If you're in your 60s or 70s and still look good, what advice would you give younger women?

[Ilikepalindromes]

Do you have one tip or product you would recommend?

Get some good genes, stay out of the sun, keep active and interested. Look after your teeth.

I’m 62 and told I look good. I have good skin, with very few wrinkles. My advice.
Don’t sunbath your face or your chest. Wear sunscreen and/or wide brimmed hats.
Drink minimal alcohol
Don’t smoke
Don’t wear too much black or beige. Enjoy fashion and express yourself. I have never been consistent about skin care and I’m still hit and miss. I think the sun, smoking and booze are the biggest factors in maintaining good skin.

I work with a woman in her early 60s. She doesn't do much to maintain her great figure apart from never over indulging. She has flawless skin with no visible lines and wears very little makeup. I think it's mainly genetic. People don't believe her when she says I'm in my 60s. She looks at least 15 years younger than she is 🤷‍♀️

I always ask this to any of my elderly patients that look amazing.

Most say they used Nivea all their lives and one said they used Vaseline

Yep, it’s basically genes isn’t it?

How did you get genes from that post? I got Nivea.

Because it clearly isn't Nivea, is it?

Exactly. It's not that Nivea is better than the expensive stuff (though it's no doubt just as good). It's that any moisturiser will do the job, but the thing that really makes the difference is genes.

I'm 50. My skin looks fairly young for my age, probably because I always had fairly oily skin, which has preserved it pretty well. It's dried a bit now, so it's normal. My DM is in her 70s, smoked all her life, drinks lots of coffee and virtually no plain water, uses nothing but soap amd water and Nivea and she always looked young for her age!

I'd say to do plenty of quite arduous exercise if you can. I lost 4 stone last year and I'm in the best shape I have ever been at 65. I run 3x per week, do a body pump class, two pilates classes and some yoga. It is the running that has made the most difference to how I feel.
I agree with lots of water, good nights sleep and not much alcohol.
I also think you need to adopt a youthful style without being OTT.
I have my hair longish and coloured with subtle highlights and lowlights. There is no reason my jeans, trainers and most other clothes should not be the same as those worn by someone in their 20s. Keep away from the elasticated waists!!

I didnt grow up with my natural mother so cant comment re genes.
However, i am nearly that age and have really good skin. I drink too much tho!
For me its
Fresh air
Sleep
Minimal stress( i have left a very stressfull professional job and now do domestic work) the change in wages is v minimal ( which I didnt expect as I get paid so similar to the old job) but the impact on less cortisol from less stress feels real to me.

Don't worry about aging it's natural and a lot depends on you're genes.

Also, tho I cannot run etc due to injury , I think the way you move and a zest for life is very much part of why people think I am younger than I am.

I am in my sixties. My neck is depressing - appreciate your neck while you still can! (Nora Ephron was good on this.)

I am the same size as I have always been. I thought getting older inevitably led to putting on weight, but it doesn't. That's cheering.

I can afford more and better clothes now (and have time to hunt down sales bargains). I go for ones that feel good on my skin: cashmere, silk, linen, soft cotton. Swishy bias-cut skirts, figure-hugging wrap dresses, well-cut jeans. I don't worry as much as I used to about how I look, because I get so much pleasure from how my clothes feel. I wish I'd done that more when I was younger, when I was more anxious about fashion (e.g. squeezing into a ra-ra skirt in the 1980s that really didn't work for me).

My main piece of advice, though, would be to enjoy being a younger woman. Respect your body but don't get hung up on drinking lots of water/cutting out carbs/clean eating nonsense. What matters is to get to your sixties and seventies knowing that you have lived life to the full - and you can't do that if you spend your entire time trying to stave off the inevitable.

Moisturise, get enough sleep, and don’t let your life be defined by disappointments. I was moaning once that I’d bought the wrong house , and a friend told me her mother spent 50 years wishing she’d bought the one across the road because the garden was 6 ft longer. That’s corrosive. Value yourself, then other people do. And have sex, If you like it.

Respect your body but don't get hung up on drinking lots of water/cutting out carbs/clean eating nonsense. What matters is to get to your sixties and seventies knowing that you have lived life to the full - and you can't do that if you spend your entire time trying to stave off the inevitable
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Enjoy your life! Even if you follow all advice to look younger you can still be hit with the unexpected, life is a lottery & you just don’t know what’s round the next bend.
I’m in my mid seventies. Often told I don’t look a day over late fifties but, honestly, I don’t really care now. I enjoy life more than I ever did when younger & am grateful to be able to when all my close friends never got to.. I suppose I HAVE been lucky in the gene looks lottery as my DG looked amazing into her eighties without effort, less so in other ways as my DM died suddenly in her twenties.
Advice… well look after your skin. Since my twenties I’ve always had a thing about skin care & make up. The old adage about always removing makeup before bed, lots of moisturising etc does help. Suppose sun protection though I’ve always avoided the sun being a very fair haired blonde & never been one for holidays abroad as my dogs come everywhere ( & couldn’t care less about looks!)
But the best advice I think came from my DD, who lived to 96 happy to the end .. “ Don’t drink, don’t smoke, avoid rich food & fast women. You may not live any longer but it sure as hell will think like you did”

Wear colours that suit you, especially next to the face
Wear lipstick in the right colours for your season too.
Smile from the eyes.

