# Do you think you look younger than others your age? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953 "2012-05-15T02:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/81 "2012-05-16T03:49:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Could you respond to the OP, maybe? > [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > I am 37 and most people think I am usually 32 or so. Not being fat, bald, or grey helps a lot. > [@Lamia](#): > > If you don’t like the replies you’ve been getting, maybe your OP wasn’t as clear as you thought it was. And if other people are telling you you’re being “ornery”, maybe your posts aren’t as polite or reasonable as you think they are either. > But you said **Living Well Is Best Revenge** didn’t reply to your OP. Your later clarification of the OP was not actually part of the OP. And frankly, even if it had been I don’t see why this should be such a big deal to you. Most people’s perceptions of their own appearance are going to be strongly affected by the way others react to them. It’s bizarre to insist that we pretend this isn’t the case. Bizarre, or impossible, as it may be, I clearly said what I wanted and asked that posters please “give it a shot”. No one is forced to open or participate in this thread. SMH. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/82 "2012-05-16T03:59:05Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > If you don’t like the replies you’ve been getting, maybe your OP wasn’t as clear as you thought it was. This is really silly. My OP was very clear; it was simple and direct. Nowhere in it did I mention _anything_ other than the perceptions in one’s _own_ head. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/83 "2012-05-16T04:07:16Z")
Ok I finally realised the question I answered isn’t the question that was being asked. Sorry! No, I don’t think I look particularly young for my age. If you look, I have lines appearing around my eyes. I also think I’ve aged quite a bit in the last twelve months. Comparing myself to other people my age, I feel like some of them appear older than they ought. An example is Australian singer Kasey Chambers, born three months before me [http://m.zimbio.com/pictures/AUVAPQKs1rA/Sound+Relief+Melbourne/QZbqW4L3tt3/Kasey+Chambers](http://m.zimbio.com/pictures/AUVAPQKs1rA/Sound+Relief+Melbourne/QZbqW4L3tt3/Kasey+Chambers) . I think she looks much older than 35 and I don’t think I look as old as she does. Compare her to Kate Winslet, Reece Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore (Google for images of them without makeup)… They are all roughly the same age and are no where near as lined. I said in my previous post that I’m treated as young by others, but personally I can’t see it. I think I look my age. I just don’t think I look older than my age like some of my fellow 1976ers. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/84 "2012-05-16T04:19:23Z")
Well, I got carded at age 49. I’m pretty sure the cashier guy was distracted by my 20 year old daughter who was standing next to me, though. I’m 56 now, my daughter lives in another part of the country and nobody is going to make that mistake again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/85 "2012-05-16T04:22:37Z")
People are having a hard time with the question because it is hard to think about in a vacuum. In any case, I do think I look younger than my age. It is all about the skin at my age (51) and I have very good skin. I have almost no wrinkles, and most people do by now. I regularly have clients in their thirties make statements that show they assume we are close in age. Child, we aren’t even the same generation! Pic in the gallery in case you are curious or doubt me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/86 "2012-05-16T05:48:20Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > People are having a hard time with the question because it is hard to think about in a vacuum. In any case, I do think I look younger than my age. It is all about the skin at my age (51) and I have very good skin. I have almost no wrinkles, and most people do by now. I regularly have clients in their thirties make statements that show they assume we are close in age. Child, we aren’t even the same generation! > > Pic in the gallery in case you are curious or doubt me. 😉 Ok, so _don’t_ think about it in a vacuum. All I’m asking is to tell me _your own_ opinion of yourself; (even if that opinion is, in part, formed by the feedback from others); not other peoples’. Is that understandable? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/87 "2012-05-16T05:49:32Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Well, I got carded at age 49. I’m pretty sure the cashier guy was distracted by my 20 year old daughter who was standing next to me, though. > > I’m 56 now, my daughter lives in another part of the country and nobody is going to make that mistake again. ☹ Got pics? Of the daughter…😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/88 "2012-05-16T06:35:47Z")
