News BBC News: 'Secret' of youthful looks in ginger gene

Red haired people may look younger because of MC1R gene mutation according to new study.

'Secret' of youthful looks in ginger gene - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36133475

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Coriolan said:

Red haired people may look younger because of MC1R gene mutation according to new study.

'Secret' of youthful looks in ginger gene - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36133475

Sent from my LG-D620 using Tapatalk

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I think perhaps they're getting ahead of themselves on this one. It's a small study, and it's measuring a very subjective issue, i.e. youthfulness. Plus, as with all studies like this, it's very difficult to control for all other variables.

Just as one example, in my experience the vast majority of redheads have very fragile skin, quick to wrinkle, sag, and prone to age spots from sun exposure. There are examples a plenty in my own family. I always wished I had inherited the red hair of my father's sisters, but I thought better of it as they got older. It's even a worse problem for my Irish friends.

How old were the people being judged for "youthfulness"? What would happen if all of the pictures were of randomly chosen 50 year old people? Does the opinion just arise because lighter hair as a whole, associated as it is with young children, indicates "youthfulness" to some people? Would the results change if everyone was wearing a turban? Did the study designers even screen for dyed hair? Again, in my experience the red fades out of the hair in middle age. All of my red headed cousins were putting the red back in by their late 30's and forties.

Bottom line, I'm not saying some variant of MCIR couldn't be involved; I just think this needs a lot more study.

Not sure about ginger gene - but having many skin moles indicates having longer telomeres:

(it is good due to slower aging, but on the other hand there is a bit higher risk of skin cancer):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1331715/Could-moles-hold-secret-keeping-ageing-bay.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-11813378

http://www.examiner.com/article/people-with-a-lot-of-moles-tend-to-age-slowly

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1557094/People-with-moles-age-more-slowly-than-others.html

http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/64889-telomeres-and-moles/

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/004389.html

Red Hair gene and skin cancer

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36762630

No, East Asians look younger. The top factors for ageing quickly are: Stress, Sun Exposure, Smoking, Sugar, Lack Of Sleep, Alcohol and Lack Of Exercise.

East Asians of Mongoloid race having thicker skin, a feature evolved under the harsh environment of their ancestral land, which is in the north, mostly Siberia and the Arctic. Thicker skin could allocate more fat and prevent cold, thicker skin with more fat also delays the accumulation of wrinkles and age spots, that’s why east Asians looked younger than Caucasoid of the same age.

Minty said:

No, East Asians look younger. The top factors for ageing quickly are: Stress, Sun Exposure, Smoking, Sugar, Lack Of Sleep, Alcohol and Lack Of Exercise.

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Then by that logic East Asians should look older than, say Scandinavians or Californians, who exercice a lot, drink little (high taxes in Scandinavia, high minimum age in the USA), have bans on smoking everywhere, do meditation, yoga and so on to reduce stress,... East Asians work extremely hard and get little sleep by European standard. I have seen numerous studies (like this one) that consistently show that the Japanese and Singaporians get the least sleep, while West European, Australians and New Zealanders get the most. The Japanese have the highest number of death by overwork (karoshi) and work-related suicides (high stress level). The sun is also much stronger in East Asia than in northern Europe.

But you are right that East Asians do look younger than Caucasians. However the reason is purely genetic.

Maciamo said:

Then by that logic East Asians should look older than, say Scandinavians or Californians, who exercice a lot, drink little (high taxes in Scandinavia, high minimum age in the USA), have bans on smoking everywhere, do meditation, yoga and so on to reduce stress,... East Asians work extremely hard and get little sleep by European standard. I have seen numerous studies (like this one) that consistently show that the Japanese and Singaporians get the least sleep, while West European, Australians and New Zealanders get the most. The Japanese have the highest number of death by overwork (karoshi) and work-related suicides (high stress level). The sun is also much stronger in East Asia than in northern Europe.

But you are right that East Asians do look younger than Caucasians. However the reason is purely genetic.

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You are right about the sleep studies. I get told so much that lack of sleep could double the signs of skin ageing, including fine lines, that I have overlooked the fact that East Asians are workaholics.

