# Do you look young or old for your age? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199 "2018-08-06T23:13:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/61 "2018-08-09T15:10:01Z")
I’m late 50s, but my vigorous mop of hair makes me look at least 10 years younger (ask my wife). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/62 "2018-08-09T16:34:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Bragging rights. > > People are much more likely to come here and say “Hey! I look GREAT!” than to come here and say “I look like hell”. > > Also - my belief is that there is a correlation between being a messed up dysfunctional person and looking older than your years. We tend to prune out the most dysfunctional posters over time. Active meth addicts are far more looking to either be cooking more meth, trying acquire the money for more meth, or peering out the window blinds gripped with paranoia than posting here. Well, I’m a messed up, dysfunctional person\* and\* I look younger than my years :o Not saying I can pass for 30 or anything but I’m in generally good shape and my skin is still fairly smooth. It’s starting to sag a little, but not wrinkle, if that makes sense. Also I have kind of full cheeks and prominent eyes and I think that’s supposed to have something to do with people equating that with youth(?) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/63 "2018-08-09T17:38:38Z")
I’d like to think I look young for my age. So I also want the reason that I was automatically given a senior discount today – without asking for one – was because they are having some sort of “everyone’s a senior” promotion, not that I’m fooling myself… ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/64 "2018-08-09T19:28:18Z")
Some years ago I was in a group of tennis-playing women and at the time we were all in our early to mid 40s. The ones of us who looked younger compared to the ones of us who looked like they were in their mid-40s had this in common: The older looking ones had teen-aged children. It seemed to me at the time that having (or having had) teenagers was some kind of rite of passage into adulthood for them. It was a pretty small sample. But the thing is about half of us smoked and we were all out in the sun a lot, and yet the determining factor seemed to be the age of our kids. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/65 "2018-08-09T19:49:31Z")
I always looked old for my age…when I was young. When I was 25, people assumed I was in my 30s. My hair started graying when I reached 40. I was often asked about senior discounts before I got to be 55. Then it reversed when I got to be about 50. Now everyone guesses I’m about 10 years younger than I am (or, they are very polite…who knows?) I’m past the typical retirement age and people give me strange looks when I tell them I haven’t held a job for more than 5 years. In contrast, I almost always think people are older than they are, especially actors and actresses. I’ll watch a show or a movie for quite some time thinking that a character is about my age. Then I figure out that this character is supposed to be about 50 (i.e., MUCH younger than I am). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/66 "2018-08-09T20:00:10Z")
Young. I’m 40. I’m Asian, and short, and basically been wearing the same outfit for the last 20 years. I could pass for even younger if I shaved the salt and pepper beard off, like late 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199/67 "2018-08-09T22:57:37Z")
I’m 51, I can probably pass for mid-40s. I’m noticing that having a lifetime of oily skin finally has an upside – not as many wrinkles. Still having acne breakouts sucks, though. I’m noticing that women in my 50-60 range are starting to get serious “leather bag” skin due to years of sun/tanning bed damage and/or decades of smoking. Along these lines, some black and Mediterranean-complected friends are looking a lot better than me and my pasty friends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-young-or-old-for-your-age/819199.md?page=3)