I have been going grey since I was 25, and losing my hair rapidly since 30 or so. I have also started to put on weight, and don’t really do anything about any of those. I am ageing in an arguably traditionally unpleasant way. When I was young people who were 40 looked a certain way, and these days 40 year olds generally look more youthful than that, probably due to fashion trends and improved diets and exercising. But, in my opinion, I look exactly how I remember 40 year olds as looking. Which is a tad disappointing. I don’t know how that fits in with the OP. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/89 "2012-05-16T07:02:34Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I work with a guy who is fairly ageless. He could be anywhere from 22 to 40 and I wouldn’t be surprised. > > All you jerks in your 50s or 60s who haven’t gone gray yet get my eternal enmity! :mad: My dad’s hair was full \*white \*in his 40s. He was gray years before that. It looks like I’m headed down the same path ☹ I started graying at 19. I was totally silver by around 35. I love it. Its different its pretty to me. I think I have beautiful thick, straight sparkly, silver hair at 48. My mother, father and all my girlfriends want me to dye it (not happening) and yet I get stopped regularly by men and women, both younger and older who tell me it’s gorgeous. I think I look my age, and then some, to most people on the street, but frankly, I don’t give a shit what they think. I like the way I look, and if they don’t? They can fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/90 "2012-05-16T07:21:25Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How did I give the impression of being ornery??😕 I honestly have no clue where that critique came from. Sorry, it was my attempt to ask in what I thought was a humorous way Why you gotta make it so hard? You seemed to be pointing out that posters weren’t answering correctly, although they were trying to participate. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/91 "2012-05-16T14:38:53Z")
People do a double take when they see a photo of me from 20 years ago and I still look the same. I get carded depending on whether I shave or not and was asked what I was doing out of class while substitute teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/92 "2012-05-16T14:39:18Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Bizarre, or impossible, as it may be, I clearly said what I wanted and asked that posters please “give it a shot”. No one is forced to open or participate in this thread. SMH. Yes, I look younger than others my age because I’ve found that most other 37 year olds are balding, grey, or overweight. I am neither of these things, thus I look younger. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/93 "2012-05-16T15:07:48Z")
Yes, I do look younger than my age. I base this on the reaction, of the people around me, when they discover my real age. Been that way all my life. Once had my photo taken, by a man who felt certain my husband, must be my Dad! I can still remember how viscerally embarrassing it was to be a 20 something and getting hit on by 16yr olds on the street. You live in a world where people are constantly bringing incorrect assumptions to every opening encounter. “You must be a genius to be at uni, while only 15!” Grrrr. Myself I feel it has less to do with face, than body type. If you’re shortish and slim people will think you are much younger than you are, especially once you are over 40! People expect to grow thicker in middle age, I think. Also, when I look around my peer group, (55yrs), I don’t see a lot of slim, bike riders, with shoulder length chestnut hair, with only hints of grey, (My sister started to go grey in high school! All of my sibs are long since completely grey?). Part of it is surely pursuing a youthful lifestyle, but I’d be willing to bet most people would guess my age wrong. When I was a server and carding kids for ID, if they got miffed I would point out that it’s not as easy as it seems to guess someone’s age. Then I would offer to buy their round of drinks if they could accurately guess my age, when I came back with their drinks. I never bought a round of drinks. Not ever. Not once. Of course I knew, I didn’t look my age. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/94 "2012-05-16T22:45:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m nearly 50 with all my teeth, no grey in my natural hair, and just the beginnings of crowsfeet with no other wrinkles on my face. If these are your criteria for looking younger than your late 40s, then you must live in East Shitfuck Appalachia. ---
**Author:** ![DiamondNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DiamondNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiamondNinja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/95 "2012-05-16T23:02:25Z")
In MY opinion of myself…it depends on the day and how much sleep I got…:dubious: I do think I look younger than I am because I do take good care of myself; I eat well and exercise (running, kickboxing, and martial arts) Based on others’ reactions to me (as a mother of six) I get a quite surprising reaction when they find out my age and that I have all those kids. When I’m out with my youngest only, many think she is my first and that I must have married young. I’m 41, but am often mistaken for my 20s easily. I was carded at my 20th high school reunion…I was the only one stopped. They thought someone was sneaking their daughter into the pub. I think a large part of that is my stature; I’m quite petite and have no wrinkles, gray hairs, etc. My oldest daughter (14) rolls her eyes when people ask if I’m their sister. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/96 "2012-05-16T23:32:48Z")
