Has it ever occurred to you that the people in your life that seem to care less about growing older, inevitably age gracefully? No wrinkle creams, no eye creams… They don’t seem to care, and they still look great. It’s as if God’s cruel joke is to make those of us who care about looking older, look the oldest. A recent study has shown that there is a very large difference between the ways a man emotionally reacts to the concept of getting older in comparison to the way a woman reacts. Experts believe it is this difference that makes men, and some women, age more gracefully.

For starters, it should be noted that not all men react to aging the same and plenty of women fall into the category that we will refer to as "men" in this article. That being said, let’s explore the question as to why men age more gracefully than women.

For years it was thought that it was the thickness of men’s skin that kept them less wrinkled, or that they simply looked a bit more distinguished as their hair grew gray and their skin began to sag a bit. But now experts think that the difference and explanation of why men age more gracefully is both as a results of an emotional reaction as well as a perceived appearance. This may come as a shock to many of you, but there is little evidence at all that supports that a physical explanation as to why men age differently than women.

The answer to the question lies solely with the way in which men, and some women, react to the concept of aging. We all have a friend; female friend, that is so stressed out by aging, wrinkles, her overall appearance that it is almost comical. Constantly using wrinkle creams and other products that promise the world and deliver very little, they just never seem happy with how they look at any given moment. In addition, they are usually focused on how other people look, making comments about their appearance and how old they look, or what a slut she looks like, etc. It is this reaction that women have towards aging that makes them age a bit more rapidly and certainly less gracefully than men.

Men, on the other hand, have a tendency to care less about their aging. That is not to say that they will not use a wrinkle cream or even color their hair, but it means that the second that they leave the mirror for work in the morning, that is the last time they think about aging, or their wrinkles. Men are simply more comfortable with the concept of aging. The reasons for that are quite diverse. The most common and most supported argument is that men and women derive their self worth from two different places.

Men tend to relate their self worth with things such as providing for a family or with their career. That is the focus of their life and personal appearance, while important, does not play much of a role in the emotional well being of men. Women, however, place quite a bit of their self worth on the way that they look, especially women who were considered attractive earlier on in their life. As their looks begin to slip, it is quite an emotional affair as they feel that their worth is slipping as well. Just like men who have an emotional funk after they retire, women have that funk as their skin begins to sag.

The stress involved with trying to treat, heal and stop the aging process places a large amount of stress on your system. That stress actually causes you to age more rapidly than those without stress. So even though using the best wrinkle cream is extremely beneficial in the treatment of wrinkles, it cannot counteract large amounts of stress in the system. Men simply do not stress about aging. They accept it. Sure they buy just as much wrinkle cream as women these days, but still it is not an emotional "battle," they are simply healing wrinkles, where as women wage all out WAR.

It is that difference, although sometimes subtle, that makes all the difference in the way in which we age. The more we casually accept it, the better we will look. If we try to fight it tooth and nail, we will ultimately do more damage than good. Men age more gracefully then women for one reason; they just don’t take the time to be concerned about it all day. They address the issue, and then move on. The women that do the same will inevitably age more gracefully as well. This may be easier said than done, but the next time you notice yourself aging, remind yourself to relax, that this is part of life and you will do yourself great improvement as far as aging is concerned.