Reaching fifty for many of us represents a huge milestone in our lives. Reaching fifty can precipitate the much spoken about “midlife crisis”. This strange phenomenon, first identified by the renowned psychologist Carl Jung, it is thought of as a transitional period where most of us take stock of where we are in our lives.
Taking stock is a great idea, but only if it helps you get to a better place in life. Your first step should be to overhaul your health, take a long hard look at yourself and start work on being a fabulous woman over fifty.
Get a full body check-up, including your eyes, teeth, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and so on. If you have never exercised, then this is probably a really good time in your life to begin. Yoga and Pilates are an ideal way to rejuvenate and revitalise the body and mind.
Yoga in particular helps by providing elasticity to the spine, firming up skin, and removing tension from the body. Muscle tone and posture are important elements and help correct bad posture. Other symptoms Yoga help alleviate include: back pain, neck problems, Diabetes, high blood pressure and Asthma to name but a few.
If you are overweight why not join a slimming class? Developing healthier eating habits is never easy at first, but the benefits outweigh the initial pain. Losing weight whilst eating a balanced diet is one of the best things you can do in terms of healthy living. It goes way beyond looking thin, if you are overweight you can be at risk of serious illness. A healthy eating plan can reduce your risks and boost your mood, and help you look fabulous in the process.
As we age the effects of sun exposure, diet, smoking and our genes are clear to see on our skin. Research will tell you that smoking prematurely ages the skin. The sun is at its strongest between 10 and 4, wear a hat, sun block and a good pair of sunglasses. Sun block, SP15 or higher if you are fair is the clever thing to do.
Pamper your skin, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise, you can never overdo moisturises. Drink lots of water. Water will hydrate skin from the inside, eating a well-balanced nutritious diet also goes a long way to a lovely complexion.
Not only does our skin change with age, so does our hair. Have you fallen into a hair rut? If so what better time to tackle it than in your fiftieth decade. Finding the right cut and colour can give you a huge psychological boost. If you have really long hair that has been over processed and cannot bear to have it cut short, then why not try the middle ground, face-framing layers retain the look of longer hair without it looking limp.
Consult a good stylist, word of mouth is probably the best recommendation. Request a consultation, be very specific about what it is you want. Turning fifty has never been so easy or indeed looked so good.