Written by: Amanda Cummings
I’m 37, which means I’m part of a very specific generation of women who once heard, “You should probably wear sunscreen,” and basically responded: “No thanks. I want to tan.”
Or my personal favorite: “I tan better after I burn.”
We willingly climbed into tanning beds and cooked ourselves like bacon strips. We plucked our eyebrows until approximately six hairs remained. We exfoliated our faces like we were trying to remove the previous tenant. And if a skincare product burned?
Oh, it was working.
And SPF? Who’s she?
We were busy slathering on olive oil, laying outside for hours and convincing ourselves the redness would “turn into a better color tomorrow.”
And now here we are. The funny thing is, we weren’t thinking about any of this back then.
We weren’t lying in tanning beds wondering what all that sun exposure might look like on our skin in our 30’s and 40’s. We weren’t thinking about collagen, hormones or facial volume. We definitely weren’t wondering what our stomachs or breasts might look like after having babies.
Postpartum bodies? Sun damage? Hair thinning? Apparently those were problems for future us and somehow, future us got here.
The brown spots that weren’t there before. Makeup that suddenly sits differently. The forehead line that apparently signed a permanent lease. Hair that doesn’t feel quite as thick. A stomach that can be strong and healthy and still look completely different after babies.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormones, weight changes, stress, work and just plain life…and suddenly we’re noticing things nobody really prepared us for.
And here’s where my two worlds collide. I’m a Millennial, and I work in aesthetics.
So while I can laugh about the absolutely unhinged things our generation did in the name of beauty, I also see women my age every day asking about things they sometimes don’t even realize have a name. And if we’re being real? We’ve all been there or we’re currently there ourselves.
OUR SKIN KEPT RECEIPTS
Years of sun exposure can show up later as pigmentation, uneven skin tone and changes in texture. Then normal aging joins the party. Collagen changes. Hormones change. Facial volume changes. Pregnancy and weight fluctuations can change our bodies.
None of that means something is wrong with you. It means you’re human.
But here’s something I’ve learned working in this industry: “normal” and “I don’t like it” can exist in the same sentence. The interesting part is that many of the things showing up now are showing up at the exact same time aesthetics has more ways to address them than ever before.
That pigmentation you’ve been covering with makeup? Depending on what it is, treatments like IPL/BBL, lasers, chemical peels or medical-grade skincare may help.
Changes in texture and collagen? Microneedling, laser resurfacing and collagen-stimulating treatments are options.
That forehead line?
Now we’re entering Botox and Dysport territory.
Twenty years ago, most of us weren’t thinking about any of these things, much less imagining there might one day be treatments for them.
AND THEN THERE’S THE STUFF SKINCARE CAN’T FIX
Pregnancy is an incredible thing, but it is also not particularly apologetic when it comes to returning everything to its original location afterward.
Abdominal muscles can separate. Skin can stretch beyond its ability to fully retract. Breasts can lose volume or change shape after pregnancy, breastfeeding and weight fluctuations.
And I’m going to be 1000% transparent: there is absolutely no serum or lotion that can repair separated abdominal muscles. No amount of squats can remove excess skin.
That’s not failure. That’s anatomy.
For some of those changes, the only way to actually address them is plastic surgery.
And surgery isn’t something to take lightly. Who performs it, where it’s performed, accreditation, anesthesia, technique, recovery and whether you’re actually a good candidate matter tremendously.
But surgery doesn’t automatically mean someone wants to look like a different person.
Sometimes she wants her abdominal muscles repaired. Sometimes she misses the breasts she had before breastfeeding. Sometimes she’s wanted a rhinoplasty for 15 years.
And sometimes? She just wants it.
CAN WE PLEASE RETIRE THE IDEA THAT WANTING SOMETHING DONE MEANS YOU DON’T LOVE YOURSELF?
I’ve said it 100 times, and I’ll say it 100 more times.
You can love your face and get Botox. You can love your features and still want lip filler.
You can appreciate the body that carried your babies and still want your stomach back.
You can be grateful for breastfeeding and still miss your breasts.
You can embrace getting older and still book that laser or facelift.
Two things CAN be true.
Because self-love doesn’t require loving every single thing about yourself every single day. And choosing to change something doesn’t erase all the things you already love.
Maybe that’s what makes this moment in aesthetics so different for us Millennials. We’ve grown up, and aesthetics has grown up right alongside us. We’re lucky enough to be aging in a time when we can address some of those questionable decisions we made back then, take care of the changes that simply came with life, and feel good about what we see along the way.
So, from one Millennial to another and to Gen Z and whoever comes after that, take it from the generation whose skin has the receipts:
Please for the love of collagen, WEAR THE SPF.
Amanda Cummings
Marketing Director
Corpus Christi Institute of Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery & MedSpa
5642 Esplanade Dr. Corpus Christi, TX 78414
361-888-7417
Instagram: @CorpusPlasticSurgery
Facebook: Corpus Christi Plastic Surgery and MedSpa