It’s normal in Taiwan to see a lot of anti-ageing and whitening products, and I’ve no doubt it is the same in most of East Asia. Not so sure about the South Asia or Central Asia. Skin care in East Asia is extremely huge and far more important, than the amount of makeup that is placed on the face. Especially in East Asia, beauty standards are very different from the west. East Asians like minimal makeup that look more natural. Whereas, I’ve noticed growing up in Western countries, that American TV stars wear too much make up. When I was married in France, the make up artist put too much make up on me. She made me look old. I even look younger without make up.

Western people don’t mind the sun as much as Asian people. In Australia, people are really into a day out at the beach. They love to surf, despite of the shark attacks. For many East Asians, safety comes first. So, East Asians would not go. In East Asia it is a common routine to wear sunscreen everyday, people believe that early signs of wrinkles will occurred, if the skin is not protected. Yes you are right, in East Asia, the sun is indeed bigger. However, some East Asians even use umbrellas or wear protective garments on their hands and faces to protect their skin against the sun. This is a bit extreme! However, having dark skin is so undesirable in Asia, women do that to look high class.

The food I ate growing up was full of vegetables and meat, with a bowl of rice or noodles. Most of the time vegetables are steamed or boiled, and there is hardly any oil and fat in the meal. There are many habits, such as eating traditional Chinese foods that have anti-ageing properties, drinking certain types of teas and other foods that are beneficial for certain parts of the body. Dairy is also less consumed because a big percentage of East Asian people are lactose intolerant. For example bread, pasta and potatoes are staple foods in Western diets. Cheese, Pizzas, Sausages, Burgers, Fish and Chips, Meaty Pies, Bacon and Eggs and Processed food as well as sweets are eaten far more in Western countries.

In general, East Asian people are more conservative, in the sense that the majority do not drink a lot of alcohol, don’t use drugs and deal with stress differently, as it is normal to be working long hours and working hard all week and all year round. Another theory I have, is that East Asians have more petite figures and are commonly shorter in stature. This can also create an illusion of youth. The fashion is also much different, and more conservative. There is far less clothing that shows cleavage and over amount’s of skin, and more cute clothes as sizing is smaller.

Where you found proof that Scandinavians or Californians exercise a lot and smoke less?

French people definitely smoke more than Australians, but they don't look older. Californians exercise a lot, hmmm my impression of Americans is that they are very big.

Minty said:

It’s normal in Taiwan to see a lot of anti-ageing and whitening products, and I’ve no doubt it is the same in most of East Asia.

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This is because East Asians easily fall for marketing tricks. It's the same for luxury products, like brand clothes and accessories. Anyway that doesn't have anything to do with ageing but rather with a certain sense of narcissism (wanting to look the best, to draw attention on oneself by looking good or looking rich, all things which are frowned upon in a lot of European countries, although not in America).

Western people don’t mind the sun as much as Asian people. In Australia, people are really into a day out at the beach. They love to surf, despite of the shark attacks. For many East Asians, safety comes first. So, East Asians would not go. In East Asia it is a common routine to wear sunscreen everyday, people believe that early signs of wrinkles will occurred, if the skin is not protected. Yes you are right, in East Asia, the sun is indeed bigger. However, some East Asians even use umbrellas or wear protective garments on their hands and faces to protect their skin against the sun. This is a bit extreme! However, having dark skin is so undesirable in Asia, women do that to look high class.

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You are generalising too much. Don't forget that a lot of people who migrated voluntarily to Australia are people who like the sun and heat. But the majority of North Europeans (and Australians too) have too fair skin to sensibly stay exposed to the sun. Like smoking, being too tanned is generally regarded as a sign of low social class by northern Europeans and even North Americans.

The food I ate growing up was full of vegetables and meat, with a bowl of rice or noodles.

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Me too. What's your point?

Most of the time vegetables are steamed or boiled, and there is hardly any oil and fat in the meal.

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Did you grow up in France? Chinese food is generally quite greasy, and Japanese food, despite the stereotypes (sushi) contains a lot of deep-fried food (kara-age, tempura, tonkatsu). The Japanese also prode themselves on having the most fatty beef in the world (Kobe beef) and the price of raw tuna in sushi shops increases with the quantity of fat (from cheap low-fat maguro to 3x more expensive ootoro).

Cheese, Pizzas, Sausages, Burgers, Fish and Chips, Meaty Pies, Bacon and Eggs and Processed food as well as sweets are eaten far more in Western countries.

