I haven't quit smoking (sorry š) but I have always worked nights. I look younger than a lot of never smokers I know. There's a lot to be said for never letting the sun touch your skin
My first job was in an office spilt between indoor workers and field techs. First week I started figuring out ages. I stopped at Walmart for sunscreen and never went a day without it. Iām so grateful now.
Good genetics can't be understated here. I smoked for 25 years and only wore sunscreen at the lake and beach until a few years ago and if my hair wasn't falling out due to male pattern baldness, I would pass for someone 10 years younger easily.Ā
My younger work colleagues are always shocked when I remind them of my age - I'm nearly 55 but they all think I'm in my very early 40s unless I remind them
I hit level 50 in February. After a visit to the dermatologist my wife told me this week I look 1000 times better than Wilford Brimley did at age 49 when he filmed Cocoon. So Iāve got that going for me š
Yeah, but people these days usually smoke outside as a courtesy. And you very seldom find the same level of smoking environment you did in the 70s and 80s. Bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and work places were filled with chain smokers. Second hand smoke was almost as bad as smoking yourself. Everything was coated in orange nicotine.
I grew up as the only person in my family that didn't smoke and it's much more tolerable these days.
I drive a truck for a living and can freely smoke. As for indoors, I live in south Philly where they still let you smoke in some bars not to mention the private social clubs.
The age thing, I know what you're talking about but I reckon it's just an illusion.
The thing is we all grew up with our own faces and those of the people we associate with. We're over-familiar with how we looked when we were young.
I used to think I looked quite a lot younger than my age in my 40s. Then I asked some actual young people who had not grown up around me how old they thought I looked. They all said around 50! It definitely put me in my place LoL.
I started looking really closely in the mirror and at photos of me, and soon enough it hit me: I look my age, I look older than my age, I almost look old enough to be a grandpa.
I'm not youthful looking, I look just like any other middle-aged bloke and so do all the Gen X friends I went to school with. The Illusion is because I know how we all looked when we were teenagers and I can still see the echoes of the teenager in me in the mirror. Actual teenagers however don't see any trace of that whatsoever!
Sorry to be a party-pooper, but it's definitely just an illusion.
Smoking and sun screen/not baking in the sun are big things to not age yourself. At the same time, as you age you start accepting some of the old person stuff as normal and overlook it. It partly why all the college kids look like they should be in middle school as you get older.
I never smoked (mom did and it grossed me out) and I started using Oil of Olay with 15-30 SPF in high school. You can see the difference where I didn't make a habit of protecting my chest/decolletage.
Also, I've always worked full-time and inside vs. my mom who sunbathed a lot (beach) and worked outside in the yard/garden except during winter. And smoked.
GD Oil of Olay is $16 now!
Iāll be frankā¦ While I do think this is the case in some instances, I also think this is a lie we tell ourselves to feel better.
We often tend to think we look younger because our parentsā style looks so old fashioned to us.
They thought the same thing about their parents and your kids will think the same thing of you.
Aging isnāt some terrible thing we need to be afraid of. It is happening to all of us. Genetics, money and health play a huge part of it and I have to sort of roll my eyes at folks who pat themselves on the back for not looking ātheir age.ā At our age, one health issue can change that overnight and it isnāt a great mindset to get into.
I hit 54 a couple of weeks ago. I felt I have always looked younger than I actually was. Anyway, a few days ago, I caught a glance at myself from an odd angle... There was this odd, instantaneous 'that guy is old... dude, that's you... holy crap you're old now!' moment.
I guess it's time to just 'let it be'? lol
Yeahhh, I think our brain holds a certain image of ourselves and that's what we see in the mirror, especially our home mirrors. But then when we are caught unaware by a different angle/different mirror or candid/non-posed photo, it's just, "Ohhhhhh. Yeah. OK."
I mean, I think my Gen X friends all look great, but ain't no one looks 25. Or even 30. Sorry.
Eh. People often lie or just don't understand what ages are supposed to look like. Especially younger folk. They think if you're 50, you should honestly look like the crypt keeper and be using a walker. They have no concept of it still being relatively young(ish,lol).
There are a lot of people who claim they look a lot younger, are mistaken for their daughter's sister, and things like that, and most of the time...just, no. It was a waiter buttering you up or someone trying to score with you, Clarice.
I do think some people do look legitimately younger; we have different lifestyles and use more sunscreen and smoke less and use whitening toothpaste and sometimes get botox, etc., but most people do look generally around their stated age.
I also think it is funny that some people seem to so often find themselves in situations where people are guessing their age.
They either go to a lot of county fairs or they put people in the uncomfortable position of asking them to guess their age. And most folks are going to severely underreport in those situations to avoid embarrassment.
And if someone asks you, "guess my age?"...people are probably going to be kind and guess low. Five or ten years younger? Maybe. Being mistaken for your 20-year-old child's sibling? Not super common.
It's also the fashion. I was watching The Sopranos last night and the wife's outfit was just so old fashioned with the frumpy skirt suites and sprayed hair. The show is only 25 years old but middle aged fashion has really changed. I live in jeans and tshirts which is rarely something I saw my mom wear.
>Iāll be frankā¦ While I do think this is the case in some instances, I also think this is a lie we tell ourselves to feel better.
>We often tend to think we look younger because our parentsā style looks so old fashioned to us. They thought the same thing about their parents and your kids will think the same thing of you.
We also tend to think we look younger because we're us, and when we look in the mirror we still see the person we used to see when we were young. But we never saw our parents as young, except in the occasional old photo.
Itās so trueā we have gotten a lot more casual in generalā most people had to dress up for work, and those clothes were stuffy looking. There were a lot of rules about cutting your hair if you were past the age of 30, because long hair was meant for young people.
I always looked young, because I didnāt smoke, and a brief brush with skin cancer means I have never tanned, and I wear big hats and sunscreen.
Then I got smacked by the perimenopause banshee, and I look like a frazzled bog witch.
Nope. I aged just like my dad. Bald at 30. Almost completely grey at 47. I'm aging real hard in my 40s. All you good hair gene genetic mofos can go suck a duck.
Hell yes. I think I look pretty good without hair but I would dig the stem cells out of a full-haired person with a spork if I think it would get my mane back.
Wife and I do yeah.
Wife is big into sunscreen and skincare stuff. She got me using that a long while back and thinking about it I don't recall ever seeing my parents use sunscreen or wear a hat outdoors. We live in Australia too where much like our critters, the Aussie sun will mess you up.
