‘People mistake me for my son’s girlfriend, much to his dismay’

Women who claim they’re regularly mistaken for being much younger than they really are have shared their skin and lifestyle secrets – including a mother who is often ‘mistaken for her son’s girlfriend’.

From diet to good genes, this group of youthful-looking females, ranging from their 30s to their 70s, claim that others often find it hard to figure out their true ages.

Not only that, but many of them say that refusing to ‘act’ old is another factor in looking and feeling young, more so than resorting to costmetic treatments like Botox. 

A woman in her 70s shimmied into a sequined LBD for a photo shoot, while a 60-year-old says she walks miles a day with her dogs after reinventing herself during lockdown made her feel ‘much younger than she is’. 

A 44-year-old woman who owns her own CBD company credits the compound for her age-defying looks, so much so that she started to sell it to others. 

In a world where women are bombarded with adverts for creams promising to turn back the clock, and celebrities post #throwbackthursday pictures harking back to their ‘glory days’, these women are determined to show that growing older is not a negative. 

FEMAIL asked real women how they felt about getting older, and the tricks they use to feel youthful – as they insist that ageing doesn’t mean a purple rinse perm and hanging up your exercise gear.  

I’m mistaken for a much younger woman when I’m out and about 

Theresa Castleman from the US is a 57-year-old grandmother, but she doesn’t look much different than when she was in her 20s. 

She credits ‘good genes’ for her looks and often gets mistaken for someone younger than she is when out and about. 

Her skincare routine is simple. She doesn’t use soap or over-the-counter creams for her face but has been applying Noxzema classic skin cleansing cream – a product launched in the ’50s – for more than 35 years. 

She told FEMAIL: ‘I keep up with exercise, but I don’t have a special diet or anything. For me I think it’s good genes. 

‘My mother and grandmother both look much younger than they are.’ 

My secret is no junk food or fizzy drinks  

Pamela De Vera-Dulay is 36 and from the Philippines. She doesn’t wear sunscreen or use beauty products, becayse she can’t afford pricey creams and cosmetics as a mother-of-three. 

Like Theresa she says she is ‘lucky’ to have inherited ‘good genes’ from her mother, but also reveals she never drinks fizzy drinks. 

‘My mother also looks good for her age, but I think the key to looking young in my case is the fact that I don’t indulge in junk food and I drink a lot of water,’ she said.  

‘I never ever drink soda, just black coffee in the morning, I think having a happy, positive attitude helps you stay young.’ 

I still get asked for ID when I’m out  

Many Wong Oultram from Stoke-on-Trent gets asked for ID quite alot, despite being 40-years-old, and while she says genes may play a part in her looks, she reveals that her ‘siblings don’t get ID’d as much’. 

The personal trainer and nutrition consultant has a high protein, vegetable-rich diet and eats a lot of fish and chicken. 

She makes sure her plates are ‘like a rainbow’ and are always well-balanced, plus she drinks two to four litres of water a day. 

Mandy exercises regularly and says that being ‘healthy and happy is one of the biggest secrets to feeling young. 

I don’t leave the house without SPF 

Helen Tiernan, 60, a practice nurse from March, Cambridgeshire doesn’t leave the house without SPF. 

‘As well as good genes, I think that never leaving the house without SPF on has been a big factor in keeping my skin young,’ she said. 

‘I was very sleep deprived working late shifts in my 20s and 30s, but since being 21 I’ve never left the house without moisturiser and suncream. 

‘I use SPF15 in the winter and SPF30 in the summer. I also rarely wear make-up.’ 

People used to think I was my ex-husband’s daughter  

Jane Sconce, 60, a UK celebrant who lives in Spain, says that people find it difficult to ‘age her’. 

When she was with her ex-husband, she says people used to mistake her for his daughter because they didn’t look the same age.

The former NHS nurse credits a simple skin routine and healthy diet for her unlined features, as well as making a huge change to her life during lockdown. 

You wouldn’t think working with the dead would keep you young, but Jane says otherwise. 

The grandmother said: ‘I trained to do funerals and became a celebrant, after 40 years of being a nurse – it’s re-invigorated me.

She keeps herself a slim size 10 through staying active.  

‘I also walk my dogs for miles a day and climb mountains – I don’t feel 60, I feel 40,’ she said.  

She added: ‘I do make sure I wear SPF every day and eat a lot of salad.’ 

