Hestia writes:

American women seem to age super-duper fast. What is up with that?
A carb heavy diet, a lack of healthful dietary fats, a lack of exercise, and an obsession with clean skin are all likely culprits. If you look at the beauty regimes used in other parts of the world, they focus on techniques and products that are beneficial for hygiene, good health, and aging gracefully. They include eating well, being well-hydrated, and moisturizing, moisturizing, moisturizing. Their lifestyles are also a bit more sane and health promoting than that of the typical American.

In America, beauty regimes don’t focus on these basic common sense must-dos. Instead, American women are all about obsessively cleansing their skin with harsh alcohol based toners and caustic soaps that strip the skin of beneficial oil. Sunscreen use is also not as prevalent in the US as it is in other parts of the world. Many women seem to think SPF 15 in their foundation is sufficient, when this doesn’t provide any real sun protection at all.

And then there is the obsession with tanning, both in the lying in the sun form and artificial tanning beds. Both cause immediate damage in the form of dry, irritated skin that becomes temperamental and out of balance and of course the long term wrinkles and damage that will result in later years.

The damage does come quicker than many realize. I’ve never laid out in the sun or went to a tanning bed and wear sun protection religiously, in the form of clothing, hats, and sunscreen. Many of my high school classmates did not and now at just 23-25ish, you can tell the difference between us. I’m even mistaken for being sixteen quite frequently. I’m not sure who these folks think the three year old child is…maybe my sister? LOL. In later years this will surely be more dramatic. My parents are both fair and have never sun worshiped either and they both look dramatically younger than their peers. My dad will be 58 this week and people routinely think he is in this forties. My mom turned fifty earlier this year and is mistaken for being much younger as well.

People in many countries also maintain a fitness level as part of their lifestyle, rather than focusing on the hardcore and damaging routines that are part of American fitness. Think of the many people wh0 walk or ride bikes as their usual form of transportation. If you do this in the States as I do (we only have one vehicle and my husband uses it; my vehicle is my bike with seat for my daughter, our feet, our the bus), you are a real oddity. Such a lifestyle is just not possible for many people, due to a lack of public transit or an area that is not walker friendly, but for many Americans, they are just too lazy to stroll 1/4 mile on a nice day to pick up a gallon of milk.