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Sorry but you are describing British and American diet, not average European cuisine. I was 18 the first time I ate a burger. I have eaten less than 20 times in burger restaurants like McDonald's and almost all of them were in Japan or in Southeast Asia because they are so ubiquitous. I don't think that my parents have ever eaten in a McDonald's, KFC or even had fish & chips. A lot of people in Belgium would be too concerned about their health to even enter a fast-food chain.

In general, East Asian people are more conservative, in the sense that the majority do not drink a lot of alcohol, don’t use drugs and deal with stress differently, as it is normal to be working long hours and working hard all week and all year round.

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I don't know where you get your information, but East Asians countries tend to drink more spirits (hard alcohol) than almost anybody else in the world, alongside East Europeans. Just look at those statistics. South Koreans have the highest consumption per capita (32 litres per capita per year, against 20 l for Russians). The Thai are 7th, the Japanese 11th and the Chinese 13th, and Filipinos 16th, well ahead of the US and all Western Europeans countries. The Chinese, Thai and Japanese drink in average 11 litres per capita per year, that's over twice more than the Scandinavians, Germans, Dutch, Belgian, French, British or Spanish (no data for Italy, but it can't be higher).

Where you found proof that Scandinavians or Californians exercise a lot and smoke less?

French people definitely smoke more than Australians, but they don't look older. Californians exercise a lot, hmmm my impression of Americans is that they are very big.

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According to official statistics, the French and Australians smoke almost exactly the same amount of cigarettes (about 1000 per adult per year), but over twice less than the Chinese and South Koreans, who rank respectively 9th and 15th worldwide. Even Japan ranks 21st, with 1,700 cigarettes per adult per year. So whatever your impressions, these are the facts.

As for Scandinavians smoking less, Denmark ranks 40th, Sweden 70th, Norway 94th and Iceland 95th for cigarette consumption. According to the CDC, California is the only state with Utah where less than 20% of men and less than 15% of women are cigarette smokers (well, as of 2002, it is even lower now).

As I said above, tobacco consumption is higher in lower class or less educated people. According to those EU stats, people who went to college or university smoke 2 to 3 time less than people who didn't go further than secondary school, and that is true for every European country surveyed.

For exercice, the EU has of course conducted detailed surveys like this one. Its conclusion (page 12) is that "Overall,citizens of the Nordic countries take sport the most seriously, with Sweden(72%), Finland (72%) and Denmark (64%) all outstripping the EU average of 40% forpeople exercising ‘regularly’ or ‘with some regularity’."

I don't have data for the USA, but it's well-known that Californians are the most exercice addicts.

Maciamo said:

This is because East Asians easily fall for marketing tricks. It's the same for luxury products, like brand clothes and accessories. Anyway that doesn't have anything to do with ageing but rather with a certain sense of narcissism (wanting to look the best, to draw attention on oneself by looking good or looking rich, all things which are frowned upon in a lot of European countries, although not in America).

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I think if people pay a lot of attention to how they look, they will stay younger. Nature vs nurture theory.

You are generalising too much. Don't forget that a lot of people who migrated voluntarily to Australia are people who like the sun and heat. But the majority of North Europeans (and Australians too) have too fair skin to sensibly stay exposed to the sun. Like smoking, being too tanned is generally regarded as a sign of low social class by northern Europeans and even North Americans.

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Northern Europeans I agree but America I don't. I have families there, they love the beach and the sun over there. Maybe the Canadians. However somebody I know told me that Canadians work outdoor a lot. So they don't mind the sun.

Me too. What's your point?

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I know plenty of Europeans who don't each much fruits or veges.

Did you grow up in France? Chinese food is generally quite greasy, and Japanese food, despite the stereotypes (sushi) contains a lot of deep-fried food (kara-age, tempura, tonkatsu). The Japanese also prode themselves on having the most fatty beef in the world (Kobe beef) and the price of raw tuna in sushi shops increases with the quantity of fat (from cheap low-fat maguro to 3x more expensive ootoro).

