Читать книгу Counseling the Contemporary Woman - Suzanne Degges-White - Страница 109

Outward signs of advancing age include changes in skin, which includes both a thinning of the skin and a loss of elasticity, which contribute to the development of wrinkles. The desire of women to stave off the physical signs of aging can be measured in dollars; a recent research report projected annual spending for antiaging products and services would reach over $330 billion by 2021 (Orbis Research, 2017). This is a phenomenal amount of money, and it reflects the current cultural perceptions regarding the worth of women once they reach midlife. Encourage your clients to challenge media stereotypes about beauty as you encourage them to value the life experience and depth that maturity bring. Women’s skin, at menopause, also tends to weaken in its ability to ward off infections and is more subject to irritation (Condon, 2004). Age spots and discoloration also begin to appear in midlife, and these can generate strong emotional reactions in some women who are afraid of the natural aging process. For women who are still premenopausal, it might benefit them to know that sun exposure and smoking are two identified risk factors for substantial wrinkling that can both be avoided for multiple health-related reasons.

In addition to changes in the skin’s texture and appearance, hair also undergoes similar changes. A woman’s head of hair, just like a man’s, can begin to thin in midlife, and as pigmentation cells die, it loses its usual color and changes to gray or white (Baran & Maibach, 2017). While gray hair may be seen as “trendy” today by some women, it is often seen as a marker of advancing age that many women believe promotes ageism toward them or leaves them virtually “invisible” to others (Cecil et al., 2018). There’s a joke about a midlife woman who complains, “I’m losing hair from where it should be, and it’s showing up in places that it shouldn’t!” As estrogen production slows down, facial hair growth often increases. Most women today are already familiar with and practiced at removal of unwanted hair from other parts of the body. The same methods, such as tweezing, bleaching, or electrolysis, are generally the most effective for unwanted facial hair as well. Sudden hair growth, however, could suggest something more significant that the typical hirsutism of midlife, and a visit to a physician might be recommended to a client (Blume-Peytavi, 2011). Hormonal changes can affect appetite as well.