Exposure to light is a top cause of premature aging: Sun exposure causes many skin problems. Ultraviolet (UV) light and exposure to sunlight age your skin more quickly than it would age naturally. The result is called photoaging, and it's responsible for 90% of visible changes to your skin.
At this point, there aren't many innovative ways to extend your so-called health span besides obvious factors such as maintaining a balanced diet, exercise and strong social connections. Beyond that, aging is built into our DNA.
The biggest changes typically occur when people are in their 40s and 50s, but they can begin as early as the mid-30s and continue into old age. Even when your muscles are in top working order, they contribute to facial aging with repetitive motions that etch lines in your skin.
Your 30s is when you start to see some early signs of aging, as well as the first effects of sun damage that most likely happened in your teenage years or in your 20s.
With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up, and shifts downward, so features that were formerly round may sink, and skin that was smooth and tight gets loose and sags. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half, so we tend to get baggy around the chin and jowly in the neck.
Your skin is another obvious indicator of your age. This doesn't just include wrinkles, but things like dry skin and tired eyes, which can both be avoided. Reddit user Redhaired103 posted in /r/AskWomen that dark circles, pale skin, puffy eyes, and heavy makeup can also make you look older.
“Retinol and alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) can rejuvenate the skin and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles,” Dr. Patel says. “Hyaluronic acid helps your skin retain moisture, which gives it a smooth, glowing look.” Opt for serums and night creams with retinol and AHAs, and a daily face moisturizer with hyaluronic acid.
They found that genes have a lot to do with looking young. There are thousands of genes in everyone's DNA that focus on cell energy, skin formation, and antioxidant production, but "ageless" people express them differently, and often for longer while others peter out as they age.
Natural changes happen in the body as we age, such as skin damage from sun exposure, loss of muscle and physical strength, loss of some sight and hearing, as well as changes to our sleep patterns, energy levels and appetite.
Exercise. The best way to slow down aging is to stay in great shape. One study published in Aging Cell found that older people who exercised regularly throughout their lives had the muscle mass, cholesterol levels, and even immune system function of much younger people.
Incorporate foods high in vitamin C like citrus fruits, which studies have shown may promote younger looking skin. Have food high in essential fatty acids, such as walnuts or olive oil, to keep skin cells hydrated. Avoid food high in unhealthy fats, which could make your skin appear less youthful.
Loss of muscle tone and thinning skin gives the face a flabby or drooping appearance. In some people, sagging jowls may create the look of a double chin. Your skin also dries out and the underlying layer of fat shrinks so that your face no longer has a plump, smooth surface. To some extent, wrinkles cannot be avoided.
According to a new study, when you look significantly younger than your chronological age, it's not just an optical illusion, your skin is actually aging a slower rate than normal.
For Caucasian women, it's typically around the late 30s. "This is when fine lines on the forehead and around the eyes, less-elastic skin, and brown spots and broken capillaries from accumulated sun damage crop up," says Yagoda. If you're a woman of color, the tipping point is more likely in your 40s.
When fat is lost, so is collagen, the scaffolding within skin that keeps it firm and plump. Your skin already naturally loses collagen due to age (consider it the worthy tradeoff for another birthday), so combine that with losing weight and it's not surprising to see droopier, wrinkled skin.
Is it possible to reverse aging? You cannot wholly reverse aging—it's a normal part of life. However, you may be able to slow it down and help prevent age-related diseases by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
YouCam Makeup is the best app to tell your age with a photo. To know how old you look, download the free YouCam Makeup app for either iOS or Android. After opening the app, tap the Time Machine feature, and take a picture or upload a photo. The app will then show your current age, analyzed by AI technology.
The American Geriatric Society and the World Health Organization define the oldest-old as individuals aged over 80 years, while the British Geriatrics Society uses 85 years as a threshold. In recent publications, the cut off was fixed at 85 or 90 years and over [1,2,3].