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No, I married a French. That is how I got here. I have lived in France for 10 years! I don't agree that Chinese foods are greasy. That is generalizing Chinese foods. The northern Chinese foods are indeed greasy but not all. A lot of the so called Chinese restaurants in Europe, they are making Chinese foods plus Vietnamese, Laosian, Burmese foods. There are Chinese in Indo China, so during the period of decolonization the French let the people from Indo china go to France, some Chinese then can then move to other nearby European countries. Due to being ethnic minorities the Chinese there intermarries Laotians, Burmese, Vietnamese, and produce dark children. After that Europeans think Chinese are dark and look like South East Asians, and Japanese and Koreans are light and look like North East Asians. Back in 2008, all Europeans or Arabs they are so surprise how fair looking I am, they even said to me that I look more like Japanese and Korean. However by 2016, they stop saying that after they got the answers to my origins.

Sorry but you are describing British and American diet, not average European cuisine. I was 18 the first time I ate a burger. I have eaten less than 20 times in burger restaurants like McDonald's and almost all of them were in Japan or in Southeast Asia because they are so ubiquitous. I don't think that my parents have ever eaten in a McDonald's, KFC or even had fish & chips. A lot of people in Belgium would be too concerned about their health to even enter a fast-food chain.

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Maybe the people you know who are Europeans don't. I know plenty of Europeans who do eat Charcuterie (which are sausages), merguez ( for BBQs), they also eat hamburgers (many students I know who are Europeans do). In Alsace they love the choucroute that is sausages, and Tarte flambée that is bacon. There is Raclette eaten with horse ham and pickles, many of my friends eat this. Plenty of Europeans eat pizzas, but the pizzas in Europe is different than those from the US. There is somebody who is French who said that French eat cheese and cake but not cheesecake. Then I repeat this to my French friends they said we do eat cheesecake!The British do eat fish and chips but the poor ones, but they are still Europeans even though they are poor!

Well different Europeans have different culture, even two Parisians can have two very different culture! It is your culture and your family and friends' culture who don't! There are Europeans who do!

I don't know where you get your information, but East Asians countries tend to drink more spirits (hard alcohol) than almost anybody else in the world, alongside East Europeans. Just look at those statistics. South Koreans have the highest consumption per capita (32 litres per capita per year, against 20 l for Russians). The Thai are 7th, the Japanese 11th and the Chinese 13th, and Filipinos 16th, well ahead of the US and all Western Europeans countries. The Chinese, Thai and Japanese drink in average 11 litres per capita per year, that's over twice more than the Scandinavians, Germans, Dutch, Belgian, French, British or Spanish (no data for Italy, but it can't be higher).

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Ok, the East Asians I know do not, except the men for political and social reasons. East Asians cannot absorb alcohol very well because of genetics.

According to official statistics, the French and Australians smoke almost exactly the same amount of cigarettes (about 1000 per adult per year), but over twice less than the Chinese and South Koreans, who rank respectively 9th and 15th worldwide. Even Japan ranks 21st, with 1,700 cigarettes per adult per year. So whatever your impressions, these are the facts.

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Yes, thanks to Neanderthal

As for Scandinavians smoking less, Denmark ranks 40th, Sweden 70th, Norway 94th and Iceland 95th for cigarette consumption. According to the CDC, California is the only state with Utah where less than 20% of men and less than 15% of women are cigarette smokers (well, as of 2002, it is even lower now).
Ok…

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As I said above, tobacco consumption is higher in lower class or less educated people. According to those EU stats, people who went to college or university smoke 2 to 3 time less than people who didn't go further than secondary school, and that is true for every European country surveyed.

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Hmmmm, I think it is because they have more stress in life than wealthy ppl. They were not born this way it is the environment they grew up with that made them this way.

For exercice, the EU has of course conducted detailed surveys like this one. Its conclusion (page 12) is that "Overall,citizens of the Nordic countries take sport the most seriously, with Sweden(72%), Finland (72%) and Denmark (64%) all outstripping the EU average of 40% forpeople exercising ‘regularly’ or ‘with some regularity’."

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I don't have data for the USA, but it's well-known that Californians are the most exercice addicts.

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I don’t about that. My relatives live in California. I've been there. A lot of fat people everywhere! They are near the Mexican ppl area. Yes, not a wealthy part of California. My friend is saying that it depends where you go, if I go to places like Hollywood I would see a lot of exercise freaks.

