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.

I said mid to late 40s is where most people start to see more signs of ageing. It’s really not the most outlandish statement. Often ties in with peri menopause.

Yes I was pitched at 10 years younger right through until early 40s. It’s not unusual.

I said once you get to late 40s most people look within a few years of their age. Things do change. I see it all around me. We see it with celebrities. I can’t think of any 50 year olds who look 10-15 years younger. They can look good and they may pass for 5 years younger but no more.

I also did not claim that everyone suddenly wakes up on their 45th birthday and ages 10 years overnight.

I think early thirties is youthful. It’s all relative isn’t it.

I was still youthful looking at 49. Then it did feel like I aged ten years once I hit 50 😂 and started looking more my age.

I have a younger look about me due to clothes and figure plus also curly hair which I think makes people think I am younger. Up close I don't and my neck gives me away more that my face, I am mid 40s.

I am often mistaken for my sons GF, he is 17 but is a musician so perhaps comes across older, there is no way we look like we are a similar age whatsoever so people are just crap at guessing.

PPs are right, looking younger doesn't equate to looking good. I do think that if people look good/up together in there 40s/50s/60s then people say they look younger but I don't necessarily think they do.

I do. I am forty and I am carded for alcohol quite a lot. Ironically I'm teetotal, but I do the household shopping which includes booze. I would say it happens about half the time. I also have no plastic surgery and wear little to no makeup, so I'm not trying to look younger.

I do think that this is true as well. I am a size 8 and wear 'young' clothes: ie I shop everywhere from H&M to Chanel, but I wear shortish skirts (never indecent!) and crop tops in the summer, etc. Sartorial style does count for a lot ; I have tried to wear Toast and Hush etc but I feel like Carrie Bradshaw when she tries on the wedding dress!

I know a few women in their 20's and they are talking about having work done to look younger. Apparently they think starting now will prevent them aging. I'm nearly twice their age and peri and haven't had anything done. I'm starting to question if I should and realise they must think I look old. Last time I told a younger woman my age they guessed 7 years younger but who knows, she might have just been being kind.

They won't look younger. Look at the Kardashians/Jenners. They all have had any amount of work done and they all look their age plus change. It is foolish of you to worry about what silly girls in their twenties think, TBH. Why does it matter if they think you look 'old'?

You are totally right.

I think if you ask people how old they think you look they will automatically deduct five or ten years from what they really think.

Possibly. However, that doesn't explain the people like me and PP who are in their forties and who get carded for alcohol. Unless you think that the supermarket staff are doing it to give us an ego boost (tip: they're not. Not all people react well to being carded)

I've never asked anyone how old they think I look? It's a bit unavoidable discussing it if someone asks. I always tell them straight away so they haven't got time to guess. The women on my Mum's side of the family definitely aged/age better than my Dad's side. I look like my Mum.

A couple of years ago it was the first time I'd been out with my colleagues and I mentioned how old I was to a couple of younger men. One said - Fuck off, I thought you two were the same age (meaning me and my female colleague). She's 8 years younger and I don't think she's old looking. I took that as a compliment.

I'm 34, I think I do look a bit younger than my age but not massively, I definitely don't get asked for ID! I have very pale skin so I religiously stay out of the sun which helps reduce wrinkles.

When I was 37 I started a new job. An office full of mainly younger people. I had to hand my passport in for some reason. The office manager (who was notoriously harsh tongued) was very shocked and said ‘I thought you were late 20s at most’.

Now, did I take this to mean I looked 8 years younger? No I didn’t. It was a nice compliment and I think I looked a little younger but clearly in the context of the young office, the way I dressed etc maybe she made some assumptions.

I also got ID’d in supermarkets- but mostly when I was wearing no makeup and buying a few things rather than a family shop (clue is in the shopping rather than me looking really young).

If are hanging out with younger people it can make people assume you are their age.

I think some people are a bit delusional and take people at their word rather than looking at the context. Lots of people do look younger but not many look significantly so. At least not as many as claim on Mumsnet.

I'm 43 and still get asked sometimes. Until a couple of years ago it was still every single time.

DD is almost 18 and still gets offered a children's menu when we go out.

I definititly don't go about thinking I look 8 years younger though and not a tiny bit delusional. Most of my friends are the same age give or take a couple of years. My DH is older than me and people tend to think he is younger and not the other way round.

I do think how you dress and your hairstyle contribrute to how old people think you are too.

I don’t agree that you look young when overweight. 38 yr old colleague who looks 17/20 is slim and does nothing to make herself look super young such as good skin care, drinking lots of water, none of that. It’s just good genes and being fresh faced.

Starting tretinoin at 20 is a great idea - prevention is much better than cure. I've been using it for around twenty five years and have beautiful smooth skin. I'm under no illusions about looking young though, I just have amazing skin. 😂

Marketing has really done a number on us. People are getting more and more obsessed with how they look; even a lot of blokes nowadays seem to have high anxiety about six-packs and skincare etc. There was an article in today's paper about a woman who went into a coma injecting what she thought was Ozempic (it was insulin, obtained on the black market). What kind of world are we living in, where people go to such extreme lengths to look the way they think we're supposed to look?! This thread is full of people talking about little modifications here and there as though it's perfectly normal to keep faffing around with things in a futile effort to prevent or reverse ageing. Looking young seems to be the Holy Grail, which is a bit depressing really...

I have quite nice skin at 51. I'm a 12 and would like to slim to a 10 next year so I do wonder what loosing a stone will do to my face.

Losing 😂

I'm 42. People always express shock when I say my age. I was told I looked 29 when I was 40. I thought that was a bit of a stretch but I know I don't look my age.

I sure as hell feel 42 though!

I attribute it to melanin, not smoking and good genes, I guess.

I looked about 18-20 until I was 35. Now I’m 40 I look 83.

There's a lot of variety in how adults look and how they are perceived.

In my opinion, people might say you look younger because they want to treat you as naive , or less experienced and therefore give you less respect.