People saying you look young for your age

[Percypiggz]

It's not a brag of any sort, I've no interest in looking younger, I just want to look well. I'm 35 so still relatively young, and anyway I much prefer how I look now to how I did at 25.

The issue is I now get embarrassed when people find out my age- I don't go round sharing it but people are curious and eventually ask how old you are, colleagues, partners' friends etc.

Im so bored of the same reaction- "You're 35??!! No, stop!!! Omg I thought you were 25!!! Omg!!!'

I know a lot of people would love this and take it as a huge compliment but I'm genuinely not interested- I'm not saying every single person does but I've heard this many times over the years.

What am I meant to answer- thanks, I know? I just smile politely and laugh it off. My partner's friend's wife who is only a year older said to me "Oh you're really young aren't you." And I told her I was a year younger than her.

I think people have this idea in their head that people in their 30s should have lots of wrinkles and look weathered- probably thinking of films and TV shows in the 90s when 30s tended to look much older.

Does anyone else have this and it's unwanted? How do you deal with it? I had a friend who I'd known for 10 years and who I'd done a Masters with 10 years ago so quite obviously had to be at least 21 back then.
She said 'Omg you're in your 30s??? You look amazing!!' Despite me knowing her for over a decade, how old was i going to be really?
I feel embarrassed now about people knowing my age because I've no idea how to react.

Don't worry, eventually people will stop being surprised.

I'm 66. People often assume I'm mid/late 50s. For example, the pharmacist said "that's £9.90" when I collected a prescription and commented when they checked my dob. People at work have too because I'm.retiring next month.

I think it's bloody marvellous and shall embrace it for however long it lasts.

Just say thanks and move on. I looked very young until mid 40s and people commented a lot. and now I look every year of my age in my 50s. It’s not a big deal.

Are you bored? To me you are looking for something to be offended by.

Actually I'm not speaking for myself.
It's what I hear from those who aren't as blessed as I am.

I'm 50 and I get this pretty much any time someone finds out my age. I was recently discussing pensions with a work colleague and he laughingly commented that he was closer to retirement age than me. He was utterly shocked when I said I was actually 15 years older than him! My DD is 19 and people often wrongly assume I was very young when I had her; DH has also been mistaken for my dad a few times. It's flattering but it can also get embarrassing when people go on about it 🙄 it makes me feel like people think I'm attention seeking or something.

Okie dokes.

I think i look a lot older than my age so I'd be really happy to be in your position!

Enjoy it while it lasts! I get the opposite since I stopped colouring my hair and it’s completely white. Everyone assumes I’m 10 years older than my age, which is very useful for senior/pensioner discounts 😊

I looked very young until I turned 53 now my face is covered in dark spots, bags, sags and wrinkles
However the doctor did check my date of birth when I went for a recent appt and said I didn't look my age soon to be 57
Call me shallow but it made my day
Who wants to look older and closer to death? Not me

I looked 25 at 35. At 45 I now look 55. Enjoy it whilst it lasts.

I don’t like young/youthful being used as a compliment. Why is it? Why the obsession?

Well, as you get older you may not mind so much.

I’m 51 and people generally think I’m late 30s - genuinely, I think, as I often get the shocked, “No! Really?!” reactions. It’s a running joke with my friends and honestly, I don’t think I look my age either.

It’s a combination of genetics (my father never wrinkled into his late 70s and my mother is still only half-grey at 80), lifelong dedication to sunscreen as I’m very fair-skinned, and not drinking.

I am grateful for not facing the typical female mid-life discrimination yet - people take me seriously because I don’t look my age, I think. So you could just take it for what it is, not worry about the “faux” shock and enjoy the likely privilege that accrues to you because of it.

I looked very much younger than my age till I was about 47- now I’d say I look my age (56). At 40 people thought I was in my mid twenties -it got embarrassing and I got really fed up of people commenting or being asked for ID. I also have an annoyingly high pitched voice e which doesn’t help. However, I look at myself now and miss that baby face! My friend who always looked her age now looks younger than me.

I get it a lot too, I'm mid 30s. I used to absolutely hate it in my 20s, people thought I was 12. Now I quite like it because the age guesses tend to be early 20s - the only place I dislike it is at work, I'm pretty senior and it gets wearing.

My mum had it her whole life and recently (in her 60s) mentioned to someone at work she had X number of children. They replied "oh lovely, which school do they go to?"

Me and my siblings are all in our 30s, eldest nearly 40...

Personally it's reached a tipping point now at mid 30s that I'm pleased I look young, but I did used to hate it.

Hi I also have EDS and I'm 52. People are shocked when I say I have a 21 year old and look at me disapprovingly like I had a child really young. My skin may look good but the joint pain and amount of surgeries I've had because of slack connective tissue makes me feel 82 😂😂

Yep I’ve been told I look young. I was getting id’d in my early thirties. I liked it then, but now I’m nearly 47 I actually find it embarrassing and don’t see it is as a compliment. Haven’t had to show Id for years but I kid you not the other week I got charged kids price on a bus! The friends I was with found it hilarious, have not stopped ribbing me about it and saying I should be pleased. But I’m a mature women, it feels disrespectful. If the bus driver had looked at me for even a second he’d have seen I have grey roots showing and more than a few lines!
It’s hard to explain but I’m quite shy, suffer from imposter syndrome at my work and struggle to stand up for myself. I want to be seen and treated with the respect I deserve.

I used to get that all the time too. Give it 10 years and it’ll stop.

I get this all the time off people who are in their 20s. They’ll say ‘you don’t look 35 I thought you were my age’

But the fact is I do look 35. And that’s how I supposed to look. But people, particularly young people, have a distorted view of how 35+ people look. Like we’re all meant I have wrinkles and grey hair and jowls.

I have had it all my life. Multiplied significantly because I was a young mum, and then a young grandmother. I find it quite hilarious to be honest. People's faces when they realise that my 'DC' is actually my DGC. They just look so absolutely confused.

It doesn't bother me to be honest though, it's irrelevant. It's a compliment really, and it does bo harm to anyone, I can't be bothered to use up energy being annoyed by it.

It's less relevent now I am no longer single, but the most frustrating thing is the look of horror on an attractive man's face when they have been chatting you up, and then discover you are 10-15 years older than they thought you were (even though you did nothing to suggest you were any particular age) The bonus is you are less likely to get older men trying to chat you up

I used to hate when I was younger I revel in it now

Say I'd rather be thought wise for my age, and hope I live long enough to see a world where women are valued for their intelligence, and caring about their appearance is seen as shallow.

I get this a lot. Also get people asking if I have botox (I don't), I'm in my 40's and I'm sure it'll stop at some point.
It doesn't bother me to be honest, I think people are just trying to be nice. I just say "thank you" and move on.

I take it with a bit of a pinch of salt because sometimes I do it when I don’t actually mean it. Like if someone says “well I am 55” I almost automatically say “ wow really? I thought you were much younger” and I imagine I’m not the only one who does this. It’s like when someone asks you to guess their age you always go at least 5 younger to be on the safe side.

I do also think that as you get older the “spread” of how old people look at x age widens which makes it harder to assess accurately.

As someone who definitely looks their age and possibly older due to health issues, I feel like, enjoy this while you can. There are much worse things you could be dealing with