Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what age you suddenly really started to age?

488 replies

Onedaylikethis21 · 07/10/2021 17:09

I feel like at 48, I have really started to age- creepy neck, a bit jowly, going a bit grey and not feeling great to be honest! I look after myself - don’t really drink as I see it on my face, wear nice clothes, nice hair etc but it’s becoming an effort ☹️ Wasn’t expecting it actually!! I always thought I looked pretty good for my age. I know it’s vain and I shouldn’t care but it’s just weird!!

OP posts:
QuizzlyBear · 07/10/2021 19:50
  1. Everything just sagged virtually overnight. Bastard skin.
CookPassBabtridge · 07/10/2021 19:50

@WhyOhWhyOhWhyyyy

After I had my first child (32)! She’s only a few years old so hoping I might bounce back at some point. I just saw a photo of DH and I from about 2 years before she was born and I couldn’t believe how different I looked compared to now. DH looks the same Confused
I look back at photos from after the few years after having my two kids and I look older and tired, I thought that was it.. the start of the downward spiral. I was only 29 and 32 respectively! Since my youngest got to 3 and started sleeping again it seems to have reversed and I look wide eyed and bushy tailed again. Can't believe the difference in photos. There is hope!
Whitechocpizza · 07/10/2021 19:52

I aged almost overnight when I hit 40.
I'm 41 now.
Thin skin under eyes, jowels and permanently look miserable. Already thin top lip looks non-existent.

CookPassBabtridge · 07/10/2021 19:53

This thread is quite depressing to read, not because people are aging, but the sadness about it and lack of acceptance.. I hate this world of surgery and botox making people feel crap in comparison.

julieca · 07/10/2021 19:55

@CookPassBabtridge it isn't just about looks. It hammers home your own mortality.

speakout · 07/10/2021 19:57

I really don't care about face ageing- I keep my skin healthy- but I do have sagging and wrinkles.
What we don't have to accept is losing fitness or becoming obese.

TheWeeDonkey · 07/10/2021 19:57

I had a hysterectomy at 40 and started menopause around 43 and its been a steady slide since then. All the things mentioned above, I used to wear heels every day, have great skin, was slim easily and looked really young for my age. All that changed Sad

FoilWrappedBiscuit · 07/10/2021 19:58

@ParkheadParadise I'm so sorry for your loss. Flowers

Holskey · 07/10/2021 19:58

Having a child at 36. I was literally asked for ID regularly until he was a couple months old. I naively thought I would always look younger than my age.

I see it now in photos and in the mirror. I have aged a lot in the last year. And yes, I care.

Ambrosiann3 · 07/10/2021 19:59

I’m in my fifties and I’m noticing changes like my teeth are on the move; joints and tendons need more help to warm up; and the bloody menopause is a big, ugly, forgetful sweaty monster that needs to feck off!!!

grapewine · 07/10/2021 19:59

Last year at 43. I blame the bloody pandemic.

SunShinesBrightly · 07/10/2021 20:01

47/48 for me!
I look back at photos from my mid 40s and I look so young. I have aged a lot in the last few years.

Blondiney · 07/10/2021 20:03

[quote julieca]@CookPassBabtridge it isn't just about looks. It hammers home your own mortality.[/quote]
THIS! A million times this.

Daisy62 · 07/10/2021 20:05
  1. Before then, people would express surprise at my age. Not any more! Less firm in the jawline, more lines on my forehead.
HippeePrincess · 07/10/2021 20:05

This year at 34, I’ve started to get some lines and stopped getting asked for ID this year.

fumfspos · 07/10/2021 20:07

I'm 45 next month. I still look really young.
I'm expecting it to go downhill soon though. I've got raging hormones so that will be the beginning of the menopause.
However, I've been hiking all over the place for the last 20 years and thought nothing of climbing all kinds of mountains but the last 2 years I've started to notice that I can't really be arsed and that it's definitely harder than it was before.
I can't do ascents of 1500 metres and back down in a day anymore.
Disappointed really as I have so much more I want to do - I suppose I can still do it but will have to biwak on the mountain overnight.
Long-distance in the wilderness is still ok, as long as the ascents aren't too arduous, 800-1000 metres spread over the course of the day is ok.
But yeah, definitely noticing it now....

Tigerzmum · 07/10/2021 20:08

I feel, I look as good, in a way, as I have done when I have looked good younger; I'm pescatarian (for 25 years, no red meat nor chicken, no added salt nor sugar); I'm 62...

Thedishwasherstacker · 07/10/2021 20:09

Definitely 45 for me. I felt and looked great in my early 40’s then I hit 45 and I think perimenopause has hit me hard. Even though I am slim and have a good figure, exercise, eat well etc I feel like crap most days and that in itself is ageing. Other, outside issues age us too. I now care for my mum who suffers from Alzheimer’s and also have two teens who need me and a part time job. I have a constant row of plates I am trying to keep spinning in the air. I never had these issues in my 20’s or 30’s when I felt young and free with fee responsibilities. Now I feel old and trapped with lots of people relying on me.

WhyOhWhyOhWhyyyy · 07/10/2021 20:09

@CookPassBabtridge thank you, that’s really good to know!!

Jux · 07/10/2021 20:09

Soon after dd was born (I was 41). I blame dh's refusing to let me buy moisturiser and insisting I use his horrible 3 year old Simple - which did nothing for my very-seriously-not-teenage skin!

sansucre · 07/10/2021 20:11
  1. Earlier this year I felt like I had suddenly aged overnight but I think I've managed to halt it, or at least managed to make my complexion glow again and stave off whatever changes were happening. Changing the dosage of HRT has helped, ditto twice daily cups of bone broth, krill oil, and face yoga/face roller. I do have good cheekbones, so my face hasn't yet collapsed, no jowls either and my jawline is still taut. However, my nose is definitely bigger and there are lines above my upper lip. I think the latter would probably disappear if I had some filler but that's not going to happen.
Youarenothere · 07/10/2021 20:16

37, having a non sleeping child has easily added 10 years to me

GoodnightGrandma · 07/10/2021 20:16

About 33 I discovered that I was hypothyroid, that made me realise that I was ageing. I’d be on tablets, and having regular blood tests, for life.
Then around 43 I suddenly lost hair, and no reason was found, and it’s never grown back. I think that was the point that it all went downhill.

XingMing · 07/10/2021 20:16

I am 65, and look pretty decent considering. I had one DC at 43, and am still able to fit the clothes I bought then, with a few seamstress tweaks. Naturally I have some wrinkles, and I am never going to love my turkey wattle neck. But my DM is 86, and in very reasonable health, with the odd crisis. So I think that if she's 86, then there's a chance I shall make 96. I have a youngish dog to keep fit and healthy, make my 10K steps more days than not, and try to eat sensible food. But I enjoy a glass of wine (or two) daily and try to keep my mind fresh and open to new ideas.

I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and had a lumpectomy. The tits are healing well and tomorrow I find out whether it's radio=drugs or chemo and radio and drugs. But I still feel as well/fit/healthy as I did in my 30s.

sansucre · 07/10/2021 20:17

@Ambrosiann3

I’m in my fifties and I’m noticing changes like my teeth are on the move; joints and tendons need more help to warm up; and the bloody menopause is a big, ugly, forgetful sweaty monster that needs to feck off!!!
HRT will help all of this. Many menopausal women suffer with dental problems caused by lack of oestrogen. Sadly there is little joined up thinking between dentists and GPs about this.

Apols for Daily Fail link but it's information every woman should read.