they have dark skin: There are incidences of skin cancer among blacks and I know firsthand that black skin DOES burn when exposed too long to hot sun.