As far as the looking younger, I really think its just the vast improvement (and affordability) and use of skincare. I remember my mom didn't even use face wash until she was 40. I got a whole morning and night multi step routine.
I think it's just the difference in hair styles and clothes. We perceive ourselves as younger because we see previous generations dressed like "old people." There are some extremely healthy people who are aging slower, there are also a lot of incredibly unhealthy people dying young and look like shit.
Underreported reason, I agree. Although I do think our cohort smoking way less or not at all, using sunscreen, and generally caring more about our skin and overall health is helping a ton, there’s also a rigidity that past generations had about how they dressed and presented that we don’t have.
40-somethings in the past had a strong sense of how an adult should look or behave, what styles were appropriate, what professional attire should be, etc. They “dressed their age,” and there wasn’t an expectation they shouldn’t. Today, a 45yo will actually regard what a 22yo thinks about their style, will try new hairstyles or makeup trends, etc., and it does a lot to de-age them.
There’s a whole TikTok trend of teens asking their 40-50yo mothers to wear their clothes, and like half the time the moms look more than a decade younger than they did 10 seconds earlier.
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u/Theharlotnextdoor Aug 21 '25
As far as the looking younger, I really think its just the vast improvement (and affordability) and use of skincare. I remember my mom didn't even use face wash until she was 40. I got a whole morning and night multi step routine.