Nobody else seems to want to be the first to admit it, so I will; I look my age, more or less. I’m 40, and I imagine most people would guess I’m 40. Well, most people would SAY “39” because they don’t want to say 40, but that’s what I look. Pretty normal looking guy, really. Five years ago, when I was 35, I looked 45. Now I’m older but look younger. Losing 60-70 pounds will do that. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/97 "2012-05-16T23:41:10Z")
Although I went bald at a very young age, people generally do underestimate my age by a considerable number of years. Probably the biggest reason is my weight; I’m carrying around a lot less fat around my middle than average for my age. On the other hand, when I examine my face closely I think I look about my age. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/98 "2012-05-17T00:11:36Z")
I’m told I look younger than my age all the time. I don’t know, it’s so hard to be objective, looking in the mirror I look pretty good, then I see a photo and go, ‘whoa!’ No wrinkles, but getting that saggy look in the cheeks and neck…If I really work at it, putting on careful makeup and flattering clothes, doing my hair, I look pretty-hot-for-my-age and might be mistaken for being younger. If I just slop through the day in baggy clothes and greasy hair, not so much. I do take pains to have my hair colored, highlighted, and a good cut as the roots are gray now. And I tend to dress in more expensive, carefully chosen outfits than women my age. (Mutton dressed as lamb sort of backfires.) I think that makes a difference. I am rather short and chunky, and shorts/sneakers/t-shirts makes me look short and blocky. So I wear skirts and dresses. There’s a look to a lot of middle aged women who have put on weight that makes them look their age, they have accepted themselves and dress for comfort. Their hair is cut in what I think of as an old-fashioned short layered artichoke cut (with the shaved neckline), not a hair out of place, easy to keep up. But I think I would look dumpy and older with that haircut, myself…I have a friend 5 years younger than me, she has had many serious health problems and looks ancient! Hard used and ancient, very very thin, she looks like an old crone. So stress and illness can take away your looks, when you’re fighting to stay alive you don’t worry about looking cute. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/99 "2012-05-17T00:14:48Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m just thinking that this is a common tendency among people to see themselves through a certain type of ‘rose-colored glasses’. I could be totally wrong. I get the same mis-guesses whenever I have someone guess my age but I _have_ had someone guess my actual age. I know I _never_ “guess” the age I really suspect a woman to be; it strikes me as nothing but rude to tell a woman who looks like she is celebrating her 40th birthday that she indeed looks 40. I think you have something here. The rose colored glasses also explains people who look in the mirror and think they’re skinnier than they are and then are dismayed by photos. 😉 Spoken from personal experience here… I think you get used to how you look and you kind of build yourself up…to yourself. Granted, I tell people that they look younger than they \*actually \*look all the time. I mean, do you tell the truth? You can see wrinkles and sagging jawlines, but that person still looks late 20’s or 30’s! This works best with actual youthful looking people. Sure, they are fit and look young for their age, but I’m STILL going to say they look younger than they actually do because I do not want to guess that they are older and piss them off. I’ve even done the fake surprise, and ‘What?! You have a son who is an adult? No way! I can’t believe that! You don’t look old enough to have a child that old!’ Answering the question: I think I look about my age. When I press up really close to the mirror (as I neurotically do) I can see that my skin is getting rougher. I think most people look right around their age, not that there aren’t those genetically gifted/cursed people out there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953/100 "2012-05-17T00:17:53Z")
I will add after looking in the mirror, if I let my hair grow I would look older. Finally getting some grey in but mostly on the temples. I have a short military haircut and buzz the sides down tight so you can’t tell until right before I need to go to the barber. Like right now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-you-look-younger-than-others-your-age/621953.md?page=6)