ANTI-AGING

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a home demonstration for anti-aging skin care products. I wasn’t really interested in the products but thought it would be a good fellowship outing. It was quite amazing to hear the sales pitch and see the before and after photos that bragged about astonishing results. Under eye bags vanished. That annoying hanging skin under the arms became firm and weight miraculously fell off individuals who submitted to the program!

I had recently purchased a very expensive machine at the Cabo Airport. It offered red light, blue light, micro-needling and a bonus product that actually sucked loose skin in a lipo suctioning manner – all these being the beauty-industry’s cutting-edge treatments. The dermatologist (I think he was actually just a salesman) and I agreed that everything was to be shipped to my home address, so I didn’t have to carry anything with me on the plane.

At first, it crossed my mind that I might have been scammed but I knew that I could always contact my credit card company if that was the case. The Reddit reply to my questions offered wisdom “You are only scammed if you don’t use the products”.

I was a little surprised when I saw the balance on my statement which had been significant to start with but much more inflated once conversion had been done to Canadian funds. I decided to do some pricing research and was shocked to see how high the online sales prices were. In fact, they were much higher than the amount I had paid and I was therefore pleased. Perhaps my purchase had been a good deal after all.

Some of my friends were horrified when they heard how much I had paid but I calmly replied: “If I were a man and bought a camper, everyone would say ‘Way to go!’ I don’t want a camper”. (I thought that was good reasoning).

Then the packages arrived. There were three huge boxes filled with bonus items including night cream valued at over $400 per jar (I use VERY little). There was a one-time face mask that resembles a pumpkin. Instructions state that it can only be used once but it retails at over $2,000 US.

My dining room table was covered with boxes of anti-aging treatments. It took my friend and me a whole evening just to read all the labels to determine how and when to use these products!

The next issue was where to store everything. My bathroom shelves were already full, so I sorted everything and put things in boxes in the bottom of the closet.

Well, it has been about 8 weeks since I started using the misting wand on my face and the lipo-suction on my arms and that mother’s apron that unfortunately shows up after giving birth. I am having fun!

But the downside is that I will likely have to live to be 150 years of age to use up all the anti-aging creams that they sent me and after doing so I will likely look like a 10-year-old!

So, now you understand why I went to the cosmetic home party just for the fellowship.

And I have decided that I really don’t want to lose too much weight because I love my clothes. Allowing my hair to grow into its natural white shade saves me hundreds of dollars a month that I would otherwise have to give to my hairdresser. And because I love food, I think it might be wise to just get rid of the wrinkles by filling them with fat!

Growing old has its advantages – and one of them is that you can laugh at yourself while your body gracefully changes!

And remember you don’t have to purchase a camper for the purposes of adventure – you can just stock up on whatever you think might be fun!

The beauty of growing old!




Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877or through email office@drlindahancock.com