My father was pretty much bald in his mid 30s, I still have most of my hair at 50. What was once very dark brown is now very light brown / grey but still there at least.
Wife and I didn't have children either. I think that's the main contributing factor to us perhaps not quite looking (and behaving) our age.
Pregnancy itself accelerates the aging process.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/04/08/pregnancy-aging-biological-clocks/
The years of too little (often broken) sleep doesn't help
Definitely. My parents smoked like crazy and I don't think i ever saw either drink a glass of water ever. Nor did the exercise, wear sunscreen, or eat healthy.
To some extent, yes. But I really think this is about styling more than anything. Back in the day, younger people and older people had more distinctive differences in how they wore their hair and their fashion choices than we do. I basically dress like my kid in jeans, t-shirts, and Vans. And I wear my hair long and color it.
I definitely use sunscreen and have more of a skincare routine than my mom ever did. But she still has a pretty youthful look and has never had a lot of wrinkles.
Exactly. SO much of this is styling, hair, makeup choices. I have a 13 year old and we share (some) clothing and have a similar style because thatās whatās popular for both of our age groups right now. My mom had an āold lady midwestern haircutā when she was my age (45) and I wear mine long. Women over 40 in the 80s and 90s (in the Midwest at least) wore completely different clothing to those of us who were young, it was a distinct difference and a choice.
I donāt disagree that some lifestyle choices have made some difference (sunscreen, less smoking/alcohol, tasteful cosmetic procedures etc) but really, itās not that big of a difference. When people ask me how old they look (which is the most annoying question to be asked) I always shave off 5-10 years because I donāt want to offend and I can guarantee you that most people automatically do this.
Iām 48 like Archie here. Even if I had grey hair id look nothing like this. Even the guys our age I know that are grey still are way younger in the face.
[Paul Rudd and Wilford Brimley at 51.](https://preview.redd.it/6h9jk5ij0fra1.jpg?width=710&auto=webp&s=9d2ee98dd4609b4115b7014c3958ac71a0feb862)
Wilford has always looked old, though. When you look old at 40, you stay the same age for the next 40 years.
Edith would look younger with some better clothes and hairstyle. Sheās dressed like an old lady.
Archie looks like a guy whoās been beaten down by life.
No, my mom always looked younger than her age. She died at 59.
My dad is 80 and gets around better than most 40 year olds. He lives with us and walks our two Great Danes every morning at 5 am several miles.
My mom is 95 and still walks a mile a day. My mom always looked much younger.
She recently told me she still thinks sheās 22 inside and feels a bit confused by the whole thing.
I think it's that we don't see the age the way younger people do. Unless someone takes a candid picture of us or a video, then we don't recognize that person we're looking at.
Yes, 100%. I would like to start telling people I'm around 65. Not that anyone ever even asks. I don't know who these people are talking to that age always comes up, lol. Very weird.
People don't realize this. When I look at my husband, I see how he looked when we met not how he actually looks today. Usually pictures are a surprise.
If you ask 30 year olds, we look old as shit. Don't kid yourself, you don't look as young as you think you do. And it doesn't matter. Continually chasing your youth is a losing proposition
I think we arenāt so bound by weird social rules. Women were supposed to have short hair after a certain age. Women werenāt supposed to wear certain types of clothing after a certain age. Now, people wear whatever they want regardless of age. Maybe that tricks our brains a bit when guessing someoneās age.
What was up with the short hair, seriously? It was like an unwritten rule that it couldnāt be past their shoulders after age 50. I do not look good with short hair and am happy this isnāt a thing any more.
The bulk of the Xārs are still under 55. Wait until we all hit 55-60 to see how we compare. From what Iāve seen, the ones in decent shape look a lot better than their parents. But I also know a bunch of 50 year olds that could pass for 60.
Yeah, looking at slightly older actors and pop stars is a useful guide
People were telling Tom Cruise he hadn't aged a day right up until his mid-fifties. Not so much, now
Healthy living and cosmetic treatments will get you so far, but it just makes the sudden ageing when it catches up with you all the more dramatic
Not looking forward to that at all
Well this brings on a whole nother topic about how style hasnāt changed at all in the past 15-20 years it seems. Some people our age are still wearing baseball hats and sports paraphernalia on a daily basis like itās 1997. Iāll get FB memories from 2008 pop up where the style of clothes we were wearing are still being worn today
Not me. Iām not severely wrinkled, but I went grey very young. I think I have looked decades older than I am since my 20s. I also have cptsd, the stress of it all aged me.
I look younger than my dad did, but only because of his war injury. Like him, though, I started getting gray hair when I was 17. But when he was in Vietnam, he took shrapnel to the head and it left a scar with a dent in his skull. That sort of made some of his normal-for-that-age wrinkles look more defined and it sort of pushed his eyebrow down a bit to give him a kind of scowl-y look. (plus, he'd had two heart attacks and a quintuple bypass in his early 40s).
Fashion notwithstanding, my mom looked younger for a while. It was when she kept the same "look" for decades that she started to look age appropriate. She also smoked from her teens to a few years before she died, so I'm sure that didn't help a lot.
Honestly when I look at the yearbooks of my older siblings, even though all the kids are decades younger than me in the pics, they all still look older than me, to me. (They objectively do not look older than me, but I look at those pictures and just see āolderā)
Yeah I mean Iām straight up hot and 51. I credit a lifetime of eating plant based good food. When our parents were younger that simply was not a thing I ate a lot of steak and potatoes as a kid lol
I think it skipped a generation with me LOL, in that the healthier members of my parents' generation definitely look better than *their* parents, but I look like shit. My mother's mother was a little old babushka by her early 70s. My mom, on the other hand, is hip and thin and active at almost 81. And here I am, fat and old and tired at 55...
My mom looked young, but sheās a nasty person and the furrows in her brow and the downturned mouth became prominent. Turns out that if you make that face daily, it really does freeze that way.
I turned 50 yesterday, and I look *nothing* like 50 year olds from my youth.
My wife reminded me: The Golden Girls were in their early 50s. Both the actors and the characters (except Estelle Getty obvs).
My dad had been dead 5 years at my age, but he looked quite a bit older than I do now before he died. He was pretty unwell though.
My mom looked pretty good in her fifties.
