Aging and what makes women look older than they are

[DontMentionChorizo]

Uhmmm.. I have been exercising and eating better lately, which has considerably improved my skin and this got me thinking about things that make you look older than you are.

BTW I am 37 so no spring chicken meself . I would say for me these stand out:

Being overweight
Dressing frumpily
Smoking
Having loooong unkept hair

What do you think? and on the other hand what makes women look younger?

Lighthearted thread, btw

Shoulder length is fine.

Bad non-invasive stuff - botox / fillers etc

(the good ones I probably don't notice)

But the obvious frozen face looks ageing.

My hair is long, way past my shoulders and I never brush it. I comb conditioner through it after washing it every few days but thats it. I don't know when I should cut it...I don't want to be known as the mad old woman with the straggly hair. Will I make it to 50 do you think before having to have it cut & styled?

makeup - definitely ageing now.
Wild unkempt appearance of any kind.
Cracked heels, varicose veins - very ageing.

Thanks all - I basically think shoulder length is fine for now, but there will come a point (when I'm 50?) when it really isn't fine and I have no idea what I'll do then.

Similarly hair dyeing - I dye mine all the time, but a 50 year old with no grey will just look barking mad. I'm going to have to start letting some grey show, and that depresses the hell out of me.

I will not have grey hair when I'm 50, don't care how barking mad I look. Apparently you should go a few shaeds lighter as you age, I'm v dark now so might start to lighten the colour over the next ten years.

Cheap tight clothes
Block colour dyed hair
Too thin or too fat
Lots of colourful shiny make up
Short hair that doesn't move

You don't need to go for really short, shampoo and set, ducks arse kind of hair though. IMO that is really ageing. Some older women have kept their hair slightly longer - not waist length, but shoulder or below, and look fab. Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley etc.

But yes, the wiry, unkempt, riddled with grey look isn't the most flattering look around!

I'm a 50 year old with no grey hair,and I don't look barking mad! (well,I sometimes do,but for quite different reasons )
Not artificial - I'm just lucky in that my family go grey late.
But if you colour your hair well so that it looks natural I don't see why it should be a problem.
If you start thinking "now I'm 50 I can't have long hair/where x item of clothing/whatever" it will make you feel older.....

why would you hate what other people did to their hair.women in lots of other cultures,including america,keep their hair long as they grow older.lots of women end up looking too masculine as they get older,in this country.I don't understand this need to cut off their hair.Thank god i live in pembrokshire where women can be themselves.

wear not where...

Short badger haircut with spiky bits like the woman from Eastenders who lives with Phil.

Sorry for my barking mad accusations :o.

I think I need to focus on going lighter over the next few years. I have a great aunt whose hair is completely white, and that looks stunning - maybe I can just keep dyeing until that happens.

Oh I hate these women-bashing-women threads and don't think this is a light-hearted one at all. Why can't we allow women to be comfortable in their own skin (and hair) and leave the ridiculing of the "ageing woman" to the Daily Mail?

Hassled!
I think advice like not smoking,and keeping at a healthy weight is good advice - but I think too much emphasis on what else you should or shouldn't do,if you aren't careful,means you can censor yourself into a whole set of things that you shouldn't do anymore because you are too old,and that in itself is aging because it affects how you think about yourself... (sorry - did someone say lighthearted thread?!)

However,what do I know - it may well be my midlife crisis talking.Will it make me look older if I buy a leather jacket and biker boots, and have a small tattoo??

Wearing same clothes/make-up/hair style that you did when you were 21.

I think its important to just keep a bit up to date and grooming important. Stray chin hairs are not a good look.

it's so funny to read your ideas of ageing- I am 55 and have not a single grey hair- it's lowlighted and highlighted a honey blonde- almost my natural colour! I am also growing it to just above my shoulders ( layered bob)after 10 years of a short-ish princess Diana look!

IMO ageing is shown by weight, ( too much of it) and wearing clothes that are aimed at older women. Such as droopy calf length skirts, court shoes with trousers and jeans, shapeless beige anoraks and macs etc.

Hassled,when you're too old to have long hair down, the answer is surely to grow it longer and always wear your hair up. (but not in a bun)

i have a naturally miserable face too, my sister told me the other day to stop looking like i want to hit someone.

it's my natural face! cheek :)

you know, I think in the case of elderly women, say over 70 for arguments sake...Look better if they are carrying a bit of weight. Their faces look healthier and there's less wrinkles and saggy skin.

Too fat

Too thin

Mutton dressed as lamb

Weathered skin

Unkempt hair

Cheap clothes

Badly fitting clothes

Facial hair

Frumpy shoes

To be fair it's very hard to have a 'discernible style' when your hair is very long! I hate the just left the Salon look...prob due to my mum having her hair done at least 3 times a week at the hairdressers when I was young. I must be rebelling against it by not doing anything with my hair at all!

I think Traceybath hit the nail on the head when she said "having the same look that you had when you were 21".
Everyone needs another opinion on their appearance every now and then - preferably from a professional hairdreser!