Looking a lot younger?

[King_Oni]

Hmm... I wonder just how much the 'youthful' look is caused by avoiding the sun or by Autism. This begs a study!

Well.. .I for one don't suffer from what a lot of (presumably older) people have... crow's feet. Reason; I wear shades throughout the day and put any lightsources in the house to the minimum that's pleasant for me so I don't have to squint my eyes.

One can also wonder how much "pasty white" is connected to looking young, lol. I avoid the sun and have been for most of my life (got a sunburn once in my life, if that's an indication how little sun I actually see). Even in summers I go out with long sleeves most of the time and clearly having a lot of hair on my head and face blocks out a lot of areas, for sun to do it's work.

 

[Verum]

Well.. .I for one don't suffer from what a lot of (presumably older) people have... crow's feet. Reason; I wear shades throughout the day and put any lightsources in the house to the minimum that's pleasant for me so I don't have to squint my eyes.

Ditto, I keep my house dim like a cave. I hate it when someone walks into a room that I'm in and remarks on how needless it is for me to go on "suffering" in the dark then jacks up the lights to an uncomfortable level without even asking how I'd feel about it first. (I just love the occasions when someone who has just done that immediately leaves said room with an air of smug self-satisfaction for having "helped" me, somehow oblivious to the fact that I've immediately started wincing and rubbing my eyes... Sorry, had to rant.)

Also, how many times have we all seen the inverse of this phenomenon that occurs when someone spends years on a tanning binge only to end up sporting crow's feet like a septuagenarian at the ripe old age of thirty? Don't get me wrong, I can see how there's potentially much more going on with regard to the youthful aspie/autie that look many have, but I wouldn't be surprised if avoiding excess damage from sunlight isn't at least a notable part of it.

 

[Explosition_Rooster]

My mother calls me the vampire because I'm active during the night and I keep my blinds closed during the day.

 

[Hadassah]

I actually love to get tanned (not obsessively though), but I like a little color. I think I look nicer. I hate the process though -lying under that extremely bright and hot sun I always wondered how others don't seem to mind it. But it's a good thing though, cause then I won't overdo it, lol.

 

[Explosition_Rooster]

Tanning and me do not mix; I burn at the slightest of rays.

 

[Redgirl]

I'm sensitive to the sun too. I live really close to the beach and never go because to me the thought is just ugh! I'm 39 going to be 40 in December and I'm usually mistaken for 18 or 20. They never believe I have an almost 17 year old son. But I grew up used to this because it happens to my mother as well. She's in her 60's and she sometimes still gets carded for alchohol. But I am 6 feet tall and I was mistaken as older until I hit my mid-20's. People always used to assume that my mother and I were girlfriends because I used to hold on to her arm until I was probably 18 or 19.

 

[Verum]

I actually love to get tanned (not obsessively though), but I like a little color. I think I look nicer. I hate the process though -lying under that extremely bright and hot sun I always wondered how others don't seem to mind it. But it's a good thing though, cause then I won't overdo it, lol.

Everything in moderation, right? I confess that I like the way the sun feels in the rare moments when I've just gotten out of a swimming pool and the excess water has just finished dripping off and then there's this sort of... tingly evaporative feeling as the remaining moisture is wicked away into the air. It's a weird, magical little thing.

Back on topic, we've got smooth skin (in some cases augmented by reduced light exposure), larger eye size, atypical style of dress, and behavioral mannerisms as potential contributing factors to a perceived youthful appearance. Seems legit to me. Any one of these things by themselves could potentially qualify a person for a youth-like appearance... and several people here seem to have more than one such trait.

 

[CJinherPJs]

I work behind a bar and frequently get told that I don't look old enough for the job (you have to be 18 in the UK because that's also the legal drinking age here), even though I'm almost 20. Most people are quite surprised when I tell them how old I am; they think I look about 15 or 16. In addition, when I'm not working or studying, I still enjoy indulging in some interests that could be considered immature for someone of my age, including collecting rubber ducks and figurines and playing some of my old video games from when I was a kid. Come to think of it, I never actually felt as mature as my peers; sometimes it felt as though they were growing up too quickly and I got stuck at about 12.

