Does anyone really look younger than their age?

[smoleyjolie]

Online on forums, social media, on dating profiles and even in real life people claim to look younger than their age, they are X age but don't look it. They get ID's in the supermarket buying wine.

I am always highly sceptical because I've know people who say to my face how they look like they are 25 when they are actually 38 because they have no lines or wrinkles when I am looking at them and thought they were actually in their 40's and they have obvious wrinkles and grey hair, people are delusional! Honestly the capacity people have to delude themselves about anything is quite staggering and I have never met someone who claims to look younger and it actually turn out to be true.

When I was younger I thought some older people looked younger so I once thought a woman when she was 49 was closer to 30 but that was because I assumed all people of 49 looked "old" which isn't the case at all and looking back she looked great but she also looked her age which is fine.

Going back to the first case where the women was convinced she looked over 10 years younger, what could I say I just said yeah you look great and its the same anytime anyone makes that claim. People aren't going to dispute it.

On these threads you always get people saying they look ten years younger than they actually are. Very rarely do they put a photo with their post to prove it 🤣.

I do know a few people that look maybe 5 years younger than their age, usually because they have "young" features. My brother is 40 and has a "baby face" but you can still tell he's a certain age due to the greys coming through/lines around the eyes etc.

I would say someone looking 10 years younger than their actual age is extremely rare and I agree with the PP that fillers/botox often have the opposite effect and make people look older than they actually are, just with injectables.

Facebook memories are good for giving you a bit of a reality check. Obviously I tend to be in photos around my birthday and the “10 years ago you were…” memory suggestions show a brighter eyed me with a better jawline. Annoying as I thought I was decrepit having gone past 40 but I looked pretty foxy. I don’t use filters or anything on my photos so there’s no hiding from them. Obviously I delete the ones where I look like Miss Trunchball though.

I think the ID issue is a bit of a false indicator. What people often don't account for is that an age check fail results in disciplinary action, if that person already has disciplinary action on their file or if they fail another age check test then they will be let go from their job. That tends to compel (and staff are encouraged) to simply ask most people for ID.

Challenge 25 dictates that unless you feel 100% that they are certainly over 25 you ask them for ID to cover your own back. In my mind anyone up to 35/40 could look 25 in the right circumstances - especially in winter when people have scarves and hats on. Assistants are very busy in shops and don't have time to scrutinize your face. If you're under 40 I'd expect to get asked for ID, basically, and it's not because you've defied ageing.

But yes, of course people can look younger (or older) than their expected age.

I think it's possible to look younger than your age before the menopause. I always did.

I aged 10 years in about 2 when I hit it. 😢

Yes some people do. I have a big group of friends, all late 40s. Some really could pass for late 30s. Others look mid-50s, I'd say. There can be a big variation in how old people look.
I think a lot of this is genetic. Your mum looked youthful, you look youthful. Diet and lifestyle play a huge part too. The people I know who look the oldest are from quite deprived backgrounds and they really have a poor diet with very little fresh produce. They also tend to smoke. It's sad.

Yes, I'm 31 and still get id'd. I don't think it's that I look good, I just look young and baby faced. I've always looked young for my age though, even as a child.

I absolutely loathe being asked how old I think someone is, and I will always go for 10 -15 years younger, for fear of causing offence. I'd hate to tell a 55yo I thought she was mid 60's, even if in my heart of hearts, that's what I thought. People are suckers for flattery. Cashiers in supermarkets have to ID a certain number of customers, it comes up on the till, it's not because you, at 47, look younger than 25, believe me.

@SignoraItaliana Absolutely, my DH got asked for ID buying beer and he looks his age, handsome though he is. There is no way the cashier thought he was under 25 or anywhere near it, we just had a laugh at it but some people really think it means people think they look younger!

I had two people guess 27 the other day which was very flattering-I'm 37!

