Do you look your age ?

[TheTecknician]

Not wishing to brag, but I often feel I could pass for 5 - 10 years younger. I've never asked anybody this question and I'm purely using the judgement of my own eyes. If I go back in time 39 years to when my late Dad was the same age as I am now (53), I see a man in early middle age with a full head of black hair - some greying - but a rather lined face and seemingly expanding ears! I, on the other hand, have a lot more grey hair than he did but a much denser texture and no obvious facial lines. I've always had bags under my eyes but not Peter Woods proportions! My sister is 61 but she could pass for late 40s, in my opinion.

Maybe there's no right or right or wrong answer. I could have a skewed personal perception or perhaps we're all living longer and I'm seeing that played out at close quarters.

PS. The old man had, along with Mum, raised seven children by the time he was my age whereas I have no children. So, no parental stress!

I was chatting to a woman this morning and thought she was around my age, early 60s, and she said she had just had her 72nd birthday. Beautiful skin, abundant hair. I have the skin...

I got told I looked 36 by a 27 Yr old who didn't know my age the other day.
I'm 43 so v pleased

No sorry. I am 46 and in that photo she looks around 12 years older than me. If that is what people think 45 looks like then I must look like a 30 year old to them!

I think I look my age but I'm short and slim so that often gives people the impression that I'm younger. I'm sure this slimness will work in the other direction once I'm a bit older!

Getting ID'd at the shops isn't any kind of evidence you look younger! I don't drink and never have but was buying some wine and Gin as gifts just before Christmas, I was asked for ID to prove my age on both occasions! I am 46 and certainly don't look too young to be buying alcohol.

If you ever watch 10 Years Younger you'll find some people are appalling at guessing ages. I work with a woman who is late 60s. She is a heavy smoker, her face is very lined, her teeth are in very bad shape, but she is obviously late 60s. Objectively her skin is much more lined than my 80 year old mother, but I don't immediately assume she's therefore more than 80. Or I don't look at Courtney Cox and say because she has less lines and better teeth than me she looks 35.

I know Courtney Cox is older than me. She also had a head start by having good genes. She's one of those women who will look good at any age.

@forgivingfiggy Absolutely, people often tend to focus on the thing they feel makes them youthful, their skin, hair, figure, how they dress, how fit they are, even their attitude and interests and cling to how they look in a certain mirror and light, or every time a person seemed surprised at their age or told them (for whatever reason) that they looked younger. However taking people in as a whole its always obvious how old a person is.

The real issue is why looking your age is considered an insult!

@sqcrispsal · Today 15:14

Getting ID'd at the shops isn't any kind of evidence you look younger! I don't drink and never have but was buying some wine and Gin as gifts just before Christmas, I was asked for ID to prove my age on both occasions! I am 46 and certainly don't look too young to be buying alcohol.

This! ^ A woman in front of me at Morrisons the other day got ID checked by a checkout operator (she is 61 the checkout operator. I know this as I know her; she is an acquaintance.) The woman/customer looked at me and laughed. She said 'I'm 39!' 😆 That has just made my day. Not happened since I was in my 20s!

She was cute and petite and attractive but did not look too young to buy booze. She could have passed for 29-30. But no younger really. To the checkout operator she probably a lot younger than her - as she was, but she did not look to young to buy booze. They have to err on the side of caution though.

I am in my mid 50s and looked 5-6 years younger than my age right up to around 48. Occasionally people mistook me for around 8 years younger. I celebrated my 40th birthday in New Zealand, and several people were gobsmacked that I was 40. One lady said I don't look a day over 32.

And then it caught up with me! (At around 48.) Now in my mid 50s, I look mid 50s. (my age!) Sometimes I look older/sometimes younger, depending on how I have my hair and my make up, and what I am wearing.

I was offered an over 60s discounts - at 52! 😬 She thought I was 8 years older!!! I was actually quite upset. But also - a few weeks later, I joined a group at 53 where one woman who was 65 that day said to me 'I have one son who is about your age.' As she was 65, he could not have been older than mid to late 40s. So she thought I looked younger than 53 - maybe 46 or so.. So 7 years younger. I came to the conclusion that I must look somewhere in between 46 and 60. So I look roughly my age. Funny that! 😆

I think I do, but hopefully not older than my age 🙏😂

Courteney Cox is a bad example. Pretty woman, stunning eyes, but 'good genes?' Her genes have made her pretty, but they have not kept her young. She has filled her face with botox and collagen and fillers. The pic of her on the right here is not 'good genes' and she doesn't look younger than her age for it. She just looks like a woman knocking the door of 60 who has had a lot of fillers and has dyed her hair.

