Am I the only middle aged woman on MN with lines and wrinkles?

[Ivaidea]

I don't mean to sound arsey (honestly!) but if you are over 45 and have no lines or wrinkles, this thread is not for you.

I'm always reading posts on here where people say they are, say, 50 and have no wrinkles or are regularly taken for 5, 10 or more years younger.

Am I the only one who does have lines and wrinkles? My facial lines are similar to say, Naomi Watts in this photo - but without the beauty.

I am less lined than Naomi Watts but I am 6 years younger and two stone heavier. Having a skinny face makes lines show more.

Everyone I disclose my age to is surprised, and yes think I'm 10 years younger

Or they're just being nice

58 and not many wrinkles.
But droopy eyelids and jowls. I never look down in a mirror!
But I am not 58 in outlook or disposition. I am not dead yet.

I am middle aged and have hardly any lines - a dermatologist complimented my skin last week.

But the grey hair..... and how dry and frizzy it’s going.... that’s a whole different question

CrossFlannel- I'll hold my hand up to being overweight, yep. Not massively so, but I kind of subscribe to the Arse Or Face rule or at least that's my excuse...

I won’t be having Botox as I just know I will be the one that ends up getting palsy

Oh God, me too! And if I had fillers I'd end up looking like Priscilla Presley.

Yes, I know everyone on MN who has Botox looks a little fresher or less angry ...

I know a lot of women that age that bang on about how lucky they are not to have wrinkles. But they do have wrinkles. Lots of them.

I think a lot of middle aged women grew up with mothers and grandmothers who sort of leaned into aging. At 50 my mother and her friends and peers looked OLD, like you’d expect a 70yr to look today. They had deep, harsh lines and very noticeably sagging skin, and they styled themselves like little old ladies.

Today most 50yr olds look amazing in comparison to that, and I think that’s where the frame of reference comes from. They associate wrinkles with much older looking women, and so ignore all the milder lines on their faces.

If you tell somebody your age nobody is going to say 50 really? You look 70.

If people say you look younger than you are they’ve just being polite

I succumbed to botox for my frown lines last year on the run-up to my daughter's wedding. The following day I was so sick and my stomach was churning like a washing machine. I thought I had food poisoning until I googled 'botox and nausea' and read so many similar stories. The 'experts' all deny a link but so many women saying the same thing need to be taken seriously. The botox made little difference and made my brow feel really heavy, so I wouldn't repeat it or recommend it.

Not necessarily, there are women who genuinely look younger than their years. But so what? It pisses me off that youth is so revered.

I agree about "just being polite". Someone told me how old she was and then looked outraged for a moment. It took me a while to realise that I had been expected to say she looked younger.

I'm 45 and have horizontal lines on my forehead.
Brown splats on forehead and jawline (fine..until i took Yasmin).
Eyelids are heavy
Vertical lines on top lip....and I've never smoked.
Grooves from mouth to nose - only on right side
Lost 2 large teeth upper jaw...1 each side.
Hair thinning hairline receding
It's shite
Ante and post natal depression plus childbirth since 2006 have ruined me physically.

I'm in my 50's and what wouldn't I give to look like Naomi Watts: she's gorgeous! I didn't think I had too many wrinkles, but the other day my friends grand daughter said to me "why is your face so wrinkly", so perhaps I've been kidding myself. I can't see anything good about growing older.

What is really bothering me about getting older is the feebleness -- the loss of energy and the knee and back and shoulder pain that results from new and strenuous activities. Appearance seems so unimportant beside that that I can't understand why people (and advertisers!) expect women to devote any attention to it.

Early 30s here. My face looks young (as does my 70yo mum's, but we both had horrible acne in our youth - you win some, you lose some) but probably 15% of my hair is grey. I had a couple friends die in their teens and I always think how they would have given their right arm to live long enough to go grey. Why do we act like getting older is such a curse? The alternative is awful.

I am early 50s and have very few wrinkles, i don't have the lines she has on her cheeks
for example but I am a bit jowly. I don't look younger than my age because I am a bit of a fatty and can't seem to get clothes I like so stuck in a rut style wise. I would love to look as well groomed and polished as Naomi.

I’m mid 40s and feel as if I’m ageing in front of my eyes. I don’t have any grey hair though, so that’s something I suppose.

Early 40's and I find I really don't care about it at the moment. It's actually really interesting watching myself age I think.

I noticed the other day my eyelids are slightly starting to droop - that's new

I'm totally grey - recently stopped dying it and love it at the moment. I might dye it again but that's just coz I get bored.

I'm about to hit 60 and my face has pretty much collapsed. Happened after being quite ill about 7 years ago, and has just 'settled' to the extent that I don't recognize myself in the mirror. I use all the serums and lotions and hot cloths and oil washes and so on. It feels lovely, but that's about it. To say nothing of the hair. The wandering hairs. Everywhere. White eyebrows. LONG white eyebrows that stick right up like pubic hairs gone awry. My eyesight is so bad I can't see to pluck or cut them properly, so generally stab about blindly and hope for the best. Yesterday I got out a magnifying mirror and found a huge blackhead on my chin. A big one. Dear god. what else can't I see?

I am, however, enjoying life, have a marvelous (probably also short sighted) DH who still likes me, love to laugh and have my health. I'm very, very lucky.

A balaclava. Do you think we could make them the fashion for winter? If we all joined together it would work. Sparkly ones for nights out. :)

I read somewhere that nobody ever looks less than five years younger than their real age. Wrinkles are not the only indicator of age - skin tone and texture, hair, body shape, the list is endless.

I do think that people will automatically say 'oh you look young for your age' when you are over 40 and tell someone your age, it's kind of expected, especially if you are the type of person who looks like you care about your image. It indicates to people that you are the type of person who would enjoy being told you look young. If you see what I mean! People say it to me sometimes, but I can tell they are just saying it as I look like one of those people

I have lines on my eyes and forehead, but I am getting some botox for my Birthday. I am not even 40, the skin on my body is still good, though my hands look much older, worse than my face.

2018 laughing here.
Yes the long random eyebrow hair

My face fell apart recently when I turned 50- my crepy neck and saggy jowels make me look like a tortoise.

I know I’m letting this thread down but I’m coming round to the idea of a neck and jawline lift. I don’t want to look young- I just want to look my age. Lasts 10+ years and won’t be doing it for any other reason than feeling better about myself. Shallow? Totally. But I reckon in 10 years time when it all falls apart again, I’ll be more resigned to looking like a tortoise.

Mine are way worse than hers, I'm 49, but people tell me I look fab!!!!

Although if someone could tell me how to get rid of forehead expression lines (really deep) without resorting to a fringe (I do this every couple of years but I have a kink. in my hair so the fringe ends up looking odd), I would be forever grateful.
I do think it's weird though that no one, and I mean no one, on TV has any lines on their forehead at all now.

I am 49 and think I do look younger than my years (deluded much ), but only sometimes. A lot depends on what I am wearing, my mood, what my hair is doing, how much sleep I have had etc.. It’s exhausting trying to keep track of it all .