To be upset that someone thought I was 16 years old when I'm in my late 20s

@Maireas I got refused sale for paracetmol when I was 25 because I didn't have ID. I got Ided several times not flagged up at the till which obviously happens.

But as I said this was more my dress/general demeanour I think, and I felt uncomfortable because of it and embarrassed. No eternal youth here

No but I think my dad does
Someone once said "I've never seen anyone look young like people say 10 years younger"
She saw a pic of my dad and said "I take it back"
I mean he doesn't look like a child but he's 72 and would pass for 60

Does everyone have a portrait of themselves in the attic 🤔
All these extremely youthful looking mumsnetters ,and very modest with it too.....

Are you sure it's that you're generally quiet and shy? Could it be that you don't like hairdresser small talk, and that your hairdresser is a very outgoing, chat-to-anyone type? Hairdressing does seem to attract people like that as it's seen as part of the job.

Been happening to me for years. I was thought a teen mum many times. I got asked what uni I go to the other week. No one believes my teen can be mine. I’m 39. Poor dh looks older than he is. He’s been grey haired since he was 25. So he has had some funny looks before when he’s out with me. 😂

So, @LieNoMore - you were out with your teenage son, and a friend from his school believed you to be his girlfriend?
So, are you saying that you looked the same age as your teenage son?

I spent all of my 20s and into my 30s looking underage/ young. Couldn’t go anywhere or buy anything without being ID’d. Got kicked out of a nightclub when I was 28 because staff didn’t believe i was old enough despite being with my husband and a mother of 3!

Lost count of the amount of times someone would knock the door and ask to speak to my mum or dad!

Got mistaken of being my dcs sibling countless times, if I went out with my mum and the dcs they would assume she was their mum. Even as they got older and all ended up taller than me. I remember one time my eldest son and I were walking through town when he was a teen and someone he knew from school mistook me for his girlfriend! He was mortified!

im 47 now but can categorically state I definitely now look my age i caught up with myself mid to late 30s…..would give my right arm to look 10 years younger now!

Are you very new to the school do your colleagues not recognise you?

Yeah and people do make assumptions ,I used to work with a nurse we were both RMN,s who was Asian when he went to assess a patient in A&E ,someone assumed he was the taxi driver who had dropped the patient off!

I got that as a newly qualified nurse ,I think the general public just assume health care professionals are in their 30,s and 40,s not that I looked particularly young for my age ( I was 22/23) at the time

I think you'd have to be pretty thick to mistake a 28 year old for 16. You've basically had miserable encounter with a thicko and you're letting it get to you.

Assuming you don't still live with your parents and have some sort of job, I don't really see how you can be that 'innocent and naive' at 28 either. You must have lived life a bit, surely?

Just be more confident and a bit less worried about what dim people think.

Paracetamol purchases get flagged up at the till automatically. I wouldn't take that as proof of eternal youth.

My husband and I are 33 and parents to an almost 2 year old with another one on the way. We both always get asked for ID to go into pubs/ by alcohol and he even usually gets asked for ID to buy paracetamol. Couldn't care less!! I like to think that when we're in our 60s, we might only look like we're in our 40s!

I used to get this up till I was about 25, got IDef for 15 films, not allowed to buy painkillers in tesco etc. now 2 years later and I barely get IDed in the pub! The pandemic must have aged me

I did look young though, not so much features but actually how I dressed, hair, make up, awkward demeanour. I'm quite round faced and it just all made me look like an awkward 15Yr old. I'm glad I look older now, no one wants to be mistaken for a child.

And actually I am really shit at guessing ages, I honestly have no idea how old someone is between about 20 and 60. I can easily be 20 years out so I'm not sure why I assume everyone else is so good.

I'm a lawyer and once turned up at court early to speak to the Procurator Fiscal. After a confusing few minutes we realised we were talking at cross purposes as he thought I was the school kid there for work experience, not the lawyer for a large public body...

OP the hairdresser sounds a bit like they put their foot in their mouth but I'm sure it wasn't a judgement on you as a person - some people are just quieter and more reserved and that's absolutely fine. Try not to overthink it.

My daughter is 27 - a hospital doctor just finisher her F2 - she has to take her ID everywhere to supermarkets and bars - she has to put up with people on wards saying "excuse me lovie - can you find me one of the doctors?" - people always assume she's a nurse, a porter or admin - she's cool with it all though.

Don't worry about what a gobby fool says about you. She does not know you and is bloody rude to make a comment on your personality. She sounds like a bit of a bully to be honest trying to big herself up showcasing her fascinating outgoing personality (not).

I stand corrected ☺️
Although, to be fair, close up.....

@Maireas I think sometimes the PE kit doesn't help as I'm in black shorts, pupils also in black short, I'm in a blue or black jumper (determined by staff dress code) with school emblem on but pupils are in a blue top or black jumper with school emblem on. My staff kit isn't an exact match to the pupil kit of course but the colours are. Fortunately my staff jacket is a different colour to the school PE kit which helps in the winter. I have asked if a different colour could be used for staff for this reason but it was declined.

I do have a younger looking face but I don't think it's quite as young as 14 year olds 🤣 I think if I was a classroom teacher and not in PE kit it would make a big difference as my clothing choice is nothing like a teenager, nor is my personality.

I totally understand where you’re coming from. When I was in my 30s I’d still get IDed for alcohol and I always found it to be an insult. Jeez I’d been able to buy it for longer than I hadn’t be able to!

Totally unprofessional of her to say that too. I’m quiet and shy and would feel really uncomfortable if someone said that

When I was in my 20s, I was off work so agreed to go to my mum's house while she had some builders in replacing the windows. I let them in and one cheerfully asked, "no school today, pal?"

I was in London on my 29th birthday and I was asked for ID. I handed it over and the woman behind the bar called her colleague over to marvel that I was 29, not 22.

I'm now 32 and nobody ever asks for ID; I seem to have aged 4000 years during the pandemic. I'm not even sure what it is as I still dress the same, I don't have any grey hairs and I don't have any wrinkles at all (not a brag - you never see wrinkles on a balloon ) but I just don't have the same youthful look. On Saturday a kid bumped into me and his mum said, "say sorry to the lady"

Wee Jimmy Krankie did🤣

When I gave birth my age and DOB were on my notes and everyt time they did a procedure etc they checked my age and DOB .....

@BogRollBOGOF - why are colleagues coming into your classroom and asking where the teacher is, is it getting a bit unruly? If not, have a word.
Again, you'll have teacher photo ID and a school lanyard, so some people must be less than observant.

I used to get this and then suddenly my neck turned crepey and wrinkly at age 34.

So now I finally look my age or older (I actually look quite ill too!) but I’m wishing I looked younger and healthier :(