Looking younger with zero skincare?

[ZforZebra]

I was in the line in a crowded restroom. At the sinks were a group of 3 women, all friends I presumed as they were chatting while washing their hands. One commented that the moisturizer the other had recommended was great and she was really seeing a difference in her skin. The third piped up that she “never used anything but soap and water and still looked ten years younger” than the other two. The thing is…she absolutely didn’t. She actually looked considerably older (assuming they were all the same age). I often see women on MN saying they look 10 years younger than women who have basic (cleanser, moisturizer, maybe SPF) skincare routines. In real life everyone I’ve seen who claims to only use water and soap does not look younger than their age, most look about their age or older. Has anyone seen someone in real life (not MN) who really does look 10+ years younger and uses no skincare products?

"Swimming is also good as is yoga for that good graceful posture."

Chlorine is awful for skin and hair!

@MrsMullerBecameABaby well I must be in the rare minority then as when I was 30 people put me at 17 or 18. Not just a few but practically everyone. Even at my age now, I am still mistaken for that age albeit adding on a few years to push me into early twenties. I've given these examples before but will do so again.

Asked by a next door neighbours sister if I was looking forward to starting secondary school when I was starting college the next week.
Got yelled at to get on the school bus with 'Your friends' last year.
Constantly asked if I live alone or with parents.
My 23 Yr old colleague assumed I was younger than her the other week and was absolutely gobsmacked when told my true age. Literally going mental over it. The whole workplace a few months ago humiliated me as they thought I was just a kid in my early twenties also.
Mistaken for my friends sisters twin when we were out a while ago. I was 36. She is 22.
Countless more but that's just a few. Just because you say it is impossible doesn't make it true. I am proof of that. It's frustrating when people say I am making it up or exaggerating because this is literally my life.

"People always tell me I look younger - I don't actually believe them, that's just what people say to be nice."

They don't though. Well, it seems that Magicmonster lies to everyone, but other people don't generally. If you look your age people will just not mention anything. If they say they thought you were younger, they probably did think that.

I think sometimes people aren't very observant or good at guessing ages. I'm terrible - we appointed a new colleague and someone asked how old she was and I said maybe 35 - she is 26! Not being insulting, she's actually very mature and I possibly took that as evidence she was older. She actually looks lovely, but I think it demonstrates how tricky it can be!

"Her comment was that I hadn't changed at all since she last saw me."

To be fair some people have said that to me and followed up with 'still got the same hairstyle' so in my case it wasn't really a compliment...

All of this. Many people look young at 30! In fact most signs of ageing don’t kick in until mid 40s. It’s just not unusual or impressive to say you look 10 years young at 30 and even right up until 39/40. It’s mid 40s onwards for most people when signs of aging kick in.

My gran did ( cleansed with rose water and didn’t bother with moisturiser, certainly not sunscreen, doused her body in talcum powder) but 1) she was quite overweight and 2) she avoided the sun at all costs, in fact she rarely exercised which wasn’t great in other ways but keep her out of the sun even more.

"if they're over weight (which will help with the wrinkles) and unable to walk far without puffing no one's going to think they seem young."

I disagree. An overweight 20 year old will look older, but an overweight 60 year old might well look younger i.e. like an overweight 40 something.

I think there’s a lot in that, possibly the TAs/ catering staff might be more likely to smoke/ spend time exercising ?

Lifestyle too. Which group smokes the most?
I work in an office and those at the top generally look better despite working longer hours, but I think some of that is the class they come from originally.

" In fact most signs of ageing don’t kick in until mid 40s."

I keep reading that on here and it's really not true. People start getting wrinkles under their eyes in late twenties, forehead wrinkles in their 30 and some sagging in early 40. I also got 11s and nose to mouth lines in my 30s.
Now in mid 40s my wrinkles seem to have deepened quite quickly, but it's not as if I went from all to nothing. I have a separate thread about this recent worsening...

There's some people on here oddly invested in making sure no one dares to think they look any younger! I actually think it's rather more deluded to so stridently insist that because something is not true for yourself it's impossible for anyone.
It might be comforting to think of age as some great equaliser, but its blatantly obvious that its far kinder to some women than others, and there's a huge variance in how old women look when compared to others in their age group. Stands to reason some of the younger looking ones are going to be attracted to threads like this.

