Does trying to look younger reduce how much ageism older adults face?

Every year, millions of older Americans spend copious amounts of money and time to try to look younger than they are. They color graying hair, buy anti-balding products, use teeth whiteners and wrinkle fillers, and much more.

Now, a new study looks at what this kind of effort means for older adults’ experiences with the ageism that pervades American society. The study also explores how a person’s perception of how old they look relates to both their positive and negative age-related experiences, and their physical and mental health.

The researchers found that 59% of adults aged 50 to 80 say they think they look younger than other people their age. The percentage was slightly higher among women and among people with higher incomes, more years of education and current employment.

On the other end of the spectrum, only 6% of older adults said they look older than other people their age. The rest said they look about the same as their peers. A slightly higher percentage of those who were between 50 and 64 said they look older than their peers, compared with those ages 65 to 80.

As for trying to look younger, the study finds that about one-third of older Americans (35%) have invested time or money toward this goal. Those more likely to say they’d done so included women, those with higher incomes and people of Hispanic origin.

The study, based on data from a national survey conducted for the National Poll on Healthy Aging, is published in the journal Psychology and Aging.

In addition to asking about appearances, the poll asked older adults about both positive and negative experiences related to aging and ageism. Positive ones included being asked for advice and wisdom, and feeling a strong sense of purpose, while negative ones included having others assume they have difficulty seeing, hearing, remembering or using technology.

Those who feel they look younger than other people their age were more likely to score higher on the scale of positive age-related experiences, and lower on the scale of negative ageism experiences.

Those who said they had invested time or money in looking younger were more likely to score higher on the positive scale too; this was especially true for those who are married or have a partner.

However, the news for those who had tried to look younger wasn’t all rosy. Those who said they had invested in strategies to look younger were also more likely to score higher on the scale of negative experiences related to aging.  This relationship was especially strong for non-Hispanic Black and White respondents.

Meanwhile, those who say they look older than others their age were much more likely to score higher on the negative ageism experiences scale, and lower on the positive age-related experiences scale.

The study also looked at how someone’s self-reported health status related to their experiences around aging. Overall, those who had more positive and fewer negative experiences related to aging were also more likely to say they’re in good or very good health, both physical and mental. But the higher someone’s score on the negative ageism experiences scale, the more likely they were to also say that they are in fair or poor physical and/or mental health.

What the researchers say: “Taken together, these findings suggest a complex and nuanced relationship between how older adults feel about their age-related appearance and the experiences they have, both positive and negative, related to their age,” said the first author.  “Feelings and experiences of ageism, which are rooted in our society’s emphasis on youthfulness and bias against aging, appear to indirectly have a relationship with health, both mental and physical.”

The researchers note that the difference between the percentage who feel they look young for their age, and the percentage who said they had spent money or time to look younger, itself may reflect both the pervasive bias against aging, and the specific bias against admitting that one has done something to change appearances, especially among men.

The findings suggest that while clinicians and public health authorities should be cautious about reinforcing beliefs that signs of aging are undesirable, they can help adults understand ways that health choices with implications for age-related aspects of appearance may also reduce their likelihood of experiencing both age-related discrimination and poor health outcomes later in life.

“We know that healthier eating, more physical activity, better sleep, stress reduction techniques, preventive oral hygiene, use of sunscreen, and reducing or eliminating use of tobacco, alcohol and other substances can all impact appearance later in life, as well as physical and mental health,” the researchers said. “And many of these interventions are less costly, or at least more evidence-based, than the many commercial products and services that claim to reduce signs of aging.”

So, what? The need to feel valued is important at any time of life, and in a hunter-gatherer society age, and its attendant experience and wisdom were highly regarded. You have no need to look young if you’re seen as wise and if people come to you for guidance and advice. The need to be so valued is built into our DNA, it’s part of our basic mental design specs. If that need is not met older people become more stressed and prone to depression, dementia and physical illness.