IT'S ALL very well to talk about ageing " gracefully" but let's face it, there's no such thing. Anyone who is middle aged knows how typical it is to try and shrug off the changes that force us to pace ourselves. There's a kind of slowing down - we tire more easily; start gaining weight just eating the same meals we've always eaten and get high on two drinks instead of the three it used to take five years ago.
Ageing is essentially a process in which your cells lose their resilience and their ability to repair damage. This may be so dramatic that looking in the mirror at our sagging muscles, crinkling skin and greying hair may send shock waves down our spines! But at least one is mentally prepared for these changes, as they are an inevitable sign of ageing.
What you may not expect, however, are the long stray hairs that suddenly appear on your face, a receding gum line that makes your teeth appear bigger than they are, spots on your hands and bunions on your feet. Here we tell you about these and some other changes that are an inevitable part of ageing.
1. EXPANDING TEETH
IF YOUR teeth seem bigger and longer than they used to be, this is because your gums are deteriorating and have begun to shrink away from the crown portion of your teeth, exposing some of the root, say dentists. Recession and root exposure can increase the length of the front tooth by about 5-7 mm. Just as our skin loses collagen, our gum tissue loses mass. This changes you're appearance, makes your teeth appear to be jutting out, elongating your face. Gum disease can worsen the recession, so keeping your gums free of bacteria by flossing on a regular basis is important to reduce the risk. Also avoid overly aggressive brushing of the teeth, which can slough off the gum tissue.
2. FACIAL HAIR
DON'T BE surprised if you suddenly sprout some straggly white or black hairs on your upper lip or chin. Though a genetic predisposition does make more women prone to developing coarse dark hair on their chins and upper lip, hormones are generally responsible for too much facial hair, including that which sprouts later in life. Ageing causes a loss of oestrogen, which alters the hormonal balance, leaving testosterone unopposed, which causes us to grow more hair in the same places as men (on our faces rather than on our heads!). This hair is generally finer than that on your head, and may not be visible to the naked eye so dermatologists suggest that you leave it alone unless it really bothers you. Laser removal is not advised and may even leave post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation which looks like a large stain. Electrolysis is a good solution for small areas, say experts.
3. ENLARGED NOSE & EARS
YOUR nose and ears may appear to be larger than they were some years back. Don't worry; you haven't been singled out for this expansion: when you examine the ears of older women and men, you will undoubtedly notice how large they seem. It turns out that though our ears are ninety percent grown by age 6 and our noses are almost fully grown by the time we are teenagers, both do change shape and appear to enlarge as we age. This may be due to the high number of sebaceous glands, high cell turnover and growth potential, say doctors. Worse still, the nose and ears also droop, as soft tissue (skin, fat and muscle) relaxes and structural support changes (bone recedes with time so there's less foundation to hold the skin and cartilage up). Though you can't completely halt the drooping process, you can minimise it by staying out of the sun, avoiding smoking and weight fluctuation and using skin care products that including retinoids in your 20' s. Also avoid wearing overly heavy earrings as these elongate the ear lobes.
4. VEINY & SPOTTED HANDS
IF THERE'S one area of your body that won't escape the ravages of age, it's your hands. They are especially vulnerable since they are always in contact with the elements, household chemicals and extreme temperatures, which results in sun damage, dryness, chapped skin and age spots. Hyper pigmentation spots, veins that stand out and give them a knotty appearance and wrinkling are the common signs of ageing of our hands. If you want to avert or delay the onset of these and have youthful hands, you need to start applying the same anti- ageing products you use on your face on your hands too. These include a retinoid, an AHA product and sunblock. Laser treatment is useful to lighten the spots that appear because of sun exposure, and some go in for collagen injections to plump up hands that are very veiny.
5. GNARLED FEET
NO ONE tells us that we are going to lose the elasticity and flexibility in the soft tissues (tendons and ligaments) of our feet, which leads to increased stress on the bones, potentially causing them to change shape. When this happens, hammertoes and bunions are almost inevitable. You are at higher risk of developing these problems if you have developed a tightened Archilles tendon from years of tottering around in high heels. So if you want to maintain shapely feet, you will need to wear high heels less often and go for supportive shoes instead. Also, stretch your Archilles tendon and do some ankle/ calf exercises daily.
Source:http://in.news.yahoo.com/
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