Quick fixes?

Isn't it funny how, as youngsters, the thought of being middle aged did not compute.  You looked around and saw older people, but could never imagine being older.  Ageing is seen as a curse in our society and people will go to great lengths to stave it off.  Lengths which to my mind may be quite dangerous.  Fad diets, hair and beauty treatments, gruelling exercise regimes and handfuls of supplements are the used at great expense.  Not to mention elective surgery to correct perceived imperfections.  I speak for myself and no one else when I question the long term use of botox for example.  A derivative of the botulism bacteria. A powerful and potentially fatal poison. Does anybody really know?  I am aware of many people who use it and granted they look wrinkle-free and gorgeous, but I prefer to allow my wrinkles to tell my story.   I have seen the results of collagen and silicone injections disfiguring faces as it is rejected by the body into lumpy masses. Testosterone injections for females with low libido? The side effects are a list long, but that doesn't seem to matter as long as it does the job. I question doctors who promote drugs without due process. Hair dye can be a killer, especially the darker colours.  It contains p-phenylenediamine, or PPD, which can cause anaphylactic shock. I used to use it until I became short of breath one evening after applying it.  I use natural henna now and rather enjoy the preparation and definitely the result.  For me, sitting in hair salons for hours listening to endless chatter about knitting, second-hand gossip and healthy kids lunches is torture. Fad diets are just that, fads. Often weight loss is achieved, but not sustained. The body needs healthy food, in moderation. It makes sense to me, that food intake translates into an equal amount of exercise to sustain a healthy weight. Exercise is a wonderful stress reliever, but many are fanatical and this can cause long term damage to bodies, especially if training is carried out with little sustenance which is often the case.  Supplements are another area of contention for me.  People take supplements like sweets without ever researching their interactions or knowing if they are really necessary.  Firstly, the body rids itself of anything it doesn't need, so a lot lands up in the toilet and secondly, some supplement interactions can be lethal to the body. I try and make sure that any shampoos or beauty products I use are paraben free and not tested on animals. This is not an easy task as ninety-nine percent of beauty treatments are full of parabens and tested on animals. I have done my research and found some products that profess to be paraben and cruelty free and I stick to them. As far as elective surgery is concerned. I cannot understand why, unless someone has a legitimate reason, people would subject themselves to the knife. Surgery is always a roulette wheel. In cases of severe malformations, it is a blessing, but for unnatural enhancement? It is all about what others think, so why not learn to be happy in your skin. This is the body you were given and as long as you treat it with respect and love, it should be enough. Clothe it, paint it, enhance it naturally, but not to your detriment. If people don't like the you they see, they are not worth knowing.