In southern China I have seen people with amazing skin - it looked almost unreal to someone who is used to Western European faces. Genetics surely contribute to this difference, but the Japanese & Koreans tended to have many problems with their skin as well. I think the main issue is that Westerners have very little idea of what a healthy lifestyle & diet really looks like. For example, in many parts of Asia people still eat the collagenous parts of animals that Westerners eschew. Same for the extremely nutrient dense offal used in many traditional dishes. 'Health-conscious' Europeans love chicken steak and whole grain - but these offer comparatively little in terms of nutrition.

Some far southern Europeans also age gracefully from what I've seen, but that my be due to better collagen retention and thicker skin in general.

Minty said:

No, East Asians look younger. The top factors for ageing quickly are: Stress, Sun Exposure, Smoking, Sugar, Lack Of Sleep, Alcohol and Lack Of Exercise.

East Asians of Mongoloid race having thicker skin, a feature evolved under the harsh environment of their ancestral land, which is in the north, mostly Siberia and the Arctic. Thicker skin could allocate more fat and prevent cold, thicker skin with more fat also delays the accumulation of wrinkles and age spots, that’s why east Asians looked younger than Caucasoid of the same age.

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neoteny is a mongoloid trait

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid#Neoteny

As with everything else, imo it's a combination of life style and genetics, but I think genetics is more important. Yes, I think it's important to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, drink a lot of water, get decent amounts of sleep, not smoke (especially not smoke), not drink excessively etc. Most people shouldn't bake in the sun either. Intelligent skin care is important as well, with a lot of moisturizing.

Still, good genes will come up trumps. My mother looked a good ten years younger than her chronological age, and she was one of those people who loved to bake in the sun. Even when she died in her sixties she barely had any wrinkles, fewer than some of my friends have in their forties. If your genetics tend toward thick skin with a lot of collagen, you're just not going to have the wrinkling and sagging that other people will get, or you'll get it much later.

In my experience, northwest Europeans, in particular, like the Irish, have very fragile skin easily prone to wrinkling, and a lot of them carry that gene. Italians have much younger looking skin for longer on average, even if their skin is on the fair side. East Asians have the best skin in that regard. The thickness of the skin is one important factor. Even a Chinese doctor I know told me that.

Speaking of getting sun and tanning, Americans of all social classes love a tanned look. That's why so many Americans, including our politicians, get spray tans now that knowledge of the dangers of tanning booths are so widespread. There are all sorts of jokes about it because they turn out rather orange looking.

Indeed, the tanned "California blonde" (even if the blondes are really brown haired by adulthood) was and still is a sort of icon of beauty here.



You can also see one of the other prerequisites for beauty: very white, very even teeth. That's one that I've absorbed, I have to say.

Neither one aged at all well for what it's worth. Fragile skin just gets so easily damaged by the sun.

It's also news to me that northern Europeans look at tanned skin as "low class". You mean those trainloads and trainloads of Scandinavians pouring out and onto the beaches where they strip and lie in the sun for hours are all low class?

Maybe someone should tell the Scandinavian royals.


@Bicicleur,
I've always been rather disturbed by East Asian erotic art; a lot of it looked almost pedophilic to me, but I guess it could be a celebration of their own physical traits only emphasized.

bicicleur said:

neoteny is a mongoloid trait

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid#Neoteny

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The skin of Asians turns darker and yellower with age relative to the skin of Caucasians

This I do not totally agree. At least it is not true for all of my East Asian families and friends. My cousin is turning more and more yellow and darker like honey coloured skin as she ages, however there are some other East Asian relatives of mine who are just as light as they have been when they were young!

Dr. George W. Gill, professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming and Dennis O'Neil professor of anthropology at Palomar College, said that "Mongoloid" concept originated with a now disputed typological method of racial classification.[153][154] All the -oid racial terms (e.g. Mongoloid, Caucasoid, Negroid, etc.) are now often controversial in both technical and non-technical contexts and may sometimes give offense no matter how they are used.[155]

According to Ward O. Conner who wrote a book about John Langdon Down, since people with Down syndrome may have epicanthic folds, Down syndrome was widely called "Mongol" or "Mongoloid Idiocy".[156] In reference to this, the term grew in usage as a pejorative. A shortened version of the term, Mong or Mongol, is also used in the United Kingdom.[157] Chong Yah Lim, professor of economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore said that he did not like the term "Mongoloid" because it has "come to mean demented physical and mental developments". Lim said that he thought the term "East Asian race" would be a more "appropriately neutral, modern term".