Enjoy your looks while you’re young. Don’t get fillers, extensions etc. You’ll look hard faced and fake when you’re 40. Keep moving-one of the most aging things is inability to move about. If you’re young and overweight, you look fantastic-50 and overweight you don’t. Use SPF.
I’m almost 60 and while I like to look nice, I care far less than I used to-and that’s a good thing. I see a lot of older women in my job and bad dye jobs, frozen faces and hair extensions look ageing and desperate. People who are positive, interested in the world and have a sense of humour appear far more attractive than those who don’t.wear sunscreen-move about. Cut out bad habits by the time you’re 30. Wear sunscreen.

I'm 62 this year and look good....few wrinkles, teeth looked after, I exercise and eat well. Sunscreen and never smoked. Alcohol agrees with me less as I get older.
I think ridding your life of stress ( like ex husbands and difficult people) makes a massive difference.

I thoroughly enjoy my life as I put myself first...yes, above adult dcs and husband. I'm not responsible for other people's happiness

It's genes, good bone structure and posture Apart from that look after your teeth and hair (I don't care what anyone says, grey is aging).

Classic clothes but kept up to date.

I think having children in my mid/late thirties has kept my outlook younger.

I work very hard still in a full-time, professional job at nearly 62 so am not rested but my mind is active.

And finally, an easy life. No money worries to provide stress and anxiety and a life full of love.

People are genuinely surprised when I say I'm over 60.

Having said all the above I drink, love food, have late nights, don't exercise enough, enjoy the sun and use No 7 wipes to remove make-up and soap and water in the morning. I have bever used a moisturiser.

My final one is look after your feet, wear comfy flats that fit and have summer pedicures. There is no point looking a million dollars down to your ankles. If they aren't great, don't wear sandals.

My regret is not looking after my hands better. Never remember a bit of hand cream.

Don't drink, don't smoke, always wear a hat in the summer. Don't wear make up/foundation, and soap and water is fine to wash with. Always have your hair cut neatly, and if you dye it top up the roots if there's a big differential in colour.
Regularly being told I look 10 years younger than my 4 years younger sister, much to her annoyance, in mitigation she has a lot more naturally grey hair than me.

Love this thread! I follow Fabulous Fifties on YouTube, she asked her personal trainer for the one thing he would recommend for older women. He said 'carry it yourself'. If you can, lift heavy stuff yourself. Don't get others to do it unless you really need it. Carry your own luggage, shopping etc and don't become reliant on people leaping to your aid.

Keep on lifting!

Look after your health, your teeth, your fitness.
The rest will fall into place, and old age will be so much easier and more fun.

Re. Fitness: focus on

• weight-bearing exercises - Caroline Girvan (don't be afraid of heavy dumbbells!) and Lucy Wyndham Read's Thighs & Glutes
• a strong core and abs : Bowflex plank & Rebecca Louise's Best Abs
• flexibility - lots of exercises on YouTube

From what i have noticed travelling, moving around the country - it is mainly concerned with stress and poverty.

There is a remarkable difference in how the body ages due to these factors, especially posture, diet and 'bad habits'. Sadly, on the whole, I don't see what many people can do about that. Trauma and poverty are most likely the greatest contributors to ill health and bodily ageing on the planet.

If we are talking vibrancy and youthfulness in the more elderly population, then yes, a certain stress free attitude (or good luck) and single mindedness strike me as pertinent factors - with or without the odd tipple, cigarette or absence of skin care.

Body weight seems to be altogether different - there are correlations between poverty and obesity, but with many people I have known from all walks of life, weight gain seems to be a bit random over all!

Oh, and i know quite a lot of women who never had children (now in 50's and 60's age range). On the whole they are definitely slimmer, but I have not noticed a difference in facial ageing. Those who do show more pronounced signs of ageing do seem to have led the most stressful lives though.

Disclaimer - i don't perceive signs of ageing as a negative. I do, however perceive poverty as one.

Those posters who say don't wear makeup - why? How does it lead to not ageing well? I've always worn full face at least 5 days a week and been careful about removing it at night, have always moisturised using any supermarket moisturiser as long as it has a high spf. Skin still good, minimal lines at 62yoa. I've always advised my DD to moisturise right down to boobs and always use the same moisturiser on her hands, as chest and hands can age very badly.

Would also say, you don't have to be thin to look good. Its a bit more challenging to find flattering clothes but not impossible.

Wear comfortable shoes. Sore feet show on your face.

Don't stay in a job (or a relationship) that doesn't make you happy. Being discontented will show in your face and in your attitude.

Posture is important - straight back, shoulders over hips, stomach in. This is one I've always struggled with, used to straighten my back too much and still do sometimes. Took a physiotherapist to point that out to me.

Yes poverty is a factor. My mum looked twice as old as me at the same age-false teeth, lines and worn out by fighting to stay afloat all the time. She died at 57 and was like an old woman. I see the same in poor areas today. I lived in an affluent west London suburb for a long time and pretty much all the older people looked youthful-sleek is how I’d describe it. Having the time, money and education to make healthy living the norm really does show up in your face and demeanour.