Pressure to look young will hit confidence

OFFICE worker Ann McGowan refuses to bow to pressure to try to look younger. Ann, 52, lives in Glasgow with husband John, also 52, who works in IT in the financial sector. She said: “I think there’s a pressure but I choose not to put myself under that pressure. “It’s about being confident in yourself and part of that comes with age. My USP (unique selling point) is my uniqueness. “I might have crow’s feet but that’s what makes me an individual. I don’t want to conform to a stereotype that’s unachievable anyway.” She said her teeth aren’t Hollywood perfect – but that doesn’t stop her smiling. Ann added: “I think airbrushing and invasive cosmetic procedures leads people down a path of unhappiness.” And she thinks the use of airbrushing is setting unrealistic standards, particularly for very young women who are never going to achieve that image as they age. Ann said: “It will become even more difficult for them as they get older, feeling they have to achieve the unattainable. It won’t just affect the way they look, it will affect their personality as they’ll feel bad and that impacts on their confidence. “Younger women think as they get older that they still need to have this beautiful look about them but they don’t, there’s no need for it. “How you look doesn’t matter, it’s how you are inside as a person and how you treat others.” She added that men don’t have the same pressure to look a particular way facially as women – although she said men can also feel under pressure to have a fit physique when they see images of male celebrities. But Ann thinks we should celebrate the real way we are as individuals. ● Claire and Ann’s hair and make-up was done by Taylor Ferguson salon, Bath Street, Glasgow. https://www.taylorferguson.com/