Why do you think most people have younger looking skin these days than in the past?

[dianamoonyan]

Looking at pictures of actresses and family from the 70's and 80s it is noticable that women (and men) often looked older than people of a similar age now. I am not talking about them having old fashioned hairstyles, hair dye or clothing but the actually quality of the skin and facial contours.

I know that today some women have botox or filler but most women and men do not, I don't and yet my skin at 47 is still pretty much as it was when I was younger (plump, no lines, sagging or discolouration) as is that of my husband and many of my friends and colleagues. I do think that looking your age is more than just what your skin is like but in this post I am referring strictly to skin ageing quality.

I am just wondering what people think the main reason for people actually looking younger or at least having much less aged skin is outside of cosmetic surgery or injections, which if anything I think are more popular in much younger people and seem to be pro-ageing on them. It doesn't seem popular at all in most women my age in real life.

Is it down to better diets, less pollution, people not smoking, use of SPF or other topical skincare, improvements and availability of HRT, better diets, less stress, less drinking, people having less children than in the past?

When I go back even further I do notice that my parents generation look younger than say their parents at the same age and this is again not just down to hair colouring or styles but how the skin actually looks, Obviously that generation saw 2 world wars and the stress must have been massive.

Lower smoking rate and sunscreen

I lived in Scotland for most of my life and saw men and women definitely ageing from middle age! And you definitely have sun there- just not heat!

I’m 50 and most people I know are ageing from mid 40s. Either your friends are outliers or you just aren’t seeing it.

Having said that, as other said, smoking and slavering baby oil on skin rather than SPF won’t have done those in earlier decades much favors.

Better photography with more.flattering light. Saw this brilliant AI work on extrapolating what famous people from the 19th century would have looked like. Abraham Lincoln was much less craggy.

More up-to-date awareness of what you can do to stay looking healthy, especially what to avoid (smoking, sunbathing etc) and drinking more water.

"I also think that when we look at old photos of people they might look aged due to the fashions and hairstyles. I was looking at my mum and dad's wedding photos, they must have both been around 21 when they married. I'm not joking, they look about 40!"

@BusySittingDown This is definitely a thing for sure but I did do my best to not consider this and looked very specifically at skin quality only and to not look at hair styles. colour and clothing and the difference still remains.

I grew up in a hot country and people used to routinely spend hours in the sun in summer - I don't mean just being outside doing stuff, but literally just lying sunbathing for hours on the beach. Sometimes with some use of sunscreen, sometimes not bothering. Get a case of bad sunburn and you'd just laugh about it.

Later, the links between sun exposure and skin cancer became widely known and that behaviour was moderated. But people of that generation from similar countries often have really worn out skin.

I assume it's less so in the UK where summers are less hot, but probably still a factor.

Smoking, definitely. Also the decline of heavy industry. Whilst sedentary jobs aren’t the best for health, working long shifts in manual jobs before robust health and safety laws would have aged people quickly. Pollution, bodily wear and tear etc.

Better nutrition, better skincare, no smoking, bearing fewer children.

@Wheresmypal I have always cared about skincare far more than make up or fashion ever since my teen years and have used prescription strength tretinoin for over 25 years now and have used SPF pretty much all my life, I have also never smoked and never drank alcohol as well as avoided the sun, not for my skin I just don't like being out in the sun even as a child. So I might be an outlier but I don't think my friends are as such.

"smoking and slavering baby oil on skin rather than SPF won’t have done those in earlier decades much favors."

I think these behaviours common in the past are probably to blame, after all they say 80 - 90% of skin ageing is down to sun exposure.

I was being a bit facetious when I said we get no sun in Scotland but we do get a lot less sunlight than many places which probably helps, it is usually moist air here too.

The smoking ban must be a big contributor. Being able to have a social life not surrounded by second hand smoke.
Some children used to grow up in a fog of second hand smoke.

Changes in diet? We probably eat more tomatoes and avocados these days than people did last century.

Most of us drink less alcohol too.

Sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses?

More washing. We're not a tin bath once a week society any more.

Both my grandmothers, in their 80s had amazing skin, my mother, in her 70s has lovely skin too, I definitely think there’s a genetic component.

I think it’s hair that ages people more than skin.

Yeah this is so weird - I've heard of people who got full dentures put in for their 21st birthday.
So they got their perfectly fine, but probably a bit yellowish and crooked teeth knocked out. As a birthday present!!

I thought women drank a lot more alcohol now.

Apart from spf, smoking and those already mentioned, in the past, say 10 years, people drink more plain water. Back in the day, people didn't drink plain water that much.

I didn't know anyone who had a water or ice machine when I was a kid.

Also we have better access to fruit and vegetables. Again, as a child we didn't have berries and nectarines type of fruit to hand. We were lucky to have an apple or maybe a banana every now and then.

So nutrition plays a part too I think.

Ah interesting, in what way do you feel hair ages people these days?

@Farmageddon Yeah that is what my Mum said even in their 20's they would get their teeth out as a treat! Happily that isn't a thing anymore!

SPF and generally not being outdoors as much

"More washing. We're not a tin bath once a week society any more."

@verdantverdure I think this is true, I used to think washing my hair the least amount possible was better as it is dry but actually it's better washed daily or every other day with the right products and skin cleansing removes dirt and pollutants that would otherwise cause free radical damage.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel I think they did or do but there is also more awareness of the damage it does to skin now and younger generations are drinking less these days.

That figures. Though my dd seems to be bucking the trend….

Re outdoor life and teeth loss the supreme example of that would be Hannah Hauxwell. She looked like an old woman when they started filming her in the 1970s and my mind was boggled to discover she was mid 40s.

My parents never smoked, have never sunbathed and both look good now in their 70s. Even back in their 30s, they looked younger than their age.

I'm in my 40s, have sunbathed most of my life and put my body through some shit during my younger years of partying hard. I don't look my age and have no wrinkles and definitely don't do botox (needle phobia) and do the bare minimum to my skin. In fact I look younger than some people younger than me.

It's down to genetics more than anything.

I agree with you but I chuckled at this as apparently "everyone" on mumsnet can always tell (they cant).

I also think smoking and sun worshipping were super common back then whereas now we know better

As others have said, I think smoking and sun exposure/ little or no SPF is a major factor.

My sister and I are both in our early 50s. She smoked from around the age of 14 up to her late 30s when she had kids. She adores the sun, rarely wears spf and even had her own sunbed in her bedroom in her 20s.

I'm not a fan of the sun, I've never smoked and I wear spf every day. I'm two years older but look several years younger. She often says if she could go back in time ....

I think filler especially is much more noticeable than the people who get it think it is, they all think it looks natural and undetectable but it doesn't, even with small amounts it changes how the light falls on the skin in an unnatural way. Botox can be more subtle if it isn't over done or go wrong.

not smoking and not getting sunburnt