You may look younger than 37 but if someone asked me to guess their age I'd always knock 5 or more years off what I actually thought and I don't think that's unusual, most people lowball as they're worried about causing offence. It's an unreliable indicator, as is being asked for ID as others have said.

Of course. I have a friend who when I met her I thought she was 34-36. I was 48. I was confused how she was able to join in about conversations of tv from my childhood. I thought she must have seen them on you tube or something. Turns out she was 46.

You tell me? How old am I? Photo taken 2 seconds ago

(I occasionally get told I look younger)

Not so much since having DS but quite a few people asked if I got married really young when I got married at 30, thinking I was 22/23, even the last time I was 'out out' I was chatted up by much younger men who asked what Uni I was at. But in general I think I look roughly my age.

Two people off the top of my head though look way younger than they are. One is 34 and she genuinely looks like a teenager she is very petit and has a very young face. Another is an old boss of mine, he was 40ish but honestly didn't even look 30 his skin/ hair was flawless. Oh also a guy I went to uni with, he was 21 but looked about 14, he was not happy about that

Oh my god I look cross eyed 😂

@HeavenCANTwait 48-50

Some people definitely look younger. I went to an all girls school for a period of time. My dad came in with me one day for a meeting with the teacher.

Another teacher thought he was from the boys school and that I was sneaking him in!!! She literally shouted at me father! My dad laughed so much and me and the teacher were so embarrassed.

My dad looked 20 up until he was 40... He aged after that. He looks 40 now but he is in his mid 50's.

I'm 57. A customer told me I was pretty the other day (lovely comment from a younger person). I mentioned to DH and DD that it was a lovely comment, but someone my age can't be pretty. DH told me I don't look my age and bout this and DD said all her friends (aged 21-24) can't believe I'm the age I am (despite the wrinkles!). During covid, I had to remove my mask a couple of time for age ID reasons!

I got asked for Id until about 30. Now 41 with three kids and feel about 401! I often get told I look younger than I am, got defo crows feet but no grey hairs and I’m small so find that confuses people.

Yes some people do. I have a big group of friends, all late 40s. Some really could pass for late 30s. Others look mid-50s, I'd say. There can be a big variation in how old people look

This. By this age, people really start to age at vastly different rates. It’s like a huge gulf opens up. I’d observed this and then I found out that the new AI which is used to tell age, is less accurate with people at mid age onwards too.

Even if all other things are equal, genetics plays a huge part. It determines facial droop and sag, which lotions and potions can’t help, and how much movement there is in your face, which affects lines and wrinkles.

I am very short and had a babyish face, so looked a lot younger than I was, until I was well into my 30s. One of my best friends looked about 19 when she was 13. She looks like she is supervising the children in most pictures at the time. While you can probably roughly guess most people, some just do not look their age at all. I know Hollywood really isn't representative but Pauley Perette has always looked a lot younger than she is.

I was always asked for ID until I had my second (30). I used to find it strange being asked for ID whilst pushing DC1 around!

Well I am 46 and I think you look older than me and I look my age so between 48 and 52?

There does seem to be a massive difference between the age people look. I work as a psychotherapist but did train in aesthetics and generally you can see that the more stress people have lived with over the years the faster their body has aged. Of course celebrities have a wealth of expensive creams, injections and lasers at their disposal and can stay fresher for longer but for the most past it seems the better fed, more relaxed and happier a person the less they seem to age. That's my experience at least - genetics and skin type also pay a big difference.

I'm trying to remain anonymous otherwise I'd happily post a photo.

I can only go by what strangers tell me in real life. It's really not uncommon for me to get people telling me they thought I was much younger. And when I was bemoaning becoming 40, a lot of people consoled me by saying I didn't look it.

So yeah, I probably do look younger than I am based on that. But like I said, I can't see it because I know what I looked like when I was younger and it certainly wasn't like this!

My guess would be 54.

I'm thin and people can't believe my age. It has always been so but I appreciate it more now.