THE AGING FACE
November 5, 2015 8:09 PM Subscribe
A thoughtful piece that relies on a mix of art and science to reflect on the aging process.
I'm afraid, however, I am no Rembrandt (in more ways than one): I have a difficult time viewing the development of decrepitude in my own physical manifestation with such objective fascination. For some reason I am continually surprised to see evidence -- in meeeee?! -- that I am getting older.
The other day I was reflecting on the aging process and it occurred to me that this "in-between-y stage" might be the hardest: this part where you are turning from a plump-cheeked youth into a legitimately old person. But you are neither. And you regret the ongoing loss of the former and fear the inevitable future.
posted by Halo in reverse at 1:19 AM on November 6, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'm afraid, however, I am no Rembrandt (in more ways than one): I have a difficult time viewing the development of decrepitude in my own physical manifestation with such objective fascination. For some reason I am continually surprised to see evidence -- in meeeee?! -- that I am getting older.
The other day I was reflecting on the aging process and it occurred to me that this "in-between-y stage" might be the hardest: this part where you are turning from a plump-cheeked youth into a legitimately old person. But you are neither. And you regret the ongoing loss of the former and fear the inevitable future.
posted by Halo in reverse at 1:19 AM on November 6, 2015 [6 favorites]
to reflect on the aging process.
Semi-related: I recently took a stumble during a run and scraped the top of my upper lip (that part just under my nose) as well as breaking one of my front teeth. The upper lip healed without any scarring and my tooth has been replaced with a crown.
But what I find most striking is that the upper part of my lip has slightly changed in shape. I do not think anyone but me has noticed. But the shape of my upper lip is not as pronounced as it was. When I shave and when I smile, I can notice these details, but no one else has. I am also aging into my mid-30s and there is hair-loss and signs of wrinkling too. It's a very uncanny feeling.
posted by Fizz at 5:16 AM on November 6, 2015
Semi-related: I recently took a stumble during a run and scraped the top of my upper lip (that part just under my nose) as well as breaking one of my front teeth. The upper lip healed without any scarring and my tooth has been replaced with a crown.
But what I find most striking is that the upper part of my lip has slightly changed in shape. I do not think anyone but me has noticed. But the shape of my upper lip is not as pronounced as it was. When I shave and when I smile, I can notice these details, but no one else has. I am also aging into my mid-30s and there is hair-loss and signs of wrinkling too. It's a very uncanny feeling.
posted by Fizz at 5:16 AM on November 6, 2015
Diana Mitford, famous beauty of her generation, once remarked that the secret to beauty was always to keep a perfectly blank face - advice consistent with this essay.
posted by mmiddle at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mmiddle at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Fizz, I had a similar accident and now my lower lip is different. Ten years later and I still notice it.
This was a great article; thanks for posting. My "elevens" are becoming more of a permanent facial feature. Sometimes I like them because I tell myself they are proof that I spend a lot of time thinking. Other times I wonder if they're just evidence that I spend a lot of time worrying. Either way, I loved the way this author wrote about how our faces become evidence of our inner emotions. I've always liked my smile lines near my eyes for that reason.
posted by sockermom at 8:30 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
This was a great article; thanks for posting. My "elevens" are becoming more of a permanent facial feature. Sometimes I like them because I tell myself they are proof that I spend a lot of time thinking. Other times I wonder if they're just evidence that I spend a lot of time worrying. Either way, I loved the way this author wrote about how our faces become evidence of our inner emotions. I've always liked my smile lines near my eyes for that reason.
posted by sockermom at 8:30 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I notice when I drink too much alcohol over a period of time I get dark circles under my eyes and my face kinda sags a bit. If I stop drinking, within a few days the circles begin to disappear and the skin tightens up. Vanity will save me from terminal alcoholism.
posted by telstar at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2015
posted by telstar at 10:14 AM on November 6, 2015
The fact that this comments section is not filled with hundreds of personal stories and anecdotes about Mefites' own aging faces tells us something about the demographics of Metafilter. In truth, one's own collapsing face (I'm told) is one of the fascinating spectacles of aging.
posted by Modest House at 3:09 PM on November 6, 2015
posted by Modest House at 3:09 PM on November 6, 2015
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I've noticed when I meet people I haven't seen for fifteen or twenty years, it's the wrinkles I see first; for a few minutes they seem so prominent you can hardly register anything else. Then they quickly recede and the changed face becomes, in my mind, the same face it was.
posted by Segundus at 1:15 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]