“The anti-aging industry is only growing, feeding on the fear and anxiety of its consumers.”
By Kayla Norris
As long ago as the 16th century, people have been chasing after the Fountain of Youth, a mythical fountain said to eternally preserve the youth of whoever is lucky enough to find it, according to National Geographic.
Thousands of years ago, explorers would embark on treacherous expeditions to find this infamous fountain, only to be left disappointed and without eternal youth. Although belief in this all-powerful fountain has faded significantly over the years, the search for eternal youth has not ceased, but merely changed directions.
Feelings of fear and hatred toward the concepts of aging have been as documented as the mystical Fountain of Youth, if not more so. Influential Greek poet and author Homer has been recorded describing old age as “loathsome,” which is an attitude that has been echoed throughout history by authors, poets, philosophers, celebrities, influencers, as well as the average person.
With a rise in social media and online marketing, anti-aging sentiments seemed to have grown exponentially since the days of Homer and the magic fountain.
Now more than ever, people are searching for eternal youth. The magical fix, however, looks more like plastic surgery, botox, skin care and consumerism than a mystical fountain.
Why people are so terrified of aging is a question that has been studied extensively by psychologists and sociologists. According to a 2021 article published in “Advances in Gerontology,”, the psychology behind it is complicated.
In this article “Why Do People Fear of Aging? A Theoretical Framework,” researchers wrote, “it was found that fear of aging is a multifactorial phenomenon and rooted from several psychosocial theories such as social identity theory, terror management theory, social clock theory, double standard of aging theory and stereotype embodiment theory.”
In simpler terms, the reason why people are so scared of aging cannot be boiled down to just one or two reasons, it is rooted deep within people’s psyches and is interconnected with many different psychological and social implications.
This feverish search for eternal youth has had consequential effects on both the fashion industry and the beauty industry, especially in the 21st century. The anti-aging market has grown exponentially over the years, and is expected to continue on its upward trend. This increase in revenue for the anti-aging market suggests an increased amount of fear surrounding aging.
This growth in both sectors has been largely attributed to a rise in social media usage within the younger generations. The anti-aging market uses social media as a tool to promote products such as skin care and cosmetic surgeries.
In “Gen-Z Is Already Worried About Looking Old” published by CNN, 70% of Generation Z reports using daily anti-aging serums.
Additionally, many members of Gen Z display interest in “baby botox,” a botox procedure meant to stop the production of wrinkles before they even start. Along with traditional methods, the anti-aging industry promotes unorthodox products as well, such as straws that prevent wrinkles around the mouth, chin straps to lift the jaw, stickers and tapes to prevent wrinkles around the eyes. The amount of beauty products that have to do with anti-aging has increased 10% in the past two years.
This idea of looking younger, or trying not to look older, has bled into the fashion industry as well. Women especially are expected to dress young and trendy but not too young, otherwise they’re mocked with the phrase “mutton dressed as lamb.”
Not only are people concerned with the age their clothes will portray, they’re also concerned about how the materials of their clothes will contribute to the speed of their aging process. Companies have found ways to include textiles that are meant to have anti-aging properties, such as collagen and snail mucin.
The issue with anti-aging products and fashion is that it promotes overconsumption. The anti-aging industry is only growing, feeding on the fear and anxiety of its consumers. As it continues to grow, it continues to create and market its own version of the Fountain of Youth — mystical products that promise eternal youth. It targets people from a young age, selling them products to prevent signs of aging and when they get older, selling them products to reverse aging.
This is a never-ending cycle that the industry perpetuates, and it makes people consumers for life. If you don’t want to look old, you have to buy into the anti-aging industry as soon as possible and for the rest of your life. This ideal is almost as unattainable as the Fountain of Youth, but predatory in a way that the age-old myth never was.
According to Momtaz, Mahmoudi, and Zanjari, we need to tackle the “cultural disdain” surrounding aging and culturally reframe aging as a normal, natural process. There is nothing wrong with growing older and your body changing. As observed by the author Mark Twain, “… it is a privilege denied to many.”
Works Cited
Baird, Julia. “Opinion | Don’t Dress Your Age.” The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/opinion/sunday/dont-dress-your-age.html.
Dang, Etana. “Anti-Aging, but Make It Fashion.” Medium, 19 May 2020, medium.com/@etana.dang/anti-aging-but-make-it-fashion-80d6c44328d3. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.
Drye, Willie. “Finding the Mythical Fountain of Youth.” History, 21 Jan. 2017, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/fountain-of-youth.
Kennedy, Joan. “Gen-Z Is Already Worried about Looking Old.” CNN, 11 Dec. 2023, http://www.cnn.com/style/gen-z-anti-aging-beauty-treatments-looking-old/index.html.
Mikulic, Matej. “Topic: Anti-Aging.” Statista, 24 Feb. 2024, http://www.statista.com/topics/10423/anti-aging/#topicOverview.
Schmidt, Ingrid. “Is Anti-Aging Clothing the next Beauty Breakthrough?” The Hollywood Reporter, 9 July 2018, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/is-anti-aging-clothing-next-beauty-breakthrough-1125516/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.