Why do some people look younger than their age?
Two people born the same year can look ten years apart. Apparent age — the age other people give you at a glance — depends on your skin, your face shape, your hair and your style, but also on the light and the angle of a single photo. These are the factors that matter most.
The sun comes first
Ultraviolet light is the main external cause of visible skin ageing: fine lines, spots and loss of firmness. That's why the skin on the inside of your arm usually looks younger than the skin on your face. Sunscreen and shade are the least glamorous anti-ageing habit and the one with the most evidence behind it.
Smoking, sleep and stress
Smoking is linked to deeper wrinkles, especially around the mouth, and a duller skin tone. Short sleep shows in the eyes within days: dark circles and puffiness make the same face read older. Long periods of stress tend to show in the same places.
Facial volume
After a certain age, a face with a little more volume often looks younger, because fullness softens hollows under the eyes and on the cheeks. A very lean face can look older than the body it belongs to. That's one reason why people sometimes look older after losing a lot of weight quickly.
Hair and beard
Grey hair, a receding hairline and a full beard are among the first things people use to guess an age, and they can add years on their own. A haircut can change the age people give you more than any cream — in either direction.
Genes and expression
Genetics sets the pace of many of these changes, and family resemblance in apparent age is real. Expression matters too: a relaxed smile usually reads younger than a serious face, while a tense one can add lines.
And the photo itself
Light from above deepens every line, a low camera adds a double chin and a tired night shows in the eyes. Soft light from the front and the phone at eye level can take years off the same face. If you want to know how old you really look, use a natural, unfiltered photo.
Does looking younger mean anything?
Perhaps. In a Danish study of older twins published in the BMJ in 2009, the twin who looked older to independent assessors tended to die earlier. Apparent age isn't a diagnosis, but it does reflect part of how we've lived.
Put your eye to the test
Guess the age of real people from all over the world, or post a selfie and find out how old the world thinks you are.
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