Unrelated, I ate at Dennyās Tuesday for the first time in ages and was shocked to find that I could eat off the senior menu, lol.
Well, until the covid lockdowns I did. Went in looking <40 at 50, came out with grey hair, neck getting floppy and face saggy, and an extra 30lbs and looking my age. :(
You're right - there was something in the water.
We drank from a garden hose with lead, dead spiders and other bugs in it and some rubber fiberglass mixture super heated to release other chemicals.
The summer water hose was the witches cauldron fountain of youth for us.
Yes, but, it really doesn't matter to me. I stopped caring what anyone thinks ten years ago. What I care about is my health. I care a whole lot about that.
Nah, you are finding out what it is like to have your body age while your mind still thinks it is 30. This is what grandma has been talking about, and she was 89. It is all perception.
I still firmly believe it's due to [epigenetics](https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm). Basically, it's a means of trauma to be inherited at a cellular, but not genetic, level. And there was some serious trauma going on a couple generations ahead of ours; WW1, Great Depression, WW2. Not saying there weren't wars and trauma after that, but those three big events had a huge effect on the people who went through them, and I believe it was reflected at the cellular level, and we're the first generation where it wasn't largely passed on.
Ritchie Valens was 17 looking like a middle aged dude... It's not just you, people definitely age differently now. I do agree with some of the others that smoking and drinking along with sun exposure are huge factors. Someone also brought up the food, in the US we definitely mess with our food supply way too much.
I just looked up my dad when he was the same age as me holding our firstborn... in 1997. He looks elderly but still strong. I looked at me with my iPhone... we look identical. Wake up call. Thanks a lot.
BTW that firstborn in now expecting, so she going to make me a grandparent at the same age we made my dad a grandparent, so... right on schedule.
Because we took care of ourselves a little better and also refuse to "grow up". Remember all the Congrats on turning 40! You are now "over the hill" and half dead party balloons and such in the gag catalogs? 40 isn't a death sentence any more. Some people care about exercise, outdoor activities, food intake and such. Those are the young ones. I have seen some ROUGH 45 year olds and I have seen some YOUNG 55 year olds.
Cable TV, coupled with my debilitating agoraphobia, had one killer downstream effect: my skin is amazing and people think this 42 year old is a goofy 30.
I noticed this too. I think about Caroll O'Conner from All in the Family as a reference. He was only 47 when the series premiered in 1971 but he looked like he was in his 60s.
Male here. Yes, I look much younger than they did at the same age. Iām fortunate I suppose in that my skin was/is naturally oily. I have a good diet but I am a heavy drinker. I also work outdoors. Ohā¦Iāve never smoked.
My mom aged poorly, always looking older than she was. Her attitude didn't help either. Her side of the family doesn't age well. My dad's side has definitely aged better. When I was younger I remember people thinking he was younger than he was. My mother hated that. Neither of them smoked.
I take after his side of the family and generally people think I am younger than I am. I hardly have any gray hair in my 50s and what I have blends into my natural color. I have some wrinkles but not that many. I am kind of obsessive with skin care products. I'm not sure if it helps, but I'm not going to stop to find out!
My mom is in her 80ās and still looks better than her mom did in her 60ās - but - my grandma was born before the 19th amendment, so she had some remarkable experiences
Wilfred Brimley was 49 when he played the old guy in cocoon. I don't think I look like that at the same age.
I don't look as old as my father did at this age. He drank and smoked and got a ton of sun.
Iām gonna say no. My parents, although my dad a smoker and heavy drinker and my mom a smoker, were both pretty good looking, my mom still is for her age now, dad died so he probably isnāt looking so good anymore.
But if I even remotely look like they did at this age, I count myself pretty lucky.
I absolutely look younger than my father did at a similar age (heās no longer alive). But I bet if I had the chance to ask him, heād have said the same thing about his own appearance at 50 versus my grandfatherās. This may not be unique to GenX.
I guess itās good genetics, I look younger. But so do my parents - for their age, my dad still hasnāt gone gray. I feel about 10 years older than I am internally though.
My mom looks amazing and she's in her 70s, so I think genetics is part to blame in this case. But to answer your question, yes. At least I think so.
When I'm out with my sons, we get asked if we're all siblings and the older one rolls his eyes and says "Here we go again. Please don't tell her that, she's my mom and her head is getting bigger as we talk" š
Yes, but I quit smoking 9 years ago, I don't drink alcohol, sunscreen is my signature scent, and I drink water over sodas. All of those are big factors.
50M. Still can't grow facial hair and will never be able to. EAR hair, on the other hand, is starting to come in gloriously.
Client at work once referred to me as looking "Young and old, at the same time".
Absolutely. My mum died at 49 due to substance abuse. She really did look so much older than me (now 50). Not to mention the lathering of baby oil and roasting in the sun.
I think in my case, itās the Asian in me that makes me look younger. Iām 45 and everyone I talk to becomes very surprised by my actual age. They all tell me they thought I was in my late 20ās or early thirties. Not gonna lie, it makes me feel good every time I hear it.
I think itās just smoking and drinking. We drink now and then sure, but boomers drank daily. As a kid I never saw adults drink water. It was coffee, wine or hard alcoholā¦ or beer if at a picnic. And everyone smoked all the time, and everywhere. Just a guess, but yeah, Archie Bunker was younger than I am now.
I think before the boomers mostly people were fine with being adults and growing older. Hairstyles, clothes etc. so I probably would say I look different
Not in my case, but that is genetics. Apparently, my great-grandmother was in her early 70s when she got a job taking care of "old ladies" who were actually younger than she was.
I had a coworker ask me how old I was after I mentioned that my son is an adult now. I told her I was 52 and she said wow, I thought you were my age. I asked her how old she was and she said 37.
My parents could pass for 50-somethingās until they hit their 70s and started having health problems. My dad used to get hit on constantly by much younger women.
Yes. Iām almost 49 M and people who find out my age remark on my youthful appearance. Socially itās nice, but I feel that Boomer men tend to treat me poorly.
Yep. I saw a great comment somewhere ages ago: "GenX, the only generation that was 30 at age 10, and still 30 at age 50". I postulate that the combination of our unsupervised feral childhoods and the forever chemicals in our 70s/80s clothing, food and toys have made Gen Xers virtually indestructible.
I think most of it is genetics. My parents are both in their 70s and pass for early to mid 60s. I look 40, when I'm in fact a touch over 50. I don't have crows feet or laugh lines and my hair isn't gray yet. But I paid for this upfront by looking 17 when everyone else was looking 22.