 

[Hadassah]

Come to think of it, I never actually felt as mature as my peers; sometimes it felt as though they were growing up too quickly and I got stuck at about 12.

I got stuck as a teenager for like 12 years >.< I think now I'm finally over it, lol.

 

[Ylva]

No one believes I am twenty-five.

 

[HelloDizzy]

Am I the only one who uses looking underage to their advantage? Such as being able to wear clothes for way younger people, and not looking as dumb asking for help processing very simple tasks?
If people knew I was 21 and didn't know how to use the post office I think they'd be less willing to help lol.

 

[King_Oni]

Am I the only one who uses looking underage to their advantage? Such as being able to wear clothes for way younger people, and not looking as dumb asking for help processing very simple tasks?
If people knew I was 21 and didn't know how to use the post office I think they'd be less willing to help lol.

I've tried getting access to a ballpit... but apparently even 25 is too old.

That being said, I guess if you look like a minor it might work. If you look younger but still within the adult range it's not really going to fly.

 

[HelloDizzy]

It all depends on how I wear my makeup. If I wear none, I look a lot younger. If I wear lots of eyeliner and no lipstick, a lot younger.
Red lipstick changes things.

 

[MoCoffee]

The only thing that keeps me from looking way younger than I am is that my hair is grey. When I used to colour it, people often thought I was my oldest daughter's sister rather than her mom. She wasn't impressed at all! lol

 

[Ereth]

I've always looked much younger than I am. When my class finished the eighth grade, the school put photos of everyone from that year alongside ones from kindergarten. So many people walked up to me that day and said, "You look exactly the same as you did when you were five, only taller!"

I decided to take that as a compliment . . . :giggle2:

 

[Judge]

Younger? Uh....lol....no. I've never been carded in my life! Looked much older than I was from the time I was a teenager to now, when occasionally I get senior discounts without ever asking for them. Whatever...:bruised:

 

[Christy]

I have a lot of difficultly judging peoples age, and I have no idea how old I look. What I do know is that I have trouble getting people to take me seriously if I'm face to face. I've been told I look like a 25yo and speak like a 40yo :unsure:

 

[Soup]

What I do know is that I have trouble getting people to take me seriously if I'm face to face. I've been told I look like a 25yo and speak like a 40yo :unsure:

Same here, Christy! I'm short & puny & un-wrinkled with gangly legs & arms like a young person, but I'm very serious, can seem intense, am monotone & very well-read. Last week at school, I got yelled at for being in the hall without a pass. I'm smaller than many of my 6th grade students & with my nerdy glasses, I can look like an awkward kid (the awkward part is accurate...) but I turn 49 in a couple of weeks. The teacher who yelled at me was floored when I talked back & told her, firmly, to NEVER raise her voice at me like that again unless the building is on fire & we need to get out immediately. I'm not surprised that they have behaviour problems with the way they provoke kids with such rudeness!

 

[Daniel]

I grew a beard when I was sixteen to look older, and when I finally shaved my facial hair at 27, I went from looking 5-10 years older than I was to 5-10 years younger. Now I'm 33 and twice this past year I was asked for ID at the liquor store (in Ontario, where the liquor stores are government-operated) on the days where they have to card anyone who looks 25 or younger. I get checked out by college-aged girls and I think, 'where were y'all a decade ago when I was single?', and then I answer my own question--they were awaiting puberty!

Smooth skin makes a big difference. Lol, maybe this is a benefit from not making all those facial expressions neurotypicals make! All those smiles make wrinkles.

 

[LoneHeart]

Its so funny to me how many things we all have in common. I too have always been confused for being younger. Just a couple of weeks ago, a 25 year old girl that I have been dating told me that when her friends saw a picture of me and her together, they said to her "isn't he a little too young for you?", and then she totally shocked them by telling them that I was a couple of months away from turning 30. They thought I was like 22 or 23.