@GirlOverboard123 · Today 01:38

It’s funny but whenever I watch The Chase and they’re introducing themselves at the beginning, I’m very rarely shocked when someone gives their age. You just don’t see many 50 year old women who look 35, or 40 year old women who look 20. But Mumsnet is absolutely packed with women who look significantly younger than their years.

Whenever I have seen someone who looks young for their age, they tend to be black men or women. Most white people look their age, or within five years either side. To answer your question, I’m 36 and I think I look my age. No older and no younger.

100% this in spades. ^ If anything, most of the contestants on The Chase look older (to me.) Loads of women on there say 'hi, I'm Jill, I'm 53 and I'm from Leicester.' And I am like WTF?! because she looks 60. And there have been quite a few men on there recently too say (for example) 'hi, I'm Dan, I'm 33, and I'm from Wolverhampton.' And he looks more like 45! Often it's a young-ish man with a beard. Beards on men are ageing, and the ones who have beards look 10-12 years older IMO.

I have also known a number of women in real life who look around 50, and they say 'guess my age,' and I think 'ok I'll be kind.' Ummm...., '45' I say.' They look really annoyed and say 'NO, I am 43!' Why so angry? I was only 2 years off? Upshot is, they think they look mid 30s. Some people get hilariously offended and butthurt if you don't say they look 15 years younger! 😆

As for the black people/POC comment. I agree that some do look younger than their age, but not many YEARS younger. Maybe 10 years younger. (12-13 at first glance.) But even then, when you look closely/look properly, they do look their age. Within 5 years.

"As for the black people/POC comment. I agree that some do look younger than their age, but not many YEARS younger. Maybe 10 years younger. (12-13 at first glance.) But even then, when you look closely/look properly, they do look their age. Within 5 years."

@SweetBirdsong I agree with this and think most people regardless of their background do look roughly their age. I also think the assumption that black women just don't age the same is unfair on the black women who really do look after themselves to stay fit, healthy and so on. It isn't automatic that someone like Denise Lewis looks so good at 51, that's a ton of hard work in staying fit on her part.

I had to come back as was telling another new colleague my age for the birthday list and said "my next big birthday is 50" and she didn't bat a fucking eyelid so that brought me back down with a bump 😆

@SweetBirdsong , with or without tweaks, she has the genes where she'll always be good-looking. Looking good is not the same as youthfulness.
She's still recognisable from the image (screemshot from a 40 yr old video)

Look at men like Paul Newman and Cary Grant. They were handsome at all ages.
Brad Pitt has that too.

Some actors are stunning when young but lose their looks. I can think of Hollywood actresses that lost their looks and you'd hardly recognise them.

Exactly yeah. Denise Lewis is a good looking woman isn't she? And yeah she looks fit and fab. But as you say she works hard to be fit.

Also, as attractive as she is, and yeah she DOES look less than 51, she doesn't look 20 years younger. Could pass for 40-42. Some people may think 30s at first glance, but again, close up, she does look older than mid 30s. (Early to mid 40s IMO.)

@KirstenBlest James Spader, I wouldn't recognise him now without his lovely hair and fine features if I didn't know it was him 😭

I would not have recognised James at all @sqcrispsal !

Some people mention the gorgeous Floella Benjamin on this type of thread too. One poster said a little while back, (last year!) that she could pass for 30 years younger. (She was 73 and they said she looked 43!) She is a lovely looking woman, and like Denise, she looks younger than her age - but she doesn't look like she is 3-4 years out of her 30s! 😆 Could pass for early 60s - no younger IMO.

@sqcrispsal , staying fit is probably natural for someone who has excelled at athletics.
If you enjoy exercise it isn't hard work, it's what you do.
Denise Lewis's body looks a lot younger than her chronological age.

James Spader is still good looking but the loss of hair and specs detract. I was thinking more of someone like Brigitte Bardot or an actress who used to be on EastEnders.

Floella probably dyes her hair, and doesn't look young, but she's beautiful.

@KirstenBlest

Floella probably dyes her hair, and doesn't look young, but she's beautiful.

Amen to that!

I don’t know why you’re not allowed to say you look younger on here. Many people actually do!

@January24I've yet to see it be true that someone looks younger than their age.

@January24 , there seem to be a lot on MN who do.
I thought I did because people about 9 years younger assumed I was the same age as them. Then I realised that people about 9 years older were assuming I was their age.

I know lots of people who look younger than their age!