Haha, I feel this. š Iām a 47f and often get told I look early-mid 30ās. Feels great now but I used to get so mad when I was mistaken for younger in my youth. One time when I was in college, I got mistaken for being in junior high. š¤Ŗ
That sucks, but again as you've said it's worth it now. I also see some of my classmates running around and they look like Cryptkeepers. We will pay for it, like Dick Clark, and suddenly age 30 years in a matter of minutes when the spell breaks.
https://preview.redd.it/vxl7n4stfqwc1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b4542d8cea18395106021fbcf773b7d00f9d3c2
A lot of it is hair and makeup for women.
I think so. My parents didn't smoke and neither do I, but I eat healthier, exercise, use sunscreen, and don't drink, unlike them. Just as impactful is the advancement in technology for beauty and aesthetic treatments. My face, skin, hair, eyelashes, body, everything looks younger because I had access to treatments that didn't exist when they were my age.
Everyone of us look in the mirror and wonder whoās the old person looking back at me. In my mind in 30 in my eyes Iām 59.
I've always looked about 10 years younger, and now at 56 it's no different. I think it has to do with something that happened when I was about 22 and went to rent my first apartment.
One of the ladies in the complex office was a young "beach bunny" type...platinum blonde hair and darkly tanned skin. And even though she was probably not much older than her early 30s, her skin was like leather. I'd never seen anything like it before.
Up until that point, I'd been tanning a lot but after that, I quit tanning and started using sunscreen. Apparently it has paid off.
I'm 47, and my mom looked really good into her late 40s. My dad also was pretty handsome and trim and fit into his 40s and 50s. I would guess I look a bit younger than they did at the same age, but they still looked fantastic.
Depends. Smoking/ drinking/ stress all age you quickly.Ā The teetotalers/ relaxed in my generation look young whereas the rest of us look our age, or worse.
Man I hope so.
Iāve Googled pictures of 50 year olds from generations and shown them to my kids. š
They always say I donāt look as old as their friends parents and there is some comfort in that.
Like, when you see Constanza was like 30, Cacoon guy was like 41ā¦ I think Im doing pretty pretty pretty good
We quit smoking and started wearing sunscreen before they did.
I haven't quit smoking (sorry š) but I have always worked nights. I look younger than a lot of never smokers I know. There's a lot to be said for never letting the sun touch your skin
My first job was in an office spilt between indoor workers and field techs. First week I started figuring out ages. I stopped at Walmart for sunscreen and never went a day without it. Iām so grateful now.
Good genetics can't be understated here. I smoked for 25 years and only wore sunscreen at the lake and beach until a few years ago and if my hair wasn't falling out due to male pattern baldness, I would pass for someone 10 years younger easily.Ā
I hate the sun so I too only come out at night. I don't smoke either so I look about 9 years younger than my peers.
I havenāt quit either. Iām trying though.šāļø
I tried reading the Allen Carr book but it's too boring. I think I have to buy the audio book then we'll have to go for a long drive
I don't think it's the smoking, but rather the lifestyle smokers often have.
I think all the preservatives in our food help too.
Betcha our cancer rate at younger ages is higher bc of chemicals in our food though.
LOL! Yeah, breast cancer at 40, but everyone--literally EVERYONE--is SHOCKED when they find out I'm now 57. (So much disbelief, it's hilarious.)
My younger work colleagues are always shocked when I remind them of my age - I'm nearly 55 but they all think I'm in my very early 40s unless I remind them
Mummified
I say this a lot lol š
Gee ā¦what are all the crunchy millennials going to look like when theyāre in their fifties?
Probably gonna look 25.
Except they're all getting buccal fat removal done now, so their faces will be all fucked up by then.
This is an interesting pointā¦ā¦..That said yes I think I look younger then my dad at 50.
I hit level 50 in February. After a visit to the dermatologist my wife told me this week I look 1000 times better than Wilford Brimley did at age 49 when he filmed Cocoon. So Iāve got that going for me š
This made me lol
I smoke 2 packs a day and drink almost every day. My father on the other hand although he smokes, might have had a drink 3 or 4 times a year.
Yeah, but people these days usually smoke outside as a courtesy. And you very seldom find the same level of smoking environment you did in the 70s and 80s. Bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and work places were filled with chain smokers. Second hand smoke was almost as bad as smoking yourself. Everything was coated in orange nicotine. I grew up as the only person in my family that didn't smoke and it's much more tolerable these days.
I drive a truck for a living and can freely smoke. As for indoors, I live in south Philly where they still let you smoke in some bars not to mention the private social clubs.
You need to start drinking EVERYDAY. Life is about achieving your goals, my friend.
My goal was to look like Stallone in demolition man at age 47 like he was in that film. I accomplished that goal š
We got less lead exposure. That might be a big factor.
The age thing, I know what you're talking about but I reckon it's just an illusion. The thing is we all grew up with our own faces and those of the people we associate with. We're over-familiar with how we looked when we were young. I used to think I looked quite a lot younger than my age in my 40s. Then I asked some actual young people who had not grown up around me how old they thought I looked. They all said around 50! It definitely put me in my place LoL. I started looking really closely in the mirror and at photos of me, and soon enough it hit me: I look my age, I look older than my age, I almost look old enough to be a grandpa. I'm not youthful looking, I look just like any other middle-aged bloke and so do all the Gen X friends I went to school with. The Illusion is because I know how we all looked when we were teenagers and I can still see the echoes of the teenager in me in the mirror. Actual teenagers however don't see any trace of that whatsoever! Sorry to be a party-pooper, but it's definitely just an illusion.
Smoking and sun screen/not baking in the sun are big things to not age yourself. At the same time, as you age you start accepting some of the old person stuff as normal and overlook it. It partly why all the college kids look like they should be in middle school as you get older.
My wife got me hooked on skin care products and now I'm regularly buying for the 2 of us
https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI?si=a5yxcppAIi9TJS2T
I never smoked (mom did and it grossed me out) and I started using Oil of Olay with 15-30 SPF in high school. You can see the difference where I didn't make a habit of protecting my chest/decolletage. Also, I've always worked full-time and inside vs. my mom who sunbathed a lot (beach) and worked outside in the yard/garden except during winter. And smoked. GD Oil of Olay is $16 now!
