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Allure Magazine And AARP Vow To Stop Using The Term 'Anti-Aging'

Last Monday, Allure Magazine’s editor in chief announced it will no longer use the term “anti-aging” in its magazine. It was a bold move for a magazine that since its beginning has been dedicated to beauty.

In its September issue, Allure Magazine’s editor-in-chief Michelle Lee wrote, “Whether we know it or not, we’re subtly reinforcing the message that aging is a condition we need to battle.” It’s not to say the magazine will back off from its bread and butter.

Take retinol, an ingredient often branded as anti-aging. Allure’s executive beauty editor Jenny Bailly said they’ll still talk about those products, but "that’s just not the way we describe it anymore. We say specifically what it does: it does build collagen, it helps exfoliate the skin, it will smooth fine lines, it will fade dark spots."

Bailly said Allure has received an overwhelming amount of support since the announcement, including from beauty brands. Another organization behind Allure: AARP Arizona. 

"By saying we’re not going to use this term, anti aging, they’re taking on ageism head on and that’s something that I think is fabulous. And it’s a fabulous message,” said state director Dana Marie Kennedy.

AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins wrote on LinkedIn that AARP will follow in Allure’s footsteps and drop anti-aging in its publications, as well as "other age-related terms that that serve no other purpose than to, well… make people feel bad about aging."

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KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.