Thread about appearance and ageing for MNetters age 58 to 63 years old

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I'm in this group and I find myself really noticing ageing in the mirror and in my friends, most of whom are my age too. Today I was driving locally and drove past a friend (who is actually 9 years younger) and thought how old she suddenly looked.

How does it suddenly gallop up on you? I look at well known people who are younger than me and feel genuinely surprised (Jane Macdonald, Bill Bailey, Nigel Farage, Hugh Bonneville, Johnny Depp, Mike Myers, Helen Hunt) - I thought they were all older than me and look older than me.

I think this ageing thing is really painfully noticeable in this age bracket, do you agree?

For me specifically it is marionette lines and thinning hair. I don't have loads of deep wrinkles or grey hair.

I’m 58 and have thinning hair in the front. My mother died at 63, without wrinkles or thinning hair. What do you want?

I am 63. i am a bit fat and it really works to my benefit as i don't really have many wrinkles. I dont colour my hair and it is a nice blonde/silver. If I dress nicely and wear make up i look a bit younger than my age. I don't worry about it too much.

What do you mean what do I want? Have I annoyed you in some way?

Im just into that age group. Think Im looking pretty good actually.

Ive got quite pronounced marionette lines but that doesn't bother me. I dont particularly have wrinkles.

My hair is very grey, has been for many years, and still ridiculously thick. My grey is a nice colour but doesn't suit me (and instantly adds 20 years if ChatGPT interpretion is correct!) so I'll carry on dyeing it for another few years.

I think me and my old school friends have aged pretty well, really.

I have days when I look fine, and don't worry and other days where I suddenly look in the mirror and realise what an ancient old hag I am.

Fortunately I've never linked my self worth with my looks so it doesn't bother me that much. I'd rather grow old than die young! And honestly I mostly quite like the lines that experience/age has given me and my lived in look.

I could not ever conceive of having surgery or injecting Botox into my face. I'd rather be natural.

I'm 58, same weight as I was at 20 (quite skinny) but it's all soft now even though I play squash three times a week. I have lines and they don't bother me, but my sagging jowls and neck are annoying! My hair is going grey and a little thinner at the front but that doesn't bother me... I like my grey .

Overall ageing doesn't bother me, and I'm not going to inject anything into my face or have anything nipped and tucked. Sometimes I look in the mirror and think 'SHIT when did THAT happen' but then I remember if I'm still fit enough to play sport, walk my dog, dig an allotment and look after my grandkids, I'm doing ok and my family seem to still love this face!

My colleagues are all ageing similarly, sure a few look better and some spend a lot of money on skin care , collegen and all those other supplements, but most don't look younger for it. We are ageing and that's ok!

Do you have times when you see a photo of a celeb about the same age as you and feel surprised - either way?

I'm honestly not obsessed with appearance or ageing at all as hopefully my posting history would show. But it strikes me lately that me and my friends are ageing, as in moving from the middle aged to older category, and it's quite an adjustment.

I'm 60, and I'm too old to care 😂

I'm also in this age group. Despite the significant greys, I'm often assumed to be younger than my age, I can mainly put that down to good genes although not smoking or drinking alcohol may play a part.
On a good day I feel like I scrub up ok, despite having to ditch eye makeup through blepharitis. Some of my friends are aging better than others but after various issues we've been through, most of us recognise that health matters much more than appearance.
One friend has had a little Botox/filler and I don't believe it's made a positive difference.
I noticed that I have marionette lines the other day and the crows feet are beginning to stomp around the dark circles under my eyes. But I'm comfortable with who I am and how I look, I've never tried terribly hard to conform.
My hysterectomy seems to have been the biggest factor that brought about the change in my appearance, I'm still on HRT but it's been a visible thing.

I read recently that a scientific ageing study found a jump in aging at 44 and another at 60, which might be what you’re noticing.

I’m a little younger than this thread’s parameters but I hide my age to a degree by virtue of being somewhat overweight, which fills out the wrinkles and potential jowls. I’m sure you’re all fabulous, and when I join you in 3 years’ time, I will be too (despite my thinning hair and the toll my lifelong hormonal issues and anaemia have wrought on me!)

I think that how good or not good people look as they begin to age has more to do with lifestyle, healthy food and drink choices, most definitely genetics, whether or not the person is active socially and does things that satisfy them and make them feel happy and useful.
Generally a happy, positive person who keeps busy, interested and interesting, is far more likely to want to take care of themselves physically, mentally, and socially and that will show in their outward appearance.
If people look tired and stressed overburdened and unhealthy there's no makeup or potion that can cover the effects of that.

Me! I look at my glorious vibrant adult children and realise I look more like my 90 year old mother. I'm about bang in the middle age wise.
I do notice it in my friends but I still love their faces 💕 I hope people still love mine.

I don't mind looking older and definitely have better things to do than spend hours doing age defying things, but I'm active and eat well and stay hydrated and laugh a lot ( DH is hilarious and he makes it his mission to make me belly laugh at least once a day) Grandchildren are pretty hilarious too and when they stop being funny you can hand them back.
I do pluck my chin hairs though.

You beat me to it @lifeontheroundabout. I was scrolling through and going to say much the same. I definitely feel (and probably look) younger when I’m feeling upbeat and walk with my head up. On other days I slouch and slump and it puts years on me. At 58 I have plenty of visible signs of aging, most of them are out of my control. But I can be active and positive which hopefully puts a bit of a spring in my step!

I love this post 💖💖💖👏👏👏

Well done OP! I am 59 and do wonder to
myself, do I look old! It does matter to me.