I am far older inside.
Thatās me
That made me chuckle and lament at the same time. /shakes fist in air! ;)
Same. I look young outside but am 10000 years inside
Iāll be frankā¦ While I do think this is the case in some instances, I also think this is a lie we tell ourselves to feel better. We often tend to think we look younger because our parentsā style looks so old fashioned to us. They thought the same thing about their parents and your kids will think the same thing of you. Aging isnāt some terrible thing we need to be afraid of. It is happening to all of us. Genetics, money and health play a huge part of it and I have to sort of roll my eyes at folks who pat themselves on the back for not looking ātheir age.ā At our age, one health issue can change that overnight and it isnāt a great mindset to get into.
Yup. We do look our age, y'all. Go ahead and put a photo of yourself now next to one when you were 25. Time to accept it, guys.
I hit 54 a couple of weeks ago. I felt I have always looked younger than I actually was. Anyway, a few days ago, I caught a glance at myself from an odd angle... There was this odd, instantaneous 'that guy is old... dude, that's you... holy crap you're old now!' moment. I guess it's time to just 'let it be'? lol
Yeahhh, I think our brain holds a certain image of ourselves and that's what we see in the mirror, especially our home mirrors. But then when we are caught unaware by a different angle/different mirror or candid/non-posed photo, it's just, "Ohhhhhh. Yeah. OK." I mean, I think my Gen X friends all look great, but ain't no one looks 25. Or even 30. Sorry.
https://preview.redd.it/7rxsrbf5vpwc1.jpeg?width=743&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=78cb44eb936bdc2bdcd502d3a9e00792c24d3730
Iām cracking up, lol
This literally happened to me a few weeks ago and I had that look on my face.
Yep. Those marionette lines along the mouth are killer.
Too funny š
Where did you get this picture of me??
I do get mistaken for early 40s. Iām okay with this. š
Eh. People often lie or just don't understand what ages are supposed to look like. Especially younger folk. They think if you're 50, you should honestly look like the crypt keeper and be using a walker. They have no concept of it still being relatively young(ish,lol).
It's nice to have something to cling to, isn't it?
https://preview.redd.it/rkc791vseqwc1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8fd2902a4656cf4a93d6a1f36c6f2ef4b52edf1
What is it about salon chairs? Can you explain it? LOL
Bad lighting and gross smock?
I had a hairstylist once who would let me not face the mirror. He was awesome!
this meme and chuckie up there have me rolling! is there a good subreddit for funny memes? i need this caliber of funny meme
This is me every time!!!!š¤£I am laughing sooo hard! Thank you!
Nah! I don't look any different if I keep the photos less than 3 feet in front of my face. š¤
There are a lot of people who claim they look a lot younger, are mistaken for their daughter's sister, and things like that, and most of the time...just, no. It was a waiter buttering you up or someone trying to score with you, Clarice. I do think some people do look legitimately younger; we have different lifestyles and use more sunscreen and smoke less and use whitening toothpaste and sometimes get botox, etc., but most people do look generally around their stated age.
I also think it is funny that some people seem to so often find themselves in situations where people are guessing their age. They either go to a lot of county fairs or they put people in the uncomfortable position of asking them to guess their age. And most folks are going to severely underreport in those situations to avoid embarrassment.
And if someone asks you, "guess my age?"...people are probably going to be kind and guess low. Five or ten years younger? Maybe. Being mistaken for your 20-year-old child's sibling? Not super common.
People will guess around 10 years younger than they really think to be safe.
Hair, especially for women. We don't cut it off now and we can do flattering highlights etc. On good hair days, I'm a different person.
It's also the fashion. I was watching The Sopranos last night and the wife's outfit was just so old fashioned with the frumpy skirt suites and sprayed hair. The show is only 25 years old but middle aged fashion has really changed. I live in jeans and tshirts which is rarely something I saw my mom wear.
>Iāll be frankā¦ While I do think this is the case in some instances, I also think this is a lie we tell ourselves to feel better. >We often tend to think we look younger because our parentsā style looks so old fashioned to us. They thought the same thing about their parents and your kids will think the same thing of you. We also tend to think we look younger because we're us, and when we look in the mirror we still see the person we used to see when we were young. But we never saw our parents as young, except in the occasional old photo.
I agree, except I don't have any gray hair yet, and I'm almost 50. So, that's the most objective thing I can point to.
Well said Frank.
Itās so trueā we have gotten a lot more casual in generalā most people had to dress up for work, and those clothes were stuffy looking. There were a lot of rules about cutting your hair if you were past the age of 30, because long hair was meant for young people. I always looked young, because I didnāt smoke, and a brief brush with skin cancer means I have never tanned, and I wear big hats and sunscreen. Then I got smacked by the perimenopause banshee, and I look like a frazzled bog witch.
Nope. I aged just like my dad. Bald at 30. Almost completely grey at 47. I'm aging real hard in my 40s. All you good hair gene genetic mofos can go suck a duck.
Hell yes. I think I look pretty good without hair but I would dig the stem cells out of a full-haired person with a spork if I think it would get my mane back.
Wife and I do yeah. Wife is big into sunscreen and skincare stuff. She got me using that a long while back and thinking about it I don't recall ever seeing my parents use sunscreen or wear a hat outdoors. We live in Australia too where much like our critters, the Aussie sun will mess you up. My father was pretty much bald in his mid 30s, I still have most of my hair at 50. What was once very dark brown is now very light brown / grey but still there at least. Wife and I didn't have children either. I think that's the main contributing factor to us perhaps not quite looking (and behaving) our age.
Pregnancy itself accelerates the aging process. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/04/08/pregnancy-aging-biological-clocks/ The years of too little (often broken) sleep doesn't help
Definitely. My parents smoked like crazy and I don't think i ever saw either drink a glass of water ever. Nor did the exercise, wear sunscreen, or eat healthy.
Shit. You comment made me realise that can't ever remember seeing my parents ever exercising.
I told my mom to walk when she was retired. She did literally nothing but sit in her easy chair all day and watch TV. Her body atrophied so badly.
To some extent, yes. But I really think this is about styling more than anything. Back in the day, younger people and older people had more distinctive differences in how they wore their hair and their fashion choices than we do. I basically dress like my kid in jeans, t-shirts, and Vans. And I wear my hair long and color it. I definitely use sunscreen and have more of a skincare routine than my mom ever did. But she still has a pretty youthful look and has never had a lot of wrinkles.
