Here's a trend we can all live with as we age: The fashion industry has begun to realize that older can be beautiful.

Designers from Milan to New York — at least a few of them — have been creating for mature clients, as well as more normal bodies. We're suddenly seeing size 8, 10 and 12 women, as well as those aged 40, 50 and even 60, in the pages of major fashion magazines. Thankfully, the trend has been picked up by beauty-care companies.

It's not just Sally Field advertising an osteoporosis medicine. It's also Diane Keaton as the face and hair of L'Oreal, and those smiling women of various ages featured in Dove commercials for its skincare line. Dove's Pro-Age campaign features fabulous women who are 50 and older, with the tag line, "Beauty has no age limit."

An offshoot of the trend has led to the creation of a new category of beauty care: products for aging hair. It's what hair guru Frédéric Fekkai calls "the skin-ification of hair," a term that plays on the booming skincare and cosmeceutical industry.

While thinning hair is often brought on by age, it also can be caused by childbirth, stress, environmental pollutants, menopause, chemotherapy and a host of other medical issues. Haircare companies are responding to the growing market for products that target aging-hair issues. At left: haircare options we found, available in the Islands.

Reach Paula Rath at paularath@aol.com.