Often mistaken for being older than you actually are? Spotted your first gray hair the other day? Having an existential crisis about the meaninglessness of life and/or which kind of soup you should heat up for supper? Whatever the reason you want to look a bit younger, you should know that you’re far from alone.
In order to do it right, we asked a bunch of experts — all of whom work with people’s looks in one way or another — how they’d suggest shaving a few years off your appearance. Let’s get to that youthful glow.
YOUR SKIN
Anthony Rossi, dermatologist: From a dermatological perspective, the appearance of youthfulness comes along with skin health and facial features. As we age, our skin can become depigmented — it can become weathered — so trying to rejuvenate the skin is quite helpful. The best (preventative) way to do this is to wear sunblock every day. That will help prevent more aging.
The other thing you can do are chemical peels to refresh the skin and use retinol to peel the skin. That can help improve fine lines and the texture of the skin. It also helps to promote new healthy skin growth.
Of course, we now have things like Botox and fillers, and they’re very useful. Botox is particularly helpful for reversing fine lines — it really does help give you a more youthful appearance: If you don’t have those static lines, then you won’t look as tired or old. We’re not reversing the clock — you won’t look like a fetus. But you’ll have the appearance of being younger, and people do notice.
YOUR FACIAL HAIR
Zain Nawaz, Dollar Shave Club’s resident beard expert: Keeping your beard short on the sides and long on the bottom tends to give you a younger-looking appearance, and it looks much cleaner. Moisturizing your beard also gives it a healthy look and a softer feel — I use beard oil after I shower. If you use beard oil after using a hydrating conditioner on your beard, it stays fresh all day long — it just smells so clean and feels super soft.
YOUR CLOTHES
Rayne Parvis, stylist: You can look younger by ditching any faded polo shirts, pleats and anything that doesn’t fit well. Trade them in for neutral colors, like dark blue, charcoal and black, and pair them with a well-fitted sports coat. In regards to denim, choose a dark wash (over a light wash, which can make people look like they’ve been wearing the same pair of jeans since Miami Vice was on the air) with no colored stitching or embellishments.
Square-toed dress shoes also add years to your appearance, so invest in some brown shoes with a slight point or rounded toe. Your choice of eyeglasses can also age you — the silver-rimmed ‘90s professor’ ones are outdated, so look for thicker black- or- brown-rimmed ones.
YOUR HAIRSTYLE
Angel Victor Prado, hairdresser: I recently came across an article about the attractiveness of men and the factors that go into it, and it was discovered that men who were well groomed (in terms of their haircut and facial hair) were found to be 30 percent more attractive than the ones who weren’t. I think most people would equate attractiveness to youth, so more haircuts and beard trims equal looking younger.
When you decide that your salt-and-pepper hair is looking too salty, I like to invoke a service called color camouflage. Color camo is a five to ten minute gray blending service that adds the right amount of pepper (depth) back onto white or gray hair. It can reverse the clock by at least five years. I also would use this service on guys who have fine or thinning hair who aren’t ready to part with it — this would create depth and the appearance of fullness.
As for thinning, these conversations can always be hard to have or come to terms with when you’ve exhausted all resources. Your best option is to go short: Embrace your inner action star and go bald. Otherwise, when in doubt, trust your hairstylist or barber’s opinion for length. When it comes to prevention, I recommend frequent decompression using your grooming routine as stress relief. Salon visits can’t be the only time you tend to your grooming needs: Take time to show your scalp and skin some TLC at home. I don’t often recommend minoxidil (a key ingredient in hair regrowth products) to clients unless they’re willing to commit to it long-term, otherwise results usually dissipate when use is discontinued.