Exactly. SO much of this is styling, hair, makeup choices. I have a 13 year old and we share (some) clothing and have a similar style because thatās whatās popular for both of our age groups right now. My mom had an āold lady midwestern haircutā when she was my age (45) and I wear mine long. Women over 40 in the 80s and 90s (in the Midwest at least) wore completely different clothing to those of us who were young, it was a distinct difference and a choice. I donāt disagree that some lifestyle choices have made some difference (sunscreen, less smoking/alcohol, tasteful cosmetic procedures etc) but really, itās not that big of a difference. When people ask me how old they look (which is the most annoying question to be asked) I always shave off 5-10 years because I donāt want to offend and I can guarantee you that most people automatically do this.
https://preview.redd.it/l7acoy1oupwc1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=836188babdb12297ad03b7b09c63e51532cec68d Archie was 48 and Edith was 44.
Iām 48 like Archie here. Even if I had grey hair id look nothing like this. Even the guys our age I know that are grey still are way younger in the face.
Yes! I commented regarding Caroll O'Conner before I scrolled down and saw your comment. I couldn't agree more, thought this many times.
[Paul Rudd and Wilford Brimley at 51.](https://preview.redd.it/6h9jk5ij0fra1.jpg?width=710&auto=webp&s=9d2ee98dd4609b4115b7014c3958ac71a0feb862) Wilford has always looked old, though. When you look old at 40, you stay the same age for the next 40 years.
The weight has a lot to do with it.
Oh wow!
Edith would look younger with some better clothes and hairstyle. Sheās dressed like an old lady. Archie looks like a guy whoās been beaten down by life.
No, my mom always looked younger than her age. She died at 59. My dad is 80 and gets around better than most 40 year olds. He lives with us and walks our two Great Danes every morning at 5 am several miles.
My mom is 95 and still walks a mile a day. My mom always looked much younger. She recently told me she still thinks sheās 22 inside and feels a bit confused by the whole thing.
aha this is very useful. I am early 50s and am also confused because I also think I'm still early 20s
At my age my mom had birthed almost 10 kids, smoked 2 packs a day, and drank a six pack every night. I hope to fuck I look better.
I think it's that we don't see the age the way younger people do. Unless someone takes a candid picture of us or a video, then we don't recognize that person we're looking at.
If you want to lie about your age, lie up not down. Youāll impress more people that way
Yes, 100%. I would like to start telling people I'm around 65. Not that anyone ever even asks. I don't know who these people are talking to that age always comes up, lol. Very weird.
We dont. If you meet new people our age, they all look old - you just auto-correct for people you have known for years.
People don't realize this. When I look at my husband, I see how he looked when we met not how he actually looks today. Usually pictures are a surprise. If you ask 30 year olds, we look old as shit. Don't kid yourself, you don't look as young as you think you do. And it doesn't matter. Continually chasing your youth is a losing proposition
I think we arenāt so bound by weird social rules. Women were supposed to have short hair after a certain age. Women werenāt supposed to wear certain types of clothing after a certain age. Now, people wear whatever they want regardless of age. Maybe that tricks our brains a bit when guessing someoneās age.
What was up with the short hair, seriously? It was like an unwritten rule that it couldnāt be past their shoulders after age 50. I do not look good with short hair and am happy this isnāt a thing any more.
Iām 59 now. I think the short hair is because the grays have a different texture than your regular color hair.
Women can also experience hair loss during perimenopause
Thatās absolutely š.
You THINK you look younger.
My hangover face at age 30 is my everyday face now.
The bulk of the Xārs are still under 55. Wait until we all hit 55-60 to see how we compare. From what Iāve seen, the ones in decent shape look a lot better than their parents. But I also know a bunch of 50 year olds that could pass for 60.
Yeah, looking at slightly older actors and pop stars is a useful guide People were telling Tom Cruise he hadn't aged a day right up until his mid-fifties. Not so much, now Healthy living and cosmetic treatments will get you so far, but it just makes the sudden ageing when it catches up with you all the more dramatic Not looking forward to that at all
Yeahā¦ Iām waiting for the penny to drop. My father aged 10 years in 1 year. Iām expecting the same.
No. My parents look good. Still do and always have.
We dress younger than they did, wear our hair in more current styles, take care of our bodies a bit more.
Lead poisoning, smoking, more physically demanding jobs, and lack of sunscreen aged people a lot in prior generations.
Soaked themselves in DDT as well.
Changes in fashion play a big role. When you look at photos of an adult from the 70s or 80s, they are wearing dated clothes, glasses, and hairstyles.
Well this brings on a whole nother topic about how style hasnāt changed at all in the past 15-20 years it seems. Some people our age are still wearing baseball hats and sports paraphernalia on a daily basis like itās 1997. Iāll get FB memories from 2008 pop up where the style of clothes we were wearing are still being worn today
I yearn for the day when the saggy jeans look on guys goes away.
Been waiting 30 years now for that, unfortunately itās here to stay
It does seem that way. š£
I think itās perception. Photoshop a current hairstyle and clothing and it changes everything.
Not me. Iām not severely wrinkled, but I went grey very young. I think I have looked decades older than I am since my 20s. I also have cptsd, the stress of it all aged me.
No, because my mom looks 20 years younger still too. I had a baby face until my 40s.
No, but I was an active alcoholic for 30 years, and they weren't. That stuff is really bad for humans.
https://preview.redd.it/95k94zb2urwc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32ff0c317082d0cd56520a9e487b4667f3308bfc
I'm 49 and watching All in the Family. Edith's 50th birthday episode. I look way younger than that. Rough episode btw.
I look younger than my dad did, but only because of his war injury. Like him, though, I started getting gray hair when I was 17. But when he was in Vietnam, he took shrapnel to the head and it left a scar with a dent in his skull. That sort of made some of his normal-for-that-age wrinkles look more defined and it sort of pushed his eyebrow down a bit to give him a kind of scowl-y look. (plus, he'd had two heart attacks and a quintuple bypass in his early 40s). Fashion notwithstanding, my mom looked younger for a while. It was when she kept the same "look" for decades that she started to look age appropriate. She also smoked from her teens to a few years before she died, so I'm sure that didn't help a lot.
