Oh, Kylie…

Kylie Jenner Promotes Anti-Wrinkle Skincare Line: Is The 17-Year-Old Too Young? is the headline. Is there any possible response to this question that isn’t “yes”? Well, okay, in fairness, there are also these responses: Are you kidding me? WTF? Who cares? And, why, Lauren, do you even know this?

Kylie Jenner, by the way, is the 17-year-old reality star and Instagram queen who is little sister to the infamous Kardashian women. And, just to get this out of the way, I don’t follow her on any of her multitudinous social media platforms. I receive daily Google Alerts for “anti-aging,” most of which alert me to crap like this.

Kylie is apparently “very concerned about the signs of aging” (shame on you for even thinking about clicking on that link!) and has been named the new brand ambassador for a British cosmetic company. Her favorite skin care product, should this for some reason interest you, is Viper Venom Wrinkle Fix Cream. I don’t know if real vipers are involved, but given what we know about the labeling of ingredients in non-regulated industries, I kinda doubt it.

Why am I even writing about this today? I’m writing about it because it allows me to pounce on this dangerous, ill-informed definition of “signs of aging.” No, in fact, 17 is NOT too young to care about “the signs of aging” – the important, life-changing signs that affect heart, lung, artery, muscle, bone and brain health. Notice I did not include wrinkles, which, as far as I know, never killed anyone or slowed anyone down or made anyone less creative, curious, resilient or engaged.

Kylie should care about building bone density while she can. She should care about establishing exercise, eating and sleeping habits that will set the stage for slow, healthy aging in the decades that follow. She should care about the quality of the air she breaths and the water she drinks. She should care about developing a variety of coping mechanisms that will help her handle life’s stresses and challenges. She should care about UV exposure.

I wish people – even 17-year-old people – if they are going to obsess about aging, obsess about actual, harmful, internal biological aging. Be a brand ambassador for that, Kylie.