Fine lines: a poll mostly for the ladies about their faces

In My Humble Opinion
1

At what age did you start to notice that you had fine lines on your face? Do you tan or use lots of sun screen? What’s your natual skin tone like? (can get a tan, or can’t ever tan are specific enough)

Background on the question: the weekend before Christmas my best friend and I went to another friend’s surprise post-wedding wedding shower. This was the first time either of us have seen her since she moved to the FL keys a year ago to be with her now husband. The new bride is just over a year younger than I am (I’ll be 26 in April, she’ll be 25 in June) and I noticed something that shocked me when she smiled: a whole lot of fine lines near the corners of her mouth that had never been there before. She’s always been the smiling type, so I’m sure we’d have noticed if they’d been there before.

My only guess as to why they developed so suddenly is that she’s probably been exposed to more sunlight in the past year than in her whole life- she’s a very fair skinned New England native too :slight_smile:

However, once I gave it some thought, I realized that I don’t know when one “normally” starts to develop fine lines and gasp wrinkles. I know I don’t have any whatsoever, but most people think I look 19 so I’m not typical enough to base any of it on myself. I know that the makeup companies would have me believe that it could be any day now, but why rely on information from someone trying to sell me something?

So when do these pesky things usually start to show up?

2

Heh. I don’t have the lines yet. (I’ll be 29 in March.) I think it’s mostly due to the fact that I’m overweight. If I was thin, I’d have laugh-lines like a mofo.

I don’t tan. I do put lotion on my face, but it’s only after I shower.

3

Depends on your skin color, skin type, and UVA/UVB exposure. I read somewhere recently (sorry no cite!) that the earlier the damage, i.e., childhood sunburns, etc., the more long-lasting the effects. In other words, it’s more damaging to get a lot of sun as a child than it is as an adult. Sun exposure is also cumulative; ten minutes a day, over a week’s period, is the same thing as over an hour’s worth of exposure in a single day. Just b/c you don’t burn doesn’t mean you aren’t damaging your skin.

Skin color also plays a huge role; the more melanin your skin produces, as a rule, the less the sun will visibly damage it. This is why Sidney Poitier looks so much better than Paul Newman. :smiley: My SO is 32 and Hispanic; there isn’t a line or a wrinkle anywhere on that man’s face…but a fair, blonde friend of mine his age has several laugh/brow lines and a fair amount of spiderwebbing around the eyes. Both spent huge amounts of time in the sun as children; one is just more susceptible to the potential damage than the other.

I’m a 24 year old strawberry blonde with very fair skin; I am still mistaken for a teenager…with no visible lines or wrinkles yet. My mother was fanatical about sunscreen when I was a kid, and I still wear a protective moisturizer every day…so hopefully I’ll stave 'em off for a few more years. (And yes, I can tan, but only in half hour increments, or I’ll burn. And that’s in natural sunlight; I’d probably combust in a tanning bed. :wink: I do try to avoid tanning as a rule.)

As far as your friend goes…a lot of factors come into play. Does she smoke? Is her skin oily or dry? Does she drink a lot of water? Get a lot of sleep? How’s the climate? Sun exposure is very drying, so even if she hasn’t been *burned * a lot in the past year, she may have accelerated the visible damage.

And maybe she’s just not one of the lucky ones. :smiley: B/C I have an aunt who’s over fifty, drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, never wears sunscreen, etc., etc., and she’s still got the most incredible skin I’ve ever seen. It’s unbelievable; her face is like porcelain.

I just wish she were a blood relative, instead of by marriage…so I could cross my fingers and hope I got her genes. g

4

A few months ago.

But there it is, the stupid fine line on my forehead. I hate it. I always thought that it was no big deal, until I had my own damn wrinkle.
And now, it all makes sense.
I’m old.

I don’t use sunscreen (I should, but I don’t) and I will hang out in the sun in the summer - but not very much (not because I was thinking about my skin, it’s just I’m in Seattle. There isn’t that much sun to hang out in.)

5

I’m 31 and I have some lines under my eyes, esp. when I don’t get any sleep (not to mention those oh so sexy dark circles). No crow’s feet at all, thank god. I have no smile lines either, probably b/c I rarely smile :smiley:

I moisturize a lot, at least twice a day, b/c I have very dry skin. I don’t tan easily (the Mediterranean blood) and I do wear sunscreen on the beach and stuff. I like to think I still look young; a sub came into my room last month and asked me if the teacher usually let me take attendance. I was flattered as all hell. OTOH, I didn’t get proofed when buying cigarettes for a friend, so who knows?

What about grey hairs? I got my first one about 4 years ago, all in a bunch, and no more since. The spot where it grows out of my head is kind of sensitive, too. It’s weird.

6

I’m in my mid-30’s, Anglo, with skin that’s naturally fair though I tan easily. I don’t have any lines yet- part of it’s genetics (my folks are late 50’s, look like 40) and part of it is that since I was a teenager I’ve used sunscreen on my face. I’ve always regulary used masks and scrubs on my skin, too. I tanned a lot on my face when i was a kid, though, so that worries me a bit. Here in the Southwest (dry and high altitude), a lot of whites are prematurely old-looking because they don’t use sunscreen. I pluck out white hairs from my temples about once every three months.

7

I hope that I’m just imagining it, but I just started noticing a couple of these fine lines under my eyes a few weeks ago, and I’m 23. My skin almost so light that I could use baby powder as foundation and I have lived most of my life in a climate known for enormous amounts of sunlight and unfortunately, elevated rates of skin cancer. I use moisturizer daily, but my facial skin is both oily and dry, but the lines are showing up near the dry parts. I guess I should have been more careful with the sunscreen in my youth.

8

I’m 37. I have absolutely no visible lines on my face when my face is at rest. When I smile I get a lot of puckering in the general crows-foot area and nowhere else. If I’m really upset and have been crying for a while, I get a bizarre network of weird wrinkles in my forehead and under my eyes, but that is really rare.

Genetic factors and exposure to the sun are what makes the difference. My stepsister started looking old when she was in her early twenties. Fine, crackly-looking skin. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, is about sixty and is possibly younger-looking than I am, skin-wise.

9
  1. And in the past year or so I have noticed incipient lines around my eyes, though nobody else seems to, since I constantly get carded.

It doesn’t really bother me, though. It’s just weird, because I don’t feel like I’m old enough for this. I’ll probably feel the same way when I first notice any grey hair.

10

Yeah, I’m in a similar situation. I’m just 17 and have had lines on my forehead for at least a year or two. I have very expressive eyebrows, and use them often, so I think my forehead gets pretty creased. But, yeah, I’m pale, and even though I spend most of my time indoors, that SoCal sun can fry just about anyone.

Don’t feel old, guys! I’m not even a high school graduate and I’m on the fast train to Pruneface City!