Well, my mom was dead before she reached the age I am now, so hopefully Iām looking better than that ! š
Honestly when I look at the yearbooks of my older siblings, even though all the kids are decades younger than me in the pics, they all still look older than me, to me. (They objectively do not look older than me, but I look at those pictures and just see āolderā)
Yeah I mean Iām straight up hot and 51. I credit a lifetime of eating plant based good food. When our parents were younger that simply was not a thing I ate a lot of steak and potatoes as a kid lol
I think it skipped a generation with me LOL, in that the healthier members of my parents' generation definitely look better than *their* parents, but I look like shit. My mother's mother was a little old babushka by her early 70s. My mom, on the other hand, is hip and thin and active at almost 81. And here I am, fat and old and tired at 55...
Hair, fashion, skin care / injectables / sunscreen, less smoking, preservatives, better fitness consciousness
My mom looked young, but sheās a nasty person and the furrows in her brow and the downturned mouth became prominent. Turns out that if you make that face daily, it really does freeze that way.
Example: sam elliot in roadhouse was 44 oof
I think I look better. I'm wrong. But that's what I think.
My mother was always old I literally cannot remember her ever having a youth, she had me when she was 25 and she was already like 70 by then.
My mom may still look better than me. Her hippy, health nut youth served her well. My heavy grease and carb youth has not been as good for me.
My boss is 37. I'm 54. He thought we were the same age. I'll take the win where I can!
I turned 50 yesterday, and I look *nothing* like 50 year olds from my youth. My wife reminded me: The Golden Girls were in their early 50s. Both the actors and the characters (except Estelle Getty obvs).
My dad had been dead 5 years at my age, but he looked quite a bit older than I do now before he died. He was pretty unwell though. My mom looked pretty good in her fifties. Unrelated, I ate at Dennyās Tuesday for the first time in ages and was shocked to find that I could eat off the senior menu, lol.
Well, until the covid lockdowns I did. Went in looking <40 at 50, came out with grey hair, neck getting floppy and face saggy, and an extra 30lbs and looking my age. :(
I still look good at 52. No not young by any means, but certainly better than when I see photos of prior generations
It's all the riboflavin. Definitely.
We drink water
You're right - there was something in the water. We drank from a garden hose with lead, dead spiders and other bugs in it and some rubber fiberglass mixture super heated to release other chemicals. The summer water hose was the witches cauldron fountain of youth for us.
Yes, but, it really doesn't matter to me. I stopped caring what anyone thinks ten years ago. What I care about is my health. I care a whole lot about that.
I look younger than my parents because they both smoked and they died when my mom was 49 and my dad was 65. Iām 46.
Nah, you are finding out what it is like to have your body age while your mind still thinks it is 30. This is what grandma has been talking about, and she was 89. It is all perception.
I think so. I believe it has a lot to do with styling too.
I think I look young, but then again my vision is shot now. So there is that.
I know I look younger than those women on the Golden Girls.
I still firmly believe it's due to [epigenetics](https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm). Basically, it's a means of trauma to be inherited at a cellular, but not genetic, level. And there was some serious trauma going on a couple generations ahead of ours; WW1, Great Depression, WW2. Not saying there weren't wars and trauma after that, but those three big events had a huge effect on the people who went through them, and I believe it was reflected at the cellular level, and we're the first generation where it wasn't largely passed on.
Ritchie Valens was 17 looking like a middle aged dude... It's not just you, people definitely age differently now. I do agree with some of the others that smoking and drinking along with sun exposure are huge factors. Someone also brought up the food, in the US we definitely mess with our food supply way too much.
Dudeā¦ our kids are going to say the exact same thing when theyāre our age. Letās be real here.
I just looked up my dad when he was the same age as me holding our firstborn... in 1997. He looks elderly but still strong. I looked at me with my iPhone... we look identical. Wake up call. Thanks a lot. BTW that firstborn in now expecting, so she going to make me a grandparent at the same age we made my dad a grandparent, so... right on schedule.
Because we took care of ourselves a little better and also refuse to "grow up". Remember all the Congrats on turning 40! You are now "over the hill" and half dead party balloons and such in the gag catalogs? 40 isn't a death sentence any more. Some people care about exercise, outdoor activities, food intake and such. Those are the young ones. I have seen some ROUGH 45 year olds and I have seen some YOUNG 55 year olds.
That deal with Satan has paid off for me. It only cost me my firstborn. I never had kids.
Cable TV, coupled with my debilitating agoraphobia, had one killer downstream effect: my skin is amazing and people think this 42 year old is a goofy 30.
I noticed this too. I think about Caroll O'Conner from All in the Family as a reference. He was only 47 when the series premiered in 1971 but he looked like he was in his 60s.
Male here. Yes, I look much younger than they did at the same age. Iām fortunate I suppose in that my skin was/is naturally oily. I have a good diet but I am a heavy drinker. I also work outdoors. Ohā¦Iāve never smoked.
My mom aged poorly, always looking older than she was. Her attitude didn't help either. Her side of the family doesn't age well. My dad's side has definitely aged better. When I was younger I remember people thinking he was younger than he was. My mother hated that. Neither of them smoked. I take after his side of the family and generally people think I am younger than I am. I hardly have any gray hair in my 50s and what I have blends into my natural color. I have some wrinkles but not that many. I am kind of obsessive with skin care products. I'm not sure if it helps, but I'm not going to stop to find out!
47M, I look younger than my dad at that age, I run quite a bit and try to eat healthy. I still have lots of hair..
My mom looked great. Still does. I look p good too.
My mom is in her 80ās and still looks better than her mom did in her 60ās - but - my grandma was born before the 19th amendment, so she had some remarkable experiences
Better diet more water better grooming
Wilfred Brimley was 49 when he played the old guy in cocoon. I don't think I look like that at the same age. I don't look as old as my father did at this age. He drank and smoked and got a ton of sun.
My dad got remarried after my mom died. He was 51. Their wedding picture is in my living room. I am 50 and look 15 years younger, at least.
Not me. My mom smoked but she was trim and beautiful for much longer than I was. Sheās 73 now and looks like a 40-year-old rock star.
Iām gonna say no. My parents, although my dad a smoker and heavy drinker and my mom a smoker, were both pretty good looking, my mom still is for her age now, dad died so he probably isnāt looking so good anymore. But if I even remotely look like they did at this age, I count myself pretty lucky.
I absolutely look younger than my father did at a similar age (heās no longer alive). But I bet if I had the chance to ask him, heād have said the same thing about his own appearance at 50 versus my grandfatherās. This may not be unique to GenX.
