“I Went From 21 To 31 In 6 Months”: 45 Things That Inevitably Make People Look Older

To learn more about some of the things that can instantly age a person, we reached out to Digital Content Creator and Blogger at Not Dressed As Lamb, Catherine Summers. "I think the number one thing that instantly ages a person is stress," she told Bored Panda. "Stress is what always accelerates aging in a person in my opinion (think of those pictures they show of American presidents before and after their term in office, the stress shows in their face)!"

"For me personally, it's been the biggest contributor to my 51-year-old body finally starting to feel like it really is 51, not 31 anymore," Catherine continued. "And with regards to the past few years, I don't think many people came out the other side of the pandemic without it having been challenging, tough or problematic for them. Sadly, for many people it was devastating. I was fortunate enough not to have experienced anything traumatic in my life but it was tough for various personal reasons. And for women especially, combine that stress with being perimenopausal/menopausal and it's very hard not to look or feel like you've aged."

"Being fit and healthy is the absolute, most important thing you can do to avoid the feeling of getting old," Catherine added. "Aiming to feel fit and strong is the key and is something that I, at least, took for granted until my mid-forties."

But Catherine says that aging itself is not a problem for her. "It's the feeling good that I want to preserve," she explained. "But in practical terms, smoking, bad sleep habits, no exercise and a terrible diet are all major contributors to the aging process. When I get those things in check (though I've never smoked), I feel a thousand times better. Sounds corny I know, but visible ageing in terms of wrinkles or sagging jowls means nothing if a person is truly content and feels good inside. The happiness shows on their face and the 'aging' really doesn't matter."

"Despite what I just said, it doesn't mean that I don't do anything to address the ageing process!" Catherine noted. "I do dislike the term 'anti-aging' where the beauty industry is concerned, as it suggests that it's a battle to keep aging at bay and something we need to fight all the time. We can't do anything to stop aging completely, but I believe that doing what you can to look the best you can, at whatever age you are, is key."

"For example, I stopped wearing black many years ago - bright colors are now my go-to," Catherine continued. "I do have a few black pieces in my wardrobe, but wearing black next to my face drains me and just makes me look unhappy and therefore I feel old. Brights are always a mood-booster: it's a lot harder to feel blue if you're wearing orange and pink!"

"I also gave up caring what others think about the way I dress long ago: with all the other stresses of life, worrying about others' opinions of you is not one to bother yourself with," the content creator added. "Do away with that worry and you'll feel ten times better about aging - not giving a [bleep!] about what others think of you is very liberating and I highly recommend it."

Catherine says she's also had a pretty strict skincare routine since she was a teenager, and she's never left makeup on at night. "But something I wish I did sooner was wear moisturiser with SPF all year round," she noted. "This would be my only answer to that 'What advice would you give your younger self?' question. Stop baking yourself in the sun, woman! Looking back on summer holiday photos, I can see how bad the pigmentation was in my face, so I did the worst thing you can do for your skin by sunbathing and not wearing SPF on a daily basis. The pigmentation is a lot better now, but I still have permanent damage in some places. I learned my lesson about the sun causing damage to your face the hard way."

"Other than that, I try to do the best for my skin (and my body) by drinking lots of water, keeping my skin moisturised (dry, dehydrated skin will age faster) and eating veggies," Catherine added. "It sounds boring, it sounds predictable and sounds like it's all been said before... But it's all true unfortunately. Boring but true!"

We were also curious if Catherine believes most of us are too afraid of aging. "I don't know about most people, but for me personally, I'm in two minds about it," she shared. "In an ideal world, yes - I'd still have the face and body I had when I was 35 (or even 40). But that's not going to happen, aging is inevitable, and we should actually be thankful for aging as it means we're living longer (and who doesn't want that)."

"This 'fear' of aging is perpetuated by things like social media filters (they make me uneasy and I never use them), the beauty industry promoting products described as anti-ageing and celebrities erasing away any signs of ageing, and none of that sits right with me," she explained. "I read a statistic somewhere that suggested that about half of all women use a filter on social media, and whether that's to smooth away the signs of aging or perceived imperfections (or both), it's sad that we're not confident enough to show our true selves."

"However (and without wanting to contradict myself), I also believe that everyone should do what makes them happy," Catherine added. "But cosmetic procedures should be for the right reasons, not for someone else or to look younger because of a fear of aging or due to any kind of pressure from outside sources. Do something because you want to feel better within yourself, not due to a fear of anything."

Catherine also says she's positive about the future. "I think that things are changing - albeit slowly - in terms of attitudes towards getting older and aging," she told Bored Panda. "Brands are using older models more, advertising campaigns are using less airbrushing and showing real skin texture, and fewer people think that 40, 50 or 60 is 'old.'"

"I'd like to see the beauty industry to drop the term 'anti-aging' and use 'optimum ageing' or similar - to drop the negative connotations," Catherine added. "I'd like us to say 'older people' instead of 'old man' or 'old lady' - it just sounds a little more respectful, don't you think? There's a long way to go, though, before aging is no longer seen as something to fight, but instead, something to celebrate!"

If you'd like to hear more wise words from Catherine or get some great fashion, beauty, and body image advice from her, be sure to visit Not Dressed As Lamb or follow her on Instagram!