Tbh, I thought the poster I was responding to was already in her early 40s. I was a little surprised she was only 39.

The reason many think they look younger than they actually are is that we have a very distorted idea of what 40, 50, 60 etc looks like, often based on previous generations of women who had lifestyles very different to today's.

One only needs to see the television advert for life insurance with the woman who is 50 to see we have very outdated ideas as to what 50 looks like. If she is the face of 50, then no wonder many think they look great for their age!

I think everyone agrees and it’s obvious that factors like genetics, ethnicity, stress, hormones, lifestyle, fashion sense, attitude, mindset etc. all affect how old someone looks. I know plenty of women who look younger than they are for these reasons but as far as I know not a single one attributes this to only soap and water on their skin and zero products.

So far I haven’t seen many examples here of people in real life (except possibly nuns) who don’t use anything and look objectively younger. From my OP I guess I was just surprised that (a) the lady said she used only soap and water (I don’t know anyone in real life who does this), and (b) she thought she looked 10 years younger than her friends as a result when she definitely didn’t.

Everyone on this thread so far who knows/is someone who looks younger attributes it to genetics/luck and/or still does use some minimal products (e.g. just Nivea, cheap moisturizer, only SPF etc.) - not literally just water and soap?

Also: thank you to all the lovely ladies who posted pics and everyone who reminded me that I need to up my water intake 😁

Genetics, OP, and not smoking or sunbathing or drinking to excess. I don't use any products at all - I don't specifically wash my face even in water every day - it kind of gets wet when I'm in the shower or whatever. I wouldn't use soap because I'd think it would dry my skin out.

All my family look a lot younger than they are. It pissed me off immensely when I was at university, though, and I still looked 13 and was taken for my friends' little sister. It also pissed me off when I wanted to be a cool 13 yr old and looked like an uncool 8 yr old.

My mum was regularly taken for a teenage mother when she was in her 20s. She's never used anything on her face, either.

Being slim and dressing well and having good hair helps, too.

You looked 13 when you were at university? Is that what everyone said?

Most people I meet look their age, you can have beautiful skin but the maturity is there.

People used to tell me I looked younger till I was about mid 40s, occasionally looking genuinely surprised, much to my pleasure. Now I’m 56. No one ever says that anymore and I must say I feel every year of it. In the intervening time I’ve been a carer to a dad with dementia, gone through the menopause and I still work 4 days a week in a clinical job. I suspect all of the above have not exactly been great for my looks.

Don't rub it in!

There’s nothing very magical about moisturiser, it just makes your skin feel better if your skin is dry.

Short of tweakments or actual surgery, I think staying out of the sun ish, being lucky with genes, not a major drinker and smoker, not had a particularly hard life, and have an ok diet are the things that make a difference.

Very few people look 10 years younger though. You get the odd person who looks positively teenage up to about 30, but beyond that people look within 5 years or so of their age.

She was talking about aging. Maybe in contrast to my SIL who is the same age but has aged a lot. But that's the genes on that side of the family. Their hair is grey by 50. I only have a few greys here and there. My husband also looks older than his age and he's already older than me. We get some interesting reactions.
They've seen me with all manner of lengths and styles. I saw a woman yesterday who had the most beautiful long, silver hair. That's what I am going to aspire to.
It's not something I worry about or care much about. I just want to have good health and mobility for a long time. As has been noted in another thread, people with EDS look younger for longer. I believe I might have EDS, it's been suggested, I've just never followed it up.

Or is it a normal thing to spend your entire adult life being genuinely mistaken for your teens siblings and, when out with your mother, everyone assuming she is your child's mother, not grandmother? I've never asked anyone how old they think I am, I'm really basing my assessment of how I look on lifelong casual experiences.

You look great, but I’d guess you as very late 40s to mid 50s, with the benefits of good skin, bone structure, hair, generally pretty - and probably a middle class lifestyle.

Just thought of one reason I probably look younger to a lot of people. I never wear make-up. I think that makes people look less mature?

I teach yr8s who are 13. Without exception they look like the children that they are. You must really have stood out at university. Did the lecturers comment?.