AIBU to think that some people automatically age and look a good bit older when they hit 30

[ZaraV]

I feel a lot of people lose their youthfulness around that age. It’s like one month they look late teens early twenties then as if a switch is flicked they look close to 30. I have this friend who when she was 27 could easily pass for someone who’s 19 or even younger but now she looks much older 5 years later. She looks maybe about 27 at youngest but you wouldn’t look at her and think she’s a teen. It’s sad it almost looks as if she’s let herself go which she hasn’t. Her makeup doesn’t sit the same either

It isn't sad. Looking like a teenager (a child) isn't the flex you think it is. Being older is actually great, looking and being treated as someone with more to offer, experience and wisdom is a good thing. Don't live your life being afraid of aging, you might surprise yourself at how much joy you find in it.

I was always pretty ok with my appearance until about 37. I was never particularly vain or invested in physical looks.

But between 37-40 there's been enormous changes. I've had 3 big bereavements, a very unwell husband, become the carer for elders very unexpectedly. I do not look like the same person at 40 than at 37.

But I feel I've saved peoples lives, supported my family, pulled loved ones through crisis, and were still alive. There's been no time to give a fuck about looks. My eyebags have eyebags, but Im ok with that.

We're all going to be old and wrinkly in the end, we can't escape it. You have to just survive.

Funnily we watched The Substance a couple days ago and I was overjoyed by the message 😂

Anyway the moral of the story is OP is a shallow naive wally and should watch The Substance.

I have photos of myself aged 27, newly married. I could pass for early 20s, I was slim, dressed well, cared about my skincare regime and makeup. Forward 3 years and I had 2 under 2, had piled on weight from back to back pregnancies and had a non existent skincare routine because when I finally got a minute I just wasn't motivated enough and dark circles from a lack of sleep. At 30 my white hairs erupted too and I've been dyeing my roots ever since. Fast forward 8 years and another baby later, I'm dropping the weight have a good skincare routine to help with my dry skin and am investing in myself again.

I'd be less judgemental if I were you. None of us can fight age, it catches up with us all at some point, taking the time to invest in self care can help but a person has to have the funds, time and motivation to do it.

I remember being ID'd in a bar at 34 😊 So I guess I still looked young into my 30s!!

I'm late 40s now and definitely look my age or older, sadly!

My mum used to say, when the neck goes that's it! My necks gone (south) :( sadly!

I think it really depends on the individual 🤔

Hmm I'd say about 32 I suddenly aged. Fine lines etc. At 35 I could maybe pass for 27. But certainly not for a teen like I used to.

Varies a lot, my dc is 23 and can pass for under 16 her dsis is just 2 years later and always looked older, could get her hands on alcohol easily at 16 because she looked 25. Me, well no one believes me when I tell them my age, I look at least 10 years younger

OP, your stance of looking at another person with this sort of lens is only showing the world your insecurities. It is painfully obvious - are you feeling ok? Maybe something you have grown up with (having to look or act a certain way can influence your thinking even if you think it doesn’t).

Your still growing until your around 28 yrs, then you begin to degenerate, so yes that would make sense. I remember spotting the first line on my face at 28, my back went for the first time at 28, I had the first weird face hair appear at 28.

I'm 39 and people still mistake me for being in my twenties. It's all to do with genes in my opinion. My grandparents to my parents all look a lot younger than their age.
That's not to say I don't see the changes in myself. I have the odd grey hair and am a lot heavier around the middle which is very depressing as I eat well and walk everywhere but this is what happens I guess.
Being late thirties has made me feel old for the first time and it is tough navigating the changes. Yes, the alternative is worse etc but I personally am finding it very tough.

Why on earth do you thibk it is sad that a woman who is 30 or more (?) Doesn't look like a teen? It would be very odd if she did!
And 5 years at 25 is much more significant than 5 years later in life.
You are 20? Which makes you only 2/3 of her age. Of course she looks older.

I have this friend who when she was 27 could easily pass for someone who’s 19 or even younger but now she looks much older 5 years later. She looks maybe about 27 at youngest but you wouldn’t look at her and think she’s a teen.

She’s in her 30s she’s not meant to look like a teen! I’m guessing your friends 32?… yet you say she looks 27 at youngest, isn’t that a good thing she’s still younger looking than her age

Seriously!

You sound very very immature.

I tell you what does age you is having a baby. The sleep deprivation and worry are terrible for your skin! Is it possible that your friends are aging around 30ish because they have had children? It’s a fairly average age to have a child.

I read an article saying there is a big biological aging time bomb that goes off at mid 40s then you are on a straight road again until 70. It seemed to have found that a lot of illnesses started around these age points. Quite interesting.

I aged when both my parents died. It seems to age you.
10 years ago, I could quite easily pass as looking 25, I’m 49 and look my age (though I don’t act it) 🤭

Also Chinese heritage & told fairly often that I look much younger than my age (mid 60's) - my parents both looked extraordinarily youthful until elderly (and were/are considered to be "good looking" too) - bodily my skins much older

This happened to me aged exactly 40. I looked great in my 30s. I'm no supermodel but my skin/ hair/ style and fitness were at their best in early 30s I'd say.

Definitely noticed this more so at late 30's to early 49's....including massively in myself whose always been v youthful, feel like and look like an old hag now pahaha

Well I tell you what this thread is reminding me of - of how much of a dickhead you can be in your early 20s and how much you grow up and become a wiser and more well rounded person as you age.

Wait until you get to your 50s 😂

I thought things had started to.decline in my early 40s.

Now early 50s and starting to get weird skin on my neck and losing fat from my face.

Get lots of.sleep, eat healthily and naturally, and drink lots of water.

I need something additional to the above though 😂

Life starts to catch up. Drinking, smoking , drugs, unhealthy food etc all contribute to the aging process.

Can't say I've noticed it. I wonder if it's a tendency if you're younger and worried about ageing to perceive that friends who have hit 30 look expontentially older?

And also remember 30 IS NOT OLD, it is OK to look 'older' it's even OK to look 'old', I don't know why most people should feel a need to look young unless they're actors or models or some other job where it may seem critical.

I think it's also about the time you start dressing as a grown-up instead of a teenager.😂