This I agree, so please stop using the word Mongoloid or Negroid!

Maciamo said:

I don't know where you get your information, but East Asians countries tend to drink more spirits (hard alcohol) than almost anybody else in the world, alongside East Europeans. Just look at those statistics. South Koreans have the highest consumption per capita (32 litres per capita per year, against 20 l for Russians). The Thai are 7th, the Japanese 11th and the Chinese 13th, and Filipinos 16th, well ahead of the US and all Western Europeans countries. The Chinese, Thai and Japanese drink in average 11 litres per capita per year, that's over twice more than the Scandinavians, Germans, Dutch, Belgian, French, British or Spanish (no data for Italy, but it can't be higher).

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I would like to elaborate this point!

Ok, the East Asians I know do not, except the men for political and social reasons. East Asians cannot absorb alcohol very well because of genetics. It is known as Asian Flush syndrome!

What is Asian Flush syndrome? Asian Flush syndrome is, as its name suggests, prevalent in Asia and common in people of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ancestry. The syndrome is caused by variation in two different genes. The first is a variant in the gene that encodes for an enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde. A whopping 80 percent of Asians have a gene variant that vastly increases the efficiency of alcohol conversion to acetaldehyde, by up to 100 times. So far so good. The second gene variant is for another enzyme called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) that metabolizes acetaldehyde, making it less efficient than normal. Acetaldehyde causes blood vessels to dilate resulting in the characteristic flush, and also raises the heart rate. Breaking down alcohol faster but taking longer to metabolize acetaldehyde leads to two important consequences. Firstly, you will likely not feel the much-hyped “buzz” that comes with drinking alcohol because your body breaks it down much faster than in others. Secondly, the alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde, which builds up in your saliva and hangs around in your body for longer than normal because of the second gene variation. And here’s the punchline: acetaldehyde is more toxic than alcohol and is a well-known carcinogen. Some people skirt around the issue by taking anti-histamines and other over-the-counter drugs to stop themselves from turning red. Even if such self-prescribed drug cocktails work, they only mask the effect and do not treat the cause. This is even more dangerous because it lulls drinkers into a false sense of security while the acetaldehyde continues to linger in their blood. In fact, research has shown that people who experience Asian Flush syndrome have a far greater risk of developing esophageal cancer and other digestive tract disorders. For example, someone with a single copy of the ALDH2 variant who consumes two beers a day has a ten-fold greater risk of esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is hard to detect and is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. And yet, public education about Asian Flush syndrome is desperately lacking. Granted, there have been large efforts to warn the public about the dangers of excessive drinking. However, for those dealt a poor hand in the game of genetics, even moderate drinking could be a potential health hazard. This is compounded by the expansion of the alcoholic beverage industry in Asia. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2012/10/features/red-faced-over-inaction-asian-flush-syndrome-2012/

East Asian people who drink age faster than those who don't! Nature vs nurture theory! I don't think it is purely genetics!

Angela said:

As with everything else, imo it's a combination of life style and genetics, but I think genetics is more important. Yes, I think it's important to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, drink a lot of water, get decent amounts of sleep, not smoke (especially not smoke), not drink excessively etc. Most people shouldn't bake in the sun either. Intelligent skin care is important as well, with a lot of moisturizing.

Still, good genes will come up trumps. My mother looked a good ten years younger than her chronological age, and she was one of those people who loved to bake in the sun. Even when she died in her sixties she barely had any wrinkles, fewer than some of my friends have in their forties. If your genetics tend toward thick skin with a lot of collagen, you're just not going to have the wrinkling and sagging that other people will get, or you'll get it much later.

In my experience, northwest Europeans, in particular, like the Irish, have very fragile skin easily prone to wrinkling, and a lot of them carry that gene. Italians have much younger looking skin for longer on average, even if their skin is on the fair side. East Asians have the best skin in that regard. The thickness of the skin is one important factor. Even a Chinese doctor I know told me that.

Speaking of getting sun and tanning, Americans of all social classes love a tanned look. That's why so many Americans, including our politicians, get spray tans now that knowledge of the dangers of tanning booths are so widespread. There are all sorts of jokes about it because they turn out rather orange looking.

