# Looking on dating sites it's astounding how much damage smoking does to a woman's face past age 40 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769 "2013-12-07T20:13:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/1 "2013-12-07T20:13:51Z")
I’ve been searching around on [match.com](http://match.com) for age 45+ women in my area and the facial difference between women who are self admitted smokers and those who are not is astounding. Obviously some claimed non-smokers could be fibbing but assuming most people are telling the truth to ensure compatible matches the difference is night and day. The accumulated damage smoking does is astounding. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/2 "2013-12-07T20:22:30Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I’ve been searching around on [match.com](http://match.com) for age 45+ women in my area and the facial difference between women who are self admitted smokers and those who are not is astounding. Obviously some claimed non-smokers could be fibbing but assuming most people are telling the truth to ensure compatible matches the difference is night and day. The accumulated damage smoking does is astounding. Sun damage also does a number on a person’s skin. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/3 "2013-12-07T20:24:28Z")
You can often tell with men, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/4 "2013-12-07T20:24:55Z")
It really is. I wonder about women who are crazy for everything they can possibly do to make themselves more attractive, and then they smoke. Staying out of the sun and not smoking are the two biggest factors in looking younger longer, in my opinion. [These apparently are twins, one who smokes and one who doesn’t.](http://healthfully.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1-twin-smoke-skin-comparison.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/5 "2013-12-07T20:34:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It really is. I wonder about women who are crazy for everything they can possibly do to make themselves more attractive, and then they smoke. Staying out of the sun and not smoking are the two biggest factors in looking younger longer, in my opinion. > > [These apparently are twins, one who smokes and one who doesn’t.](http://healthfully.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1-twin-smoke-skin-comparison.jpg) Take a close look. They’re both wearing the exact same earrings and piercings in the exact same places. Same necklace, too. There’s even a tiny white spot upper right(as you look) in the hair. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/6 "2013-12-07T20:37:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [These apparently are twins, one who smokes and one who doesn’t.](http://healthfully.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1-twin-smoke-skin-comparison.jpg) Am I the only one who can’t tell which one is supposed to be the “ugly” one? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/7 "2013-12-07T20:39:12Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Take a close look. They’re both wearing the exact same earrings and piercings in the exact same places. > Same necklace, too. > > There’s even a tiny white spot upper right(as you look) in the hair. The “spot” appears to be simply the front of a hair pin. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/8 "2013-12-07T20:58:42Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Sun damage also does a number on a person’s skin. Yes and there is a large overlap between those women who smoke and those women who chronically abuse tanning salons. _Those_ faces are astounding! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/9 "2013-12-07T21:16:29Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Take a close look. They’re both wearing the exact same earrings and piercings in the exact same places. > Same necklace, too. > > There’s even a tiny white spot upper right(as you look) in the hair. Yeah, noticed that too. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/10 "2013-12-07T23:05:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [These apparently are twins, one who smokes and one who doesn’t.](http://healthfully.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1-twin-smoke-skin-comparison.jpg) The one on the left looks significantly heavier - not a slam in any way, just an observation first made by Bridgette Bardot. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/11 "2013-12-07T23:31:47Z")
I think they are before and after about a 20 or so pound weight loss. When you have a fat layer under the skin, you don’t have wrinkles as badly as someone without the fat layer. When my cousin Laurie lost about 20 or so pounds she changed in face size about the same as those pictures, and she got wrinkles when she wasn’t wrinkled to any degree previously. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/12 "2013-12-07T23:41:19Z")
Here’s the same picture [flipped around](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33385839/). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/13 "2013-12-07T23:54:34Z")
But look around the upper lip - those pruney wrinkles are very indicative of smoking to me, rather than weight loss wrinklage. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/14 "2013-12-08T01:01:22Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I think they are before and after about a 20 or so pound weight loss. When you have a fat layer under the skin, you don’t have wrinkles as badly as someone without the fat layer. When my cousin Laurie lost about 20 or so pounds she changed in face size about the same as those pictures, and she got wrinkles when she wasn’t wrinkled to any degree previously. Look at the under chin - skin under the chin doesn’t shrink with weight loss. I find it odd that two adults would look so much alike, but if it is the same woman, the “after” is the heavier woman. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/15 "2013-12-08T01:05:37Z")
I’d say smoking impacts one’s appearance well before age 45. I’ve seen women in their mid- to late 20s who I would have sworn were much older. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/16 "2013-12-08T03:24:30Z")
I noticed it at my class reunion last summer. We’re all 67-68, and the people (men and women both) who weren’t tanned and AFAIK never smoked looked at least 20 years younger than the rest of us. It was the first reunion where I noticed, so maybe those bad habits take awhile to show up. I didn’t notice much difference when we were in our 40’s and 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/17 "2013-12-08T04:06:45Z")
My daughter smokes and gets a lot of sun (by choice). Her voice, which used to be a beautiful contralto, now sounds like some barfly hag, croaking out her words. To add to the problem, she’s started drinking. Her face is becoming blotchy. She’s 40. I’m seriously worried about her. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/18 "2013-12-08T04:09:06Z")
I worked in the sun for three years as a field biologist. I have wrinkles in my forehead that my twin sister doesn’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/19 "2013-12-08T05:44:16Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I noticed it at my class reunion last summer. We’re all 67-68, and the people (men and women both) who weren’t tanned and AFAIK never smoked looked at least 20 years younger than the rest of us. It was the first reunion where I noticed, so maybe those bad habits take awhile to show up. I didn’t notice much difference when we were in our 40’s and 50’s. I noticed it at my 25 year reunion 2 months ago; but it could have been a combination of smoking and heavy drinking, my class liked to partake and from the shapes of most of them, still do. It was sad for a few of them; I could see the person I graduated w/ in there, surrounded by a ‘frame’ of adipose and wrinkles. At age 43. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769/20 "2013-12-08T06:53:22Z")
Reminds me of a joke: Why do women use makeup and wear perfume? Because they are ugly and smell bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-on-dating-sites-its-astounding-how-much-damage-smoking-does-to-a-womans-face-past-age-40/675769.md?page=2)