What makes one person’s face look significantly younger than another’s when they are the same age? Barring surgery, that is. Some ideas I’ve been wondering about:
Using Retin-A, even for acne, or over the counter vitamin A skin care products-- do they actually work on reducing or preventing wrinkles?
I chew gum incessantly. Will that tone the muscles of the jaw and chin and keep them taut, avoiding the dreaded jowls and double chin?
Makeup: Does wearing makeup somehow age the skin or harm it? You’d think that wearing makeup would moisturize the skin, though, and many of them have sunscreen in them.
Moisturizing: Does regular moisturizing help reduce wrinkles? Are people with dry skin more prone to wrinkling than those with oily skin?
Facial mobility: I have a friend who tries really hard to take care of her skin. She’s a few years younger than I am, but she has noticeable grooves around her mouth (smile lines?) and between her eyebrows. Why? Are the a sign of a more mobile face? Isn’t that the principle behind botox?
Crow’s feet: are they actually from squinting? Or do some people just have looser skin around their eyes? I personally have none, and I never wear sunglasses.
Genetic: are some people pre-disposed to be more wrinkled? Maybe because they have thinner skin? My dad is in his 70s and isn’t terribly wrinkly, though he does have loose skin under his chin, something I’d love to avoid.
Sleep: Can the amount of sleep you get affect the wrinkliness of your face?
Sunscreen. I live in Southern California and hang out with a lot of women in their late 30s and early 40s, and, boy, can you tell who was a beach bunny.
Don’t smoke.
Use sunscreen.
Smiling may cause smile lines, but everyone is prettier with a smile.
And I think genetics plays a big part. My mother is almost eighty and does not look her age. I’m in my mid 40’s and I got carded buying beer last week. In broad daylight. I was not wearing makeup, either. No, the cashier was neither blind nor drunk. So there.
Don’t smoke.
Use sunscreen.
(yes, I know these were already mentioned, but they bear repeating)
Never get tanned on your face.
Moisturize.
Drink water.
Eat right.
Get plenty of sleep.
And be happy. The glow will show in your face and make you radiantly beautiful. Who gives a damn about fine lines, etc? Not me.
Don’t go putting all kinds of chemicals on or under your skin. It’s bad for you.
Well, Paula Begoun is someone I’ve seen cited in the straight dope archives and in all her books she touches on how skin ages so I’ll tell you what she says about some of these
Retin A is shown to have an effect on collagen production so yes it does have an effect on wrinkles
Using makeup might help with cutting down on how much sunlight hits your face, but probably not a lot. However rubbing and pulling on your face to blend makeup and remove it might contribute to sagging.
According to her, dry skin doesn’t cause wrinkles associated with aged skin, but that because moisturized skin will look smoother than dry skin, people believe moisturizing will prevent wrinkles.
Yes, that’s the idea behind botox. Most of the wrinkles you get are in places you move a lot. People point out Jean Cretien and his Bell’s Palsey. They say that the side of his face that doesn’t move as much looks younger. I don’t know that people use botox as a preventitive measure, but even after you have wrinkles, if you don’t contract the muscle the skin will stay slack and smooth.
Those are the only things I know for sure, but one thing I never thought about much until I read this book was that a lot of aging comes from the muscles sagging which has a lot to do with gravity and the natural aging of your whole body. Even if you wear all the sunscreen in the world and exercise your face every day, you can’t keep these muscles anchored where they were, because it’s not about how toned the muscle is, it’s how it’s connected. This gives me the creepy feeling that if I lived long enough my face would fall off.
I will also mention that after I read this book (The Beauty Bible by Paula Begoun) I started to realize that trying to not get wrinkly, to me, is all about trying not to get old and die. Now whenever I see commercials for ‘anti-aging’ products I feel angry that this company is trying to milk me for 16.99 by pointing out the bad news that I’m going to get old and die. That’s just mean.
Besides, who wants to look like Barbie (well, maybe just her breasts and waistline…)? Faces that should have lines but don’t are abnormal and have very little character.
I am now 36 years old. I don’t look 36, but I sure don’t look 20 anymore.
I believe SLEEPING on anything other than your back causes many wrinkles…
Squish your face in your pillow… just like you usually do…
get super duper comfy, take a mirror and look at your face while squished. YIKES!!!
I’ve been told I look much younger than I am. I’ve tanned my whole life and ALWAYS wear make-up…and try real hard to sleep on my back.
The one thing I NEVER did was wash my face…never scrubbed and rubbed.
I just always …even at a very young age… questioned WHY these people thought my face got dirtier than any other part of my body and later l realized these folks only wanted to sell their product and the uglier YOU get the MORE products you will buy…
PS The face gets plenty clean by having the shampoo all over it while shampooing… Shampoo IS mainly a degreaser…
I clicked on this thread by mistake, but while I’m here:
I am 27 years old. My face has seen a few years at sea, many winters in extreme cold alpine conditions, a handful of advanced sunburns, and a lifetime of irregular sleep. I use nothing on it, apart from soap to clean it, and shaving cream when I shave.
I have fairly pronounced brow folds, crow’s feet and lines beneath the eyes. Someone once told me I had the look of an “old soul”, despite my age.
As with any of your posessions, abuse will show over time.
I meant to say in my OP that I knew sun exposure and smoking would harm the skin, but I still see a difference in the skin of people who do use sunscreen vigilantly, and who do not smoke.
I imagine genetics actually has quite a bit to do with it. Anyone know if chewing gum helps keep the jaw firm?
Exercise. There is at least one book out there of facial excercises. I saw one Rosemary Colney (I think) on a chat show a few years back and she was quite an advert for her regime.
I vote for genetics, barring extremes of abuse, etc.
I’ve always looked really young for my age. When I was younger, it was a bane, not having that mature atavistic thing that women like. But now I’m 40 and I still get carded sometimes. Now I think back on my younger days and think
stay out of the sun
And after watching American Psycho and reading the book I learned that you shouldnt use anything on your face that contains alcohol, as it dries out the face and makes you look older.
But that probably applies more to men using aftershave and such after shaving
I have heard that the paler your skin is, the thinner it is.
Is there truth to that?
It seems to make sense (to me at least) because a lot of the people I know that are very pale seem to ‘age’ worse than the people I know who are darker skinned.
But then, it could be that a lot of the pale women I know tend to sunbathe a lot.
There are a few things that may contribute to this:
I never smoked
I never liked baking in the sun on purpose as a kid. (although I did get burned a few times).
My skin is prone to breaking out - as much as it was when I was 22 (I didn’t have skin problems as a teen). My dermatologist says that it helps keep your skin from aging. Maybe the same things that cause breakouts help keep the skin young.
I also don’t do anything to my face, no makeup no special washing, no nothing.
I think the sun is the most significant factor: the top of my hands are the oldest looking part of my body.