Indeed, the tanned "California blonde" (even if the blondes are really brown haired by adulthood) was and still is a sort of icon of beauty here.

You can also see one of the other prerequisites for beauty: very white, very even teeth. That's one that I've absorbed, I have to say.

Neither one aged at all well for what it's worth. Fragile skin just gets so easily damaged by the sun.

It's also news to me that northern Europeans look at tanned skin as "low class". You mean those trainloads and trainloads of Scandinavians pouring out and onto the beaches where they strip and lie in the sun for hours are all low class?

Maybe someone should tell the Scandinavian royals.

@Bicicleur,
I've always been rather disturbed by East Asian erotic art; a lot of it looked almost pedophilic to me, but I guess it could be a celebration of their own physical traits only emphasized.

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I agreed with all of your posts except the last part.

Now, we East Asian ppl can't help that we look so young for our age.

Human sexual response is a complex combination of social, hormonal, physiological and psychological factors, most of which are poorly understood. Society plays a role in what is considered to be acceptable in sexual desire: religious beliefs, family values and upbringing all affect one's attitude to one's own feelings of sexual desire. Hormones play a role the massive surges in testosterone and oestrogen in adolescents that precedes sexual activity are overwhelming in the changes they bring about in the transition from youth to adult. Sexual desire is the first of three behvioural repertoires associated with reproduction: sex drive (to find a mate), attraction (to find the best mate) and attachment or love (to allow time successfully to reproduce).

It is rare to see teenagers already dating in East Asian cultures because we grow up slower because of our culture. Most East Asians will start to date after 18. We are already adults but we still look like teens. When I was 18 I looked like I was 13 and this babyish looking face stayed like this until late 20s. Only after 30 I start looking like I am like 20 but I am actually much older.

So despite of the fact that we still look so young we are already at that age of dating, then of course it has a ressemblance of paedophile like scenario for those who look much older!

This is an Italian origins famous actress in France.

http://www.sharenator.com/monica-bellucci-is-talented-and-sexy/



She is 52 years old! I am sure she takes care of her looks to look like that aside from the fact that the rest is due to her genes she inherited from her parents! Even if a person who is born with good genes, if this person were unlucky and has to live in poor conditions all her life, I am sure the environmental influences will alter her looks!

Monica prefers to eat fresh vegetables, fish, and meat. As an Italian, she likes the Mediterranean Diet, which is a well-balanced diet with amazing benefits. Chocolate and pasta are definitely her indulgences! The actress herself claimed that skincare products like La Prairie are her secret to fighting against that aging!

Minty said:

According to Ward O. Conner who wrote a book about John Langdon Down, since people with Down syndrome may have epicanthic folds, Down syndrome was widely called "Mongol" or "Mongoloid Idiocy".[156] In reference to this, the term grew in usage as a pejorative. A shortened version of the term, Mong or Mongol, is also used in the United Kingdom.[157] Chong Yah Lim, professor of economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore said that he did not like the term "Mongoloid" because it has "come to mean demented physical and mental developments". Lim said that he thought the term "East Asian race" would be a more "appropriately neutral, modern term".

This I agree, so please stop using the word Mongoloid or Negroid!

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I understand, but what term should we use then?
The term 'East Asian race' is not widespread and you have it a name everybody knows to be able to talk about the subject.

Old age cannot be avoided. Some organs and joints wear.
Unhealthy food or behaviour speeds the process of aging.

But als the rate of the cell split decreases. This is determined by DNA.
I'm sure other effects are also determined by DNA.

This is 63 year old Christie Brinkley



I think they kept her in a refirgerator for 20 years or so.

Some people are just blessed. This is Gigliola Cinquetti, an Italian singer. I always liked her: charming, lovely, no serial marriages, no scandal, a lady. She's in her late 50s in this picture.

A true redhead can Alan have dark eyebrows and eyelashes. Mine start ginger and go dark so it looks like they are tinted, born that way though. So all these folk saying true redheads have to have ginger lashes and brows are talking rubbish.

I think the way we look at age is a lot different than it was in let's say the 70s. Back then for example it was very accepted that an actress in her 40s will no longer get the movie roles she wants. I think it was Joan Collins in Dynasty at the age of 50 sort of changing that. Then came Tina Turner's big comeback at age 44.