I colour my hair, I have my eyebrows stained, I have my nails painted, I watch my weight and do moderate exercise. I make lifestyle choices that I am comfortable with. I see it as quality of life, others may see it as vanity,

I accept the ageing process, but the menopause floored me and I am on HRT.

Everyone has their benchmark when it comes to ageing, many go with the flow.

I think after a certain age some stop looking at themselves in the mirror. Some stop seeing themselves as vital beings at this age and instead reminisce on the lives they have had.

We wear our past lives on ourselves and for many there is not much to be done. Acceptance!

I personally will spend every day of the life I have left caring for myself and my well being and taking responsibility for myself and my well being.

I’m heading towards the upper end of your age range OP and think I don’t look it when I see some other ladies who are of a very similar age.

I weigh a lot less than I did 3 years ago, I went from a size 14 to an 8/10, I’m fitter than I was then and generally eat healthier than I did then. My hair is coloured because I started going grey when I was about 40 and I’m too scared to grow it out as I might get a horrible scare at how grey it really is. I obviously have lines and wrinkles but I like to consider them to be experience and knowledge lines 😂

I’m retired but fill my days quite well, DH and I travel regularly, we help out with our GC regularly and we have a comfortable life. I do get aches and pains, who doesn’t in their early 60’s? I am on medication for a couple of life long health conditions but they don’t massively impact my life.

I do struggle sometimes with what my clothing style is, I want to dress in what suits my frame and shape but worry that I might dress too young. Short skirts look good on me because I have good legs but they’re short but I tell myself that as long as I’m happy with how I look, does it matter what anyone else thinks. I practice self care and have put boundaries in place that I didn’t have a few years ago, that’s really helped my general outlook on life.

I’m 59 next week and can definitely see that I’m looking older. But I am older so it’s to be expected. I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that I look tired. But I eat well, exercise, get my roots, lashes and brows done. Wear good clothes. So I’d like to think that I’m an older woman who looks like a happy, healthy woman.

I am at the bottom of this age group and interestingly I have really noticed a lot of fine lines developing all over my face for the first time over the last month and I have to say I don’t like it. I do think I am having an aging spurt if that is possible
I keep myself super fit so my body is great but it’s depressing I can’t control the face . I spent a lot of years overseas in hot countries wearing not a lot of spf so I always suspected I would age rapidly . I also run a lot so think runners face contributes too . But it is slightly unnerving when I glance at the mirror and see my mother staring back
I also notice aging on other people. My mother in law had the most gorgeous skin and I couldn’t stop going on about it . She did carry a little bit of weight but she was positively dewy all the way through her eighties and hardly lined . So I think genetics may play a part too (my parents look like they have spent their whole life outdoors working the fields so I am not holding my breath there)
But that being said I would not consider any evasive procedures and a life well lived is the most important thing. I guess we just have to embrace those wrinkles

I’m happy with my appearance. I’ve always moisturised my skin, used spf on my face, kept out of the sun and don’t really have wrinkles on my face or neck, yet. I love my thick white blonde hair and it suits me. I regularly have complements about my hair and complexion from strangers. I walk at a brisk pace and wear colours that suit me. I always walk tall. Friends say I don’t look 60 and a stranger I got chatting to in the supermarket before Christmas was genuinely shocked to learn that I wasn’t in my 40s.
I’m not keen on my chin hairs, I can see jowels coming and my eyebrows are rapidly disappearing. I won’t do Botox, filers etc, happy to age naturally.
My post reads as quite vain but in reality I suppose that looking in the mirror every day, I don’t notice the aging process where as those who haven’t seen me for a while are probably thinking I’ve aged loads.

I'll be 62 this year. I'm OK with how I look, and I'm very comfortable in my own skin. My self worth is not linked to how I look and never has been. I'm here and I'm healthy, so that'll do just fine.

I suppose I do look after myself fairly well, I'm still reasonably slim, not grey yet and don't have many lines thanks to good genes, and I love fashion and adore experimenting with my look, but the most important thing is that I'm here, I'm healthy and I'm happy.

Long may it last.

I’m 63 and have had problems with pre cancerous and cancerous cells on my face and head, which has meant scarring etc. The only niggle for me is my lack of eyebrows, heavy, puffy hooded eye lids and thinning hair.
The thing that has the most aging effect is the sparse eyebrows. I would love to get the tattoo/micro blade thing done, but all the pictures I see of women my age having this procedure, end up looking really fake!

I think she means count your blessings that you are alive

I looked pretty good til 2 wks before my 60th and from being very healthy was struck down with health probs, thats been the last year and i look awful now… its luck of the draw sometimes….❤️

I’m not in this age group, I’m 76. I do everything I can to look good, stay slim, exercise, wear make up daily and dress well as I always have. It’s very important to me. I think I’m doing ok.

I am the upper end of this age group and I think I look ok on a good day 😆 but awful when I’m ill or tired .
No lines or wrinkles on my face , my neck shows a few signs of aging as I probably rushed my skin care when I was a busy mum of 3 younger children.
I have never smoked and I don’t drink alcohol or sunbathe .
My skin is slightly on the oilier / combination side so I think that also helps + I’m a warm toned skin maybe 🤔 a type 2 ( Fitzpatrick) so that also helps not being incredibly pale .
I am a tiny bit heavier than when I was 40s and 50s but still well within the acceptable BMI range .
My hair is coloured , I will stop at some point ,don’t know when .
I think possibly I subconsciously arrange my face before looking in the mirror 🪞😂