What age did your looks start to fade?

[SalJ90]

Do we really become less desirable as we get older? Why is this?

Lockdown 2020 aged me 10 years. I started smoking and have stopped and started since... I can't afford it and I look wrinkly and with jowls, so am making an effort to stop this time.

I really noticed it when my second child was about a year old. I was about 32. I had my DC just over a year apart and the chronic sleep deprivation and stress of being stuck at home isolated in the middle of nowhere dramatically aged me. As did the consequent weight gain. She was a terrible sleeper. My marriage was on the rocks I was a wreck in every way. One friend hadn't seen me in a couple of years as she lived in Australia and she was visibly shocked when she caught sight of me

I've since had Botox!

I'm 44 and I've seen a noticeable change over the last year

I'm 47 and I'm the heaviest I have ever been in my life I really need to tone up , but I am almost wrinkle free , never smoked , my mum looks loads younger than she is , so I think my face looks younger but my body tells it's age .

For me it all went downhill from the day I was born! I’ve never been blessed by looks. At best I could be described as plain.

It depends how good looking you were in your youth! Many women grow into their faces and become more attractive with age.
Some women are beautiful young and continue to be beautiful as they age.
Most of us have a glow of youth that we don't appreciate at the time, and that obviously fades!

I'm in my mid 50s and although I think I looked pretty good until a couple of years ago I definitely have started to look older in the last couple of years. I still look ok, but definitely older and I would say the same of friends the same age. My hair and skin tone have changed.

There is saying that everything you do in one decade for your skin, you will see in the next.

So definitely looking after your skin, using sunscreen, in your 30's will benefit you in your 40's and so on.

My face is definitely drooping a bit and my neck is taking a beating, but my face is very unlined for late 50's.

Am thinking about profhilo sessions to give me a little post Covid lift.
They are very subtle but give a very distinct rested and fresher appearance.

I have always been very natural in my make up and that is more important as you age.

Heavy foundation is VERY aging.

I think 42 too! Prior to this I could get out of bed and look fine.

Now I swear it takes my face at least 20 minutes to ‘settle’ after I get up. It’s horrible!

Since my 30th birthday. We came back from Italy luckily just as they locked it down. Then in April with the stress of staying indoors and homeschooling we started drinking quite heavily me and my partner as well. The drinking and lack of exercise did it for my face. I have noticeable bags and my skin is sagging.

Then last year at 31 I caught covid and I've aged rapidly since. Also lost my hair from it so it just looks thin. I've been Chronically run down since but I'm getting better and I can't wait to start exercising more, being outdoors more and having the motivation to be healthier in general. I've recently had a skin booster under my eyes and I'm looking at Botox and fillers this year.

But yeah, I'd say covid at 30 did it for me.

@billy1966 I agree with this, I've recently started a strict and well research skincare routine in the hope ill slow my 40s down!

In my 30s.

Though one positive, much as their behaviour is completely unacceptable in the first place, dirty old men such as Silvio Berlusconi, Mick Jagger or Boris Johnson will ignore you.

I'm 47 and yes I have a few lines but still think I look quite youthful. I'm managing my weight (for the first time in my life) , eat healthily, sleep, well, exercise etc. My hair is good and I finally dress well (I hadn't a clue in my 20s).i think I look better now than I used to in my youth. I'm perimenopausal but it hasn't really affected my looks yet. Having said all this I'm expecting to age quite dramatically after the menopause. I remember everyone saying my mum looked 30 when she turned 50. By 55 (post menopause) she looked her age.

Late 40's, I'm blaming illness and stress.

Well, this thread makes depressing reading!

Come on folks - you’re all automatically equating “looks fading” with “looking older”. That’s such a f**ked up mentality. I get it, but stop. Stop now and look at what you’re saying.

I am 43. I look 43. I think I look great. I do not look 20. Does that mean “my looks have faded”???

Society embraces youth. We have it shoved down our throats daily. That does not mean you need to look younger than you are to look great.

My looks will never fade. I will look older, I will look my age, my hair will go grey, my skin will wrinkle, things will drop (!) and men may not stop in the street as they see me approach but I will always look f**king fabulous because I will look like me.

Don’t let messed up definitions of shallow shit ruin the amazing achievement of getting older. There should not be a sense of loss to aging. X

Im 52! I dont think Ive lost my looks at all...I just feel theyve changed. Im still attractive, just in a different way. Dont hang on to the image of yourself as 'young' in your mind, its vastly over rated! I think I look better now than in my 20s when my face was very tight and I had a haughty and austere look. Now everything has softened a bit and ive finally grown into my look. I take a lot of care of skin and do light glowy make up, have fun with dressing and love it! Change your perception and dont give up on yourself as an active, glorious woman - its still in there, maybe you just dont recognise it or have the resources or time to bring it out at the moment, but its there.

I got long covid in 2020 aged 39. My looks have faded rapidly since then. My hair has thinned out, my skin is sagging and my jawline has softened. I also have horrid brown spots all over my face and it looks grubby. I used to have perfect porcelain alabaster white skin.

BUT
I’m also far more confident a person in who I am now. I am physically fitter now at 42 than I ever was before. I know what suits me, I have learned to apply make up properly. I am not as self absorbed as I was in my 20s which is far more an attractive trait than beauty.
And I was beautiful, but never I realised it.
I know I am smart, assured, toned, healthy and for all else I shall start Botox.

[quote sunflowermadness]@billy1966 I agree with this, I've recently started a strict and well research skincare routine in the hope ill slow my 40s down! [/quote]
Serums and a good Vitamin C serum are a must.

Serums give you more bang for your buck and it is not about always spending lots of money.

The Aldi anti aging serum is in my basket most weeks. I have slapped it on liberally for years and my it has kept my skin very dewy.....for an old one!

Mind your lips too. Aldi miracle cream is excellent for lips.
And your hands.
Mind your hands.
Factor 50 ALL the time here too.
Reduce your chances of pigmentation as you age.

35, although I was never a stunner. Still managed to snag a lovely husband though.

@8lue8ird

I'm 44 and I've seen a noticeable change over the last year

Snap. Ironically, my skin is better than it has been in years (thanks tretinoin) but I just look jowly and saggy now.

My teeth are discoloured but other than that I still look OK. I'm 41.

I’m 43 now, and would say up to 40 I was doing fine. Would also say 42 was when it really started to go.

I don’t have many wrinkles but cheeks/jowls/eyelids are starting to sag 😞

I also got a belly for the first time which I can’t see how I’ll ever get rid of.

I've really noticed a lot of people looking much older after lockdown/covid.

I'm 40 and think I noticed I looked older around my birthday, it seemed to happen overnight. My hair was very thin at the temples, greyer, my skin was looking bad.

But then I had some tests done, found I was b12 and vit d deficient, and think I can see an improvement since I've been taking b12, vit d and a multivitamin religiously.

I've also sorted out my diet, dropped out alcohol and am over a year cigarette free, I exercise regularly too.

What we put in us will show on the outside.

About 15 of us women go away most years. Got a flashback from 5 years ago when we 42/43 the change in everyone over those 5 years is very noticeable and several have gone down the Botox route

Mid-40s. First hair fell out (massive receding hairline), followed by losing eye-brows a few years later. Then the sagging, everything is drooping!

I do try to remain positive - it could be worse, right? - but the eyebrow loss has been particularly hard (I had lovely eyebrows).