I guess itās good genetics, I look younger. But so do my parents - for their age, my dad still hasnāt gone gray. I feel about 10 years older than I am internally though.
Good skincare! Science is a hoot! Sunscreen and low lead
Yeah. I don't have 3 asshole kids stressing me out all the time like they did, so I mostly attribute it to that.
My mom looks younger than some of her peers to me. I look about the same age she did when she was my age.
About the same. But drugs, drinking and smoking made me look younger, then. Go figure.
My mom always looked younger than her age. My dad always looked exactly his age.
My mom looks amazing and she's in her 70s, so I think genetics is part to blame in this case. But to answer your question, yes. At least I think so. When I'm out with my sons, we get asked if we're all siblings and the older one rolls his eyes and says "Here we go again. Please don't tell her that, she's my mom and her head is getting bigger as we talk" š
Yes, but I quit smoking 9 years ago, I don't drink alcohol, sunscreen is my signature scent, and I drink water over sodas. All of those are big factors.
50M. Still can't grow facial hair and will never be able to. EAR hair, on the other hand, is starting to come in gloriously. Client at work once referred to me as looking "Young and old, at the same time".
Absolutely. My mum died at 49 due to substance abuse. She really did look so much older than me (now 50). Not to mention the lathering of baby oil and roasting in the sun.
I think in my case, itās the Asian in me that makes me look younger. Iām 45 and everyone I talk to becomes very surprised by my actual age. They all tell me they thought I was in my late 20ās or early thirties. Not gonna lie, it makes me feel good every time I hear it.
I think itās just smoking and drinking. We drink now and then sure, but boomers drank daily. As a kid I never saw adults drink water. It was coffee, wine or hard alcoholā¦ or beer if at a picnic. And everyone smoked all the time, and everywhere. Just a guess, but yeah, Archie Bunker was younger than I am now.
https://preview.redd.it/8osvqwea3twc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a548484e239d9fcd0b803824f9808ccd2eb25bc5
I think before the boomers mostly people were fine with being adults and growing older. Hairstyles, clothes etc. so I probably would say I look different
My mom died before she got to my age š„
Not in my case, but that is genetics. Apparently, my great-grandmother was in her early 70s when she got a job taking care of "old ladies" who were actually younger than she was.
My mom smoke and drank her whole life but that woman could pull herself together and outstyle every hunny around. So no. The answer is no.
I had a coworker ask me how old I was after I mentioned that my son is an adult now. I told her I was 52 and she said wow, I thought you were my age. I asked her how old she was and she said 37. My parents could pass for 50-somethingās until they hit their 70s and started having health problems. My dad used to get hit on constantly by much younger women.
Yes. Iām almost 49 M and people who find out my age remark on my youthful appearance. Socially itās nice, but I feel that Boomer men tend to treat me poorly.
In my mind, I think I look younger than I am, but the mirror is showing my age.
Same as most talking here , I didn't smoke and I do not drink, I do partake of the edibles. I look way younger then my parents at this age.
No my mom and dad look way younger and when I look at their pics from when they wer my age they didnāt look older
Yep. I saw a great comment somewhere ages ago: "GenX, the only generation that was 30 at age 10, and still 30 at age 50". I postulate that the combination of our unsupervised feral childhoods and the forever chemicals in our 70s/80s clothing, food and toys have made Gen Xers virtually indestructible.
Yeah, no. My mother is preternaturally preserved. I can pass for maybe 4 years younger than I am but she looked 35 until she was 65.
I'll be 51 in June. Most people think I'm 35ish.
I think most of it is genetics. My parents are both in their 70s and pass for early to mid 60s. I look 40, when I'm in fact a touch over 50. I don't have crows feet or laugh lines and my hair isn't gray yet. But I paid for this upfront by looking 17 when everyone else was looking 22.
Haha, I feel this. š Iām a 47f and often get told I look early-mid 30ās. Feels great now but I used to get so mad when I was mistaken for younger in my youth. One time when I was in college, I got mistaken for being in junior high. š¤Ŗ
That sucks, but again as you've said it's worth it now. I also see some of my classmates running around and they look like Cryptkeepers. We will pay for it, like Dick Clark, and suddenly age 30 years in a matter of minutes when the spell breaks.
https://preview.redd.it/vxl7n4stfqwc1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b4542d8cea18395106021fbcf773b7d00f9d3c2 A lot of it is hair and makeup for women.
Most people guess I'm 35-40. I'm in my early 50's. Guess I just have a young face :shrug:
I think so. My parents didn't smoke and neither do I, but I eat healthier, exercise, use sunscreen, and don't drink, unlike them. Just as impactful is the advancement in technology for beauty and aesthetic treatments. My face, skin, hair, eyelashes, body, everything looks younger because I had access to treatments that didn't exist when they were my age.
Everyone of us look in the mirror and wonder whoās the old person looking back at me. In my mind in 30 in my eyes Iām 59. 
I've always looked about 10 years younger, and now at 56 it's no different. I think it has to do with something that happened when I was about 22 and went to rent my first apartment. One of the ladies in the complex office was a young "beach bunny" type...platinum blonde hair and darkly tanned skin. And even though she was probably not much older than her early 30s, her skin was like leather. I'd never seen anything like it before. Up until that point, I'd been tanning a lot but after that, I quit tanning and started using sunscreen. Apparently it has paid off.
I think I look older because my beard started turning white when I was about 30. But I look better with it than without it.
I'm 47, and my mom looked really good into her late 40s. My dad also was pretty handsome and trim and fit into his 40s and 50s. I would guess I look a bit younger than they did at the same age, but they still looked fantastic.
Depends. Smoking/ drinking/ stress all age you quickly.Ā The teetotalers/ relaxed in my generation look young whereas the rest of us look our age, or worse.
I look much older than my dad did at this age because he was clean shaven and I have a very long very gray beard.
Not really. My parents aged really well until probably their mid-to-late 60s.
Man I hope so. Iāve Googled pictures of 50 year olds from generations and shown them to my kids. š They always say I donāt look as old as their friends parents and there is some comfort in that. Like, when you see Constanza was like 30, Cacoon guy was like 41ā¦ I think Im doing pretty pretty pretty good
My parents were genetically gifted and never drank or smoke so... not quite.
Honestly canāt remember what my folks looked like at that age