Justine Bateman’s Message on Aging Gracefully Is Beyond Refreshing

Justine Bateman has found satisfaction.

One week after getting candid about why she decided to forgo cosmetic treatments and age naturally, the Family Ties alum further explained her philosophy on aging. And this includes her thoughts on why others may not be as inclined to take a natural approach. 

"I think it's about fear," Justine said during an April 3 appearance on Today. "Everyone has a completion to this sentence, 'I'm afraid that if people think I look old, than therefore...' And for different people it's different things. Some are afraid they'll lose their job or never get a job, or not get a mate, or no one is going to listen to them."

The 57-year-old explained that she feels these fears have existed long "before your face started changing," and she suggests diving into that fear and conquering it before opting for cosmetic work.

"It's an opportunity to take care of that fear," she continued. "So it's not leading you around by the nose and making you make other decisions that take you off track."

And Justine, who previously wrote about aging in her 2021 book Face: One Square Foot of Skin, noted that she fully understands where the fear comes from. In fact, she's speaking from experience.

"I got myself on the other side of what that fear was for me in particular," she explained, "and I am just sharing what worked for me and there are lots of ways to get there."

And it's working through this that has made the Violet director so fascinated by the culture around aging.

"What is it in society as a whole?" she asked hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie. "What are those fears and how did people even get those ideas that a woman's face is broken and has to be fixed?

All of this is why Justine doesn't let the negative comments about her appearance bother her. In fact, she encouraged others to get to the root of their fears so it can roll off their backs too. 

"I think the younger woman are going, 'I don't want to feel like that. I don't want to feel terrified that my face is getting older,'" she shared. "So it's an inside job so I would say to any young woman: You're being lied to. You're being tricked off your path. You've got some awesome things coming your way and just stay on your path."

Justine's comments on Today come after she explained what it means for her to be able to age naturally.

"I feel like I would erase not only all my authority that I have now," Justine explained to 60 Minutes Australia in a March 19 interview. "But also I like feeling that I am a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence."