Just wondering, what's the maximum number of years younger you think it's possible to look in real life?

[HepburnKNotA]

I'm just pondering this in my idle moments (clearly I have too many!!)

Without actual 'work', obviously.

It's just that I often see people claiming (and I have no basis to disbelieve them!!) they are eg 35 but look 25.

HONESTLY, if I think about my very lovely and gorgeous friends, all roughly aged 35-50 and all very different women, NONE of us look any more than roughly 5 years younger than our actual ages.

I'm 43, and I take very VERY good care of my skin inside and out, and I think probably most people take me for about 38/39, no younger.

One stunning friend who is 50 and looks absolutely amazing, and does a lot of non-surgical stuff - honestly she still looks about 45, no younger.

This is absolutely not a criticism of ANYONE for getting older (I mean, what the fuck else are we meant to do) or of anyone for doing whatever they can/want to look younger. I'm just ever so intrigued as here I am eating avocado and using retinol and sunscreen and never smoking and never sunbathing... and I hear people saying they look a good 10 years younger than they really are.

SHOULD I BE DOING MORE???!!!

Really I just want to look well, and rested, and not puffy and grey. I see no way I could look 33 right now. Apart from literal time-travel.

I know some people who put no effort into but still look 10-15 years younger than they are due to good genetics. I think they are in the minority though. Most people I think about 5 years younger is about all that's doable, but there is a big range of how well people look for their age. So somebody who is mid 40s and who takes care of them self will look much better than someone in their mid 40s who smokes, sun worships, eats badly etc. They will both look like they are in their 40s. But 40s on a bad council estate and 40s in an affluent suburb are very different things.

Oh actually it’s just occurred to me I do have one friend who’s 49 but really looks about 41/42. But she’s model-stunning and (does this make a difference?) extremely petite in build and height.

Maybe she’s the only one in the entire world.

She’s also Mediterranean origin if that (olive skin? Relaxed attitude???) makes the crucial difference...

Good point Amazing.

I think possibly some of the ‘good genetics’ thing is also about face shape etc, as those rounder ‘baby’ faces maybe just keep looking ‘baby’ for longer.

I think it depends on all sorts of things. Not least the reference sample around you.

I am 39 and (some) people do often assume I'm a decade younger than I am. DP is 40 and gets the same thing. We went out for dinner recently and the waiter very clearly thought we were in our early 20s (and made this clear in several comments he made, rather than any attempt to flatter us).

We can only conclude that the people who think we're really young see a lot of extremely haggard 20-somethings. Because, honestly, I'd say we look alright for 40-ish. But not remarkably young or anything. DP looks better than I do. Other people just assume we're about the age we are.

After we split up, I discovered that all the school mums thought that my ex (actually mid-30s, and younger than me) was about 50 and I was at least 20 years younger than him. 😂 If it wasn't for that fact that he does look really old, I think they'd have been more accurate in guessing my actual age. It's just that in comparison I looked so much younger.

The reason this is unanswerable is because there is no one way to look at a given age. Weight, skin condition etc is different for all of us and impacts our faces differently. Hence why it's usually only possible to guess at someone's age and there is always a parameter of s few years either way.

On average I'd say folks generally look within five years of their real age either way. Unless you're Christie Brinkley that is.

Looking at people like Jennifer Aniston I'd say 20 years younger (of course I don't know whether she's had work done).

A friend of mine looks a good 15 years younger than she is... petite build, Mediterranean skin (like someone a PP mentioned. No work done that I know of.

I think it's very hard to be ABSOLUTELY certain that somebody' s never had work done, though. They may not want to publicise it to all and sundry.

The older you get the more years younger you can look. My mother consistently looked 10-15 years younger after she hit 70 (at 70 she could just about pass for 60, at 80 for sure pass for 70 and so on. But in the last couple of years (she died at 89) time definitely seemed to catch up and part because of health issues and that she got very thin but she suddenly seemed to look her age.
It was a lifetime if avoiding the sun, taking care of herself and good genetics.
People who carry a bit of weight can also look younger. Adele for sure looks older now than she did last year. As Catherine Deneuve famously said: after a certain age you choose between your face or your fanny.

I have a friend who is 36 with two under 4 and she regularly gets IDed. With the right clothes and make-up she could pass for a teenager - on a normal day I'd say she looks early 20s at the most. She's very petite and dainty and has fantastic skin. I think it's 100% genetics.

I can pass for 5 years younger but realistically not much more, I do use sunscreen etc but don’t have Botox or facials and wouldn’t consider surgery. All my family pass for younger, it’s just lucky genes I think. I have a colleague who is 53 and would easily pass for 10 years younger and she also puts it down to genetics.

I have a real baby faced friend who's 45. Last time she travelled she was stopped at security. The man thought she was a child and should be travelling with a parent! She's 45! She's very petite with a round face and no lines. She definitely looks 20 years younger. I agree most people may look about 5 years younger if they're well preserved.

Interesting... I do think being petite is a part of it; if you look younger anyway then you look EVEN younger if you’re small...

The ‘relative’ thing is certainly true. I think context can make a big difference. Eg the school mums clearly accept I’m early 40s without being surprised because most of them are similar age. Outside of that context is when I’m mistaken for a bit younger.

I could get a half fare on the bus at 28. 😂

Yes I think being petite does make you look younger (unless you're really haggard!)

I had someone say they thought I was under 40, I'm 46 ... very flattering but they were not looking carefully enough at the wrinkles!

the waiter very clearly thought we were in our early 20s (and made this clear in several comments he made, rather than any attempt to flatter us).

It's sweet but slightly alarming that two people around 40 years old would genuinely fall for this.

How old do you think I am? No make up. I can take it.

Raining, you look absolutely lovely.
I’m going to say you’re 48-50.
I really really hope I’m right!!! Don’t want to offend you!!!

Bearing in mind where I live there are lots of VERY well preserved 48-50 somethings

At 29 I got asked my age for sitting in the emergency row on a plane. You have to be 16... having said that the only times I get ided is when I have no makeup on, look scruffy and often it's a Friday evening (prime underage booze buying time). I think some people are just really bad at judging age so aim lower. I don't actually think I look that young. And it's nothing to do with looking after myself (moisturise everyday and always wear sunscreen as I burn, never tan but otherwise rarely use products/makeup).

It's really hard to say @Rainingdogsandcats. Early to mid forties? Hope that's not rude!

I am 35. I can pass for probably a couple of years younger depending on what I'm wearing (if I'm scruffing around in a hoody and trainers I look younger I think, because I am short too) but most of the time I think I look my age. I think the same of my friends too.

I have a friend who is absolutely beautiful, she always has been. Always well groomed too, completely natural doesn't even dye her hair. Even I don't think she looks younger than the rest of us. Just prettier (the cow!)

I have definitely noticed myself aging quicker since having children. Mine are 4 and 1 and the wrinkles are coming now, I've got a few greys and generally give off an air of being tired. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep, survival on caffeine, stress etc!

Oh god raining I’m so worried I’ve aged you by a decade... please come back and put me out of my misery!!

Raining, I think you’re 52-3?

Raining you have lovely skin - I would say around mid 40's - mid 50's due to greying hair/and lived in smile wrinkles!

Raining, I’d say 43. Your skin looks really good and healthy. What lovely eyes you and your family have.

I think up to around late 40s, it's possible to look 10 or more years younger, especially if you haven't smoked or sunbathed and you've led a fairly comfortable, stress-free life. But, once you've been through the menopause, ageing takes a grip and you're unlikely to look more than about 5 years younger. I'm talking about how you look in real life here, not celebs in carefully managed, photoshopped images.

What's funny is that the older I get, the more people tell me I look younger. I think they're normally either straight up lying because they think it's a nice thing to say. Or what they really mean is that they think I look good or that they like my outfit and cannot separate looking good from looking younger. Or they're very young themselves and have a stereotypical idea of what 60+ looks like.