Is aging harder on very thin people?

[Anonymous]

I'm petite and have always been very thin with fine bones - it runs in my family. I'm only 41 but notice the skin on my body is aging more quickly than friends of the same age who aren't quite as thin.
I seem to have lots of loose crepey skin around my knees and elbows, and even my forearms. I read that lack of estrogen can cause these changes (which have seemed rather sudden) so perhaps i should see my doc but I'm wondering if this is more common in very fine-boned, skinny people.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that what you are experiencing is unique to thin women. I see larger women with the same problems. Younger people are able to get away with being a bit overweight because their skin is taut. However, gravity eventually takes over and everythings starts to head south. In many ways, I think older and overweight folks tend to age more rapidly because of that. Also, the facial skin on larger folks tends to sag and create more prominent jowls which are one of the biggest "agers" in my book. Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on how much moisture you have in your skin. I have VERY oily skin (as does my dad) and I've been so lucky to have tight skin. My dad still looks great at 61.

FWIW, I have been both fat and thin and am currently thin.

[Anonymous]

Being extremely thin is associated with lower estrogen levels and osteopenia (low bone density) and osteoporosis. Thin women should be tested for bone density and do exercises to strengthen bones.

I am thin, at my college weight at 46 years of age, but I eat about 1500 calories a day to stay at this weight and plan to keep doing so indefinitely. I went through a couple of chubby periods in my life, once in puberty and once after my second child was born and I had trouble losing the pregnancy fat, and I did not enjoy them, hence my resolution to stay thin.

They say that thin women show age in the face more than plump women because of wrinkling, but plump women also tend to look older because of the association of weight gain with old age.

A lot of it is genetics. I have good skin and never had plump cheeks to begin with, so no jowls here. People often mistake me for late 30's in age.

[Anonymous]

I think it's more of a skin type/texture issue. If you look at much older women's faces, you'll see that those with skin like Lena Horne, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren age much better than those with more fair, thin skin. Even among my friends, I can see the difference as early as 40's, 50's, and 60's.

[Anonymous]

Actually, if you do your research very thin women tend to look older than their more plump (not fat) counterparts once you reach a certain age. The face naturally looses fat (and it shifts downward) as we age and a very thin woman can look quite gaunt. As far as your skin texture, it is a combination of prior sun exposure, genetics and diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more of a skin type/texture issue. If you look at much older women's faces, you'll see that those with skin like Lena Horne, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren age much better than those with more fair, thin skin. Even among my friends, I can see the difference as early as 40's, 50's, and 60's.

I'm certain that all three women you listed had plastic surgery, specifically face lifts. Raquel Welch for sure.

[Anonymous]

Lena Horne, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren age much better than those with more fair, thin skin. Even among my friends, I can see the difference as early as 40's, 50's, and 60's.


I'm certain that all three women you listed had plastic surgery, specifically face lifts. Raquel Welch for sure.

That's not the point. The relevant common denominator among those three women is that they all have relatively dark skin, ranging from deep olive to black.

Bottom line? Black don't crack.

The more melanin and oil in the skin, the more supple.

- - - -

Seriously, you know who doesn't age well? Brits and the Irish. It has nothing to do with face lifts, or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more of a skin type/texture issue. If you look at much older women's faces, you'll see that those with skin like Lena Horne, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren age much better than those with more fair, thin skin. Even among my friends, I can see the difference as early as 40's, 50's, and 60's.

I'm certain that all three women you listed had plastic surgery, specifically face lifts. Raquel Welch for sure.

Oh, I don't doubt it. But being of a more mature age myself , my friends and I have been discussing and "researching" this very topic for quite awhile. Even with facelifts, our African American friends and those with Italian, South American, etc background are faring better with age--even accounting for smoking/not smoking, drinking, weight gain/loss, and time spent in sun. Think "J Lo" vs Meg Ryan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, if you do your research very thin women tend to look older than their more plump (not fat) counterparts once you reach a certain age. The face naturally looses fat (and it shifts downward) as we age and a very thin woman can look quite gaunt. As far as your skin texture, it is a combination of prior sun exposure, genetics and diet.

As Zsa Zsa Gabor said: "At some point, you have to choose between your face and your ass."

[Anonymous]

Not sure but aging seems harder on people who look really young and cute into their late 30s. They often start to look tired and like really old kids (boys or girls) rather than adults.

[Anonymous]

I think people who are very thin don't age very well at all. I live in California, land of the size 0's and all my skinny friend's look so much older than me. I'm 37 and a healthy size 6, eat like a normal person. All my size 0 friend's have restrictive dieta and their faces look terrible. Their skin is saggy and they are all my age and a little older.

I'd much rather be a size 6 and look like I'm youthful, than a skinny elderly person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Lena Horne, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren age much better than those with more fair, thin skin. Even among my friends, I can see the difference as early as 40's, 50's, and 60's.


I'm certain that all three women you listed had plastic surgery, specifically face lifts. Raquel Welch for sure.

That's not the point. The relevant common denominator among those three women is that they all have relatively dark skin, ranging from deep olive to black.

Bottom line? Black don't crack.

The more melanin and oil in the skin, the more supple.

- - - -

Seriously, you know who doesn't age well? Brits and the Irish. It has nothing to do with face lifts, or not.

I really have to agree with "Black don't crack". I'm Chilean about the same skin color as Raquel Welch who is half Bolivian I really don't have any wrinkles. Also, my Mother who is going to be 71 in a few days still has beautiful skin yes she has wrinkles but most people ask her if she's about 63ish. The best skin advice she gave me was "such lovely women, but why do they strip all the moisture from their skin, all that peeling, exfoliating, their skin is going to catch up to them once they get older. Don't be a weona (dumbass) hydrate your skin and keep it supple and see what your skin will look like by the time your 40."

[Anonymous]

As you age you lose the naturally occurring fat in your face -- at the temples, forehead, cheeks, etc. It is that, combined with reduced skin elasticity, that makes you have more wrinkles, look gaunt, and have jowls. If you start out as thin, you may well have less fat in your face to begin with, whereas if you are fat all over your body probably is also storing fat in your face. I know all this because I've gotten "filler" treatments from my dermatologist and they work.

I have no idea about OP's knee and elbow skin.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I am also very petite and small boned, and I have recently noticed that at 36, even though I have no wrinkles, the skin on my hands are so thin you can the veins and also I'm noticing thin skin around my eyes, which if you look closely you can see some fine, tiny veins. I wonder if it will become more prominent later on.

My thing is, I eat healthy, drink plenty of water, exercise, and try to get enough sleep. I try to get a cute hair cut every 6-7 weeks and wear cute clothes. Maybe as I age, I will learn some more make up techniques, but otherwise that's all I can really do. Oh, I'm religious about sunscreen all year round and always have been, and remove make up every night.