At what age do your looks fade?

[Katie901]

I am coming up to 30 and really worried about this

Love this. I agree.

I’m not as attractive as I was in my twenties - but life has improved in my thirties. Swings and roundabouts.

You can’t fret about your looks fading - they will definitely fade, but you can still be happy!

The way I look at it - I had a good run, I felt very beautiful in my youth, and now it’s someone else’s turn, as I move onto other priorities.

That’s not to say you can’t still be attractive over 30, but I just personally don’t care as much any more, because I have other things in my life I care more about that makeup and hair.

As several posters have pointed out, it's not a great trait. You've been brainwashed.

Still going, true to form. Odd, and makes no sense. 'Several' being you.

If you feel better and validated by men ogling, or whatever you changed the narrative to, then good for you. I don't feel the same.

For me it was after 40. 48 now and can see a real difference. Your facial bones, especially around the jaw, shrink a little with age, so I can see a real jowly thing going on in my jaw that wasn't there 10 years ago. My hair is thinner too.

I honestly believe that most people look more or less their age, but some people just look more attractive/healthier/more ‘put together’/better groomed than others. It irritates me when I see articles saying things like ‘you won’t BELIEVE how old J-Lo is!’ To me she looks like a woman in her early 50s, just a really really attractive and incredibly well-groomed woman! It says more about what people think certain ages ‘should’ look like than how old or young people actually look.

I’ve had much younger colleagues tell me they can’t believe I’m 37 but I think that’s more to do with the fact that they don’t actually know many people in their 30s and have no idea what they’re supposed to look like, you’re just either ‘young’ or ‘old’ in their eyes!

The exception to the above is of course Jane Fonda who I cannot get my head around being 84, but then again there was an episode of Grace and Frankie where she wore no makeup and hadn’t had her hair done and she looked MUCH older than she normally does, while still looking incredible of course. So good grooming definitely goes an awfully long way!

I actually really enjoy not being perved and leered at in the street and my dealings with random men eg at garage etc are so much easier now I am over 45. It’s great! Though sadly my younger Dd at 13 is now the one getting hassled by lechy men 🙄😔.

Looks don't 'fade'. That's just nonsense. You don't start out as really beautiful then gradually get 'uglier' as years go on, until you're eventually a very unattractive 70 year old. It doesn't work like that.
I think people are equating 'looks' with youth and that's the problem. You may not look youthful at 47 but it doesn't mean you won't be pretty/beautiful/in shape.

Absolutely. Though there are a few years in youth when people bloom and many look absolutely gorgeous - that can’t be replicated. That’s life!

They do, though. Do you think the Queen looks as beautiful now as she did in her twenties? She certainly doesn't look horrible now but I think it's fair to say most people's looks decline as they age.

There are people who look genuinely stunning well into their fifties and beyond - people like Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek, but they are hardly typical. They have endless money and resources to pay for beauty treatments, clothes and make-up.

She just looks beautiful in a different way. Again that's equating beauty with youth

I mean 96 years old is an extreme, but people certainly don't become unattractive or less attractive just because they're over 35.

Mm. I'm not sure. I think people are either gorgeous or they're not, regardless of their age. Simply being young doesn't make you lovely, unless you have good looks anyway.

You can’t beat a beautiful young person though. You just can’t.

DH’s friend said that once women hit 35 (unless they are stunning) it’s game over 🧐…loser

@MsTSwift what do you mean by that though?

Men and women if they are good looking look absolutely beautiful when very young. Hence centuries of art work! Think of the sixth form heart throbs - now balding middle aged men. Come on - undeniable.

I completely agree. But the vast majority of young people aren't beautiful, they're ordinary, just like most older people. On these threads youth and beauty are almost used interchangeably, and not only is that not reflective of reality, but given we all age, its also quite a damaging message for women both young and older.
When we get threads from women in their 30s, sad that their best years are behind them, dreading the next stage of their life because they think they'll inevitably become invisible and overlooked, I think its time to stop perpetrating the myth that all, and only, young people are beautiful.

Oh dear - what a prick! Does he think he’ll fare any better?!

I think I looked my best mid -late 30s, I'd had my children and had more time and money to look good, I also looked after my figure. Now early 40s and I've put on weight so I don't look my best but I think everyone has the ability to prolong their looks if looked after well.

6yrs when my pigtails were cut?

Never been thought of as 'pretty' so never wasted time being hung up about whether anyone might consider me attractive or not.

Life is so much better when you don't suffer from anxiety about meaningless stuff.

menopause

Women age so much better than men I don't know why we worry about this so much. The (professional and well paid) men I work with are nearly all balding, I can only think of a couple who actually look like they care about how they dress (many of then wear the same pair of walking shoes to work each day), and most are overweight. In comparison the majority of the women have good hair, dress fashionably and are a healthy weight. I know whose looks have faded and it's not the women.

Agreed.

It's largely bullshit from the patriarchy that women suddenly turn into ogres at 30. I remember being 29 and someone telling me I needed to hurry up and find a man before I lost my looks. Twenty fucking nine!

You're absolutely right...the majority of man look very rough after 30. Balding, weight gain, bad clothes. I look around my office and it's definitely the women who are much better looking on the whole.

13! It's so depressing. I started getting beeped at aged 12 and didn't understand it.. I used to think why are these old men looking at me like that?

Varies. For me, from mid 20s to late 30s, I looked my best.
I've since 'let myself go' and don't really give a shit--it surprises the hell out of me when I get 'checked out.'