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.

When I worked in a brunch place, I would ID people all the time, because I am terrible at guessing ages and I have had friends who at 17 could have passed as being in their 30s. Especially a few lads who could grow a beard at 15 or started losing hair really early. Some people just have faces where its hard to tell.

I wouldn't do it if they were obviously older but some I asked turned out to be in their 30s. When they show you the ID, its never that surprising how old they are, some people just fit a range where it is possible they could be a haggard looking teen or a youthful adult.

The thing is, if people are frequently guessing your age, there is probably some invitation to do so, in which case one would guess very low to be on the safe side. If someone looks 25 and seems to be 25, nobody is guessing their age

I work in the NHS and I get lots of old geezers saying "Guess my age! Haha, I bet you can't!" and I think "93?" but I say "Ooh, 70? 71?" and they are delighted because they are 86, and they continue to believe they look like a mere lad of 71 .

I can honestly say I know lots of people who truly believe they don't look their age, and apparently nobody can believe their age and...they look their age. Maybe they look like a really beautiful 47, but they look 47.

But there are exceptions as I've said, maybe you are one of those. And maybe the camera does lie, and I look how I look to myself in the mirror

I'm very nearly 50, and it always surprises people as when it comes up most people guess early 40's.

Sometimes I think it's because of good lighting, good make up, good hair etc, but then it could be because I drink a lot of water, have always looked after my skin, and am a little bit fatter than I should be.

I get told I look younger regularly I suspect it is slightly to do with my height (I'm barely over 5 foot). But also I have good skin which helps. Don't get carded anymore though just people assume I'm late 20s rather than late 30s.

I talk to people in my job all day long and know from experience that 40 or 50 can look vastly different on different people in terms of weight, face shape, sagging bits, skin discolouration, wrinkles etc. The variation is so great I am not sure what looking like you age looks like.

It's a funny one because one can only ever 'look their age' because that's the age they are.

Whether they look good or less good is an entirely different question, so when people are shocked about a person's age it usually means, 'I have preconceived notions about how someone of your age should look and you do not adhere to them'.

Nothing more. It's usually says more about the observer than the subject.

And every observer's perception is different, based on cultural norms, background and observations growing up, family genetics, the fact that the there are some cross-cultural standards; rounded features and petit = young, statuesque and angular = mature, Western standards that see fairer haired people as younger as it's quite typical for Northern Europeans hair to become darker as they grow up. I could go on.

How we view age and maturity is entirely personal and based on individual experience.

So, does anyone look younger than their age?

Of course not! It's impossible.

Does anyone look younger than a particular observer perceives an individual of their age should look?

Obviously! People are a product of their environment and consequently see the world through that lense.

Mid 40's

Interesting, the VAST range of responses where people have guessed 38-early 60's just proves that we are in general dreadful at guessing ages

That's literally people putting me old enough to be the Mum of the 38 year old at the youngest guess

I am 51 so perhaps fairly close to the average age guess if I counted them all up

People don't believe me when I mention I'm 50 next year. Like I don't know my own age.

Never smoked, always moisturised, ate well and exercised, don't wear make up or dye my hair.

Ahh but @HeavenCANTwait, you asked on here, some people will be honest, some people will be a bit bitchy, and some people haven't got their glasses on!

FWIW, I thought 52, so I was bang on, as I generally am with any 'guess my age' game. Why @HeavenCANTwait?, You do have fair hair and soft features, but, it's around the mouth and eyes, you just look early 50's, good, but early 50s for a Northern European woman with soft features and blond hair, because that's how old you are.

Well I think you look approximately your age as I put 48 to 52. I do think some people were being a bit bitchy, you don't look like you are in your 60's.

My SIL (56) looked early-mid 40’s until this past year. She’s slim and fit and having oily skin growing up has turned out to be a bonus as she hardly has any lines! DH’s face (he’s 51) is similar, practically wrinkle-free.

She’s suddenly looking abit older (menopause perhaps?) but I still think that most people would still knock five to seven years off her actual age. 🤷

I was 60 earlier this year and I've had many people tell me no way do I look it. It's not just them being nice for my birthday either as I've had it said often over the years that I look younger.

My mum has always looked younger than her age too, and now my DD, who is 24, is often ID'd as she looks around 16 without make up. Maybe it's in our genes.

I've been told over the years that I look younger than my age. The cashier in Tesco referred to me and my dd as my husbands 2 daughters. At the hospital last week the nurse called my name and when I went in she said, 'can I just check. Are you 40?' When I said I was she said, 'sorry I thought I'd called the wrong person as I'd never have guessed you were 40'. I have dsis who is 8 years younger than me. We look very similar. We're often asked if we're twins, which is flattering for me but maybe not her.

Well to all those who insist they look younger, good for you I suppose, who cares if it's true or not. As for me I will believe it when I see it 😂

Hmm interesting, I work in a hospital and we are told specifically never to comment on peoples age or appearance even if we believe it to be flattering I believe this is the case in most hospitals.

Both my Mum and my MIL look waaaay younger than they actually are but I think a lot of it is outlook and how they dress etc than actual looks if that makes sense?

I have been told I look younger than my 40 years (without my prompting lol) but I know fine well they are just being polite lol.

but if you accept that people look older than their age (i.e. the example you gave where they were 38 but you thought they were in their mid 40s) then surely you can accept others look younger?

I agree that it's rare for someone to look more than 5 years either way, but there's also a huge difference between what your average any aged person looks like.

Also agree that people are generally quite crap at guessing age and make a lot of judgements on other factors/assumptions e.g. short people are usually assumed to be younger, people are more likely to be IDed if they are in hoodies than in a business suit, etc.

I am very self-conscious/introverted person, I am definitely not someone who invites comment on anything to do with me as I don't like the attention, in fact i find it really bizarre that people actively go around requesting others to guess their age, particularly as it would have to be to strangers! The younger comments have noticeably dropped off in the last 3 years (mid 40s) and I'm overweight now and in my case it ages me. Like I say, my Mum always had comments and still does and she is mid 70s, my Gran was the same so I'm not sure it is just the change in appearance of your average 40 year old or 30 year old in the last 10/20 years.

Not really because people who look older tend to have abused themselves in some way or perhaps been ill, the women in question was a sun bather and smoker. People who are generally healthy look their age, it doesn't really work both ways.

I didn't comment with a guess but I thought you looked younger than 51. I was thinking mid forties.

I think guesses are also affected by what age the guesser is. I remember 20 year olds looking really grown up. Now I'm more likely to think they look 12.

It's so subjective, it's really hard to definitively assign at age to everyone with total accuracy. As your photo shows. Thanks for being brave enough to post one!

My mum is late sixties and looks fantastic for her age and much younger. She has lovely skin with minimal lines and she dresses youthful and is energetic.

Sadly I take after my Dad 😂

I haven't told her this, but hospital staff thought my friend was my mother. She's only five years older than me, so I must be doing something right!

One of my neighbours is mid 30s and looks like a teenager.

I reckon I look 5 or more years older than I am. I smoked, drank, partied and sunbathed my way through my 20s. Then when I was 35, I had a double bereavement in a very short space of time. Then came Brexit and Trump and Covid and now the perimenopause and I aged about 15-20 years in a ten year period! Was tempted to post a photo to test this theory, but don’t think my self-esteem could take it 😂

I really do. I've had people amazed and sometimes dismayed/irritated when they find out my age.
My mum was exactly the same; once a doctor almost refused to treat her because he thought he'd been given the wrong patient notes.