Jane said she ‘doesn’t have many grey hairs’, so she doesn’t have to cover them up with dye, and just gets highlights at the salon.

Of her attitude to getting older, she said: ‘It doesn’t bother me, I see it as an exciting new chapter of life and feel that younger people worry too much about getting older. I see 30-year-olds going on about how “old” they are, and I just laugh!’ 

People think I’m my son’s girlfriend  

Tracey, 51, from Essex runs her own salon and said that when she is out with her 36-year-old son, people often assume they are a couple, ‘much to his dismay’, due to her youthful looks. 

The single mother drinks four litres of water a day, and does a lot of exercise and meditation, as well as being a ‘huge fan’ of collagen supplements. 

She said: ‘Keeping young is definitely an attitude of mind and of body. I often get mistaken for someone in their early forties.’

Tracey has even created her own anti-ageing product – a Fresh Face Pillow which claims to prevent lines and wrinkles is used regularly.

‘When I’m in the make-up chair at work, I get compliments on my skin’ 

Kas Meghani, 55, from London who works in the film industry as a supporting actress, credits her diet and exercise regime for her skin.

The actress has been in hundreds of productions for film and tv companies over the years. 

She said: ‘When I’m in the make-up chair at work the MUA’s often comment on my skin and I often get mistaken for someone much younger.

‘I cleanse and moisturize daily and wear SPF factor 50 – as well as eating well and sticking to an exercise regime.

‘I also treat myself to a facial once a month and have recently started to use an LED face mask.

‘When I’m not at work, I don’t wear a lot of make-up just blusher and mascara.’ 

Carole Railton, 73, from South Africa says she often get’s mistaken for someone in their 50s and is proud of her ‘killer legs’. 

She refused to wear a granny cardigan and got herself into a glamourous LBD for a photoshoot. 

Carole told FEMAIL: ‘Until I had severe covid, that caused blood clots and pneumonia, I use to go to the gym three times a week. 

‘Currently I’m only doing a yoga class a week. I have good skin, even though I have lived in Africa and spent ages in the sun. 

‘I eat as best I can and hardly ever drink alcohol. I’ve only just started using skin creams and now I use natural cleansing and nourishing cream products.’

Giving up alcohol worked wonders for my skin 

Veronica Valli, 49, originally from Thetford in Norfolk, but now based in Nevada, has written a book, Soberful, on the benefits of giving up alcohol.  

She credits her alcohol-free lifestyle for her ageless skin and says she looks ‘ten years younger’.

She told FEMAIL: ‘I am about to turn 50 and look at least a decade younger. Most people think I am in my late 30s. I don’t have any special secrets. I’ve used Boots No7 face creams for years. 

‘The biggest reason I’ve aged well is because I gave up alcohol in my 20s. I never realized until I got into my 40s what a big pay-off that would be. 

‘I began to see a big difference in my peers and I thought it was because I had good genes, but then I realised what a massive impact alcohol has on your face over the years.’

I’m mistaken for my daughter’s sister 

Cate Boyd, from Liverpool, owner of Pretty Pea Protien, will be 49 next month and says that much to her 18-year-old daughter’s annoyance they always get ‘mistaken for sisters’. 

She says her good skin is down to staying out of the sun and intermittent fasting, and she has been a lifelong supplement user since childhood.

She said: ‘I’m vegetarian with a limited diet and did intermittent fasting/restricted eating – before I even knew it was a thing.’

I’m young at heart and upbeat 

Chloe Haywood, an entrepreneur 47, from London says that she often gets mistaken for being ten years younger than she actually is. 

She said: ‘My mum always looks good for her age so I’d say it’s partly genes but I am also young at heart and generally upbeat.’ 

Chloe has a vegetable-rich diet and only eats meat once a week. 

The mother-of-three doesn’t get the chance to exercise as much with a busy lifestyle, but takes good care of her skin, using the brand Upcircle for her skincare regime. 

Good genes keep me looking youthful  

Dr Samantha Madhosingh from the US is 54 and says it’s ‘good genetics’ that keep her looking youthful. 

The clinical psychology expert has a good diet and exercise regime and says she had the ‘best figure of her life’ at age 46.

The mother-of-one donned a skimpy carnival outfit that showed off her fabulous figure on a day out in 2015.

I was cast as a teenager in an advert 

Samantha Hiew, 40, from London  looks so young that she was chosen for a Nokia advert where they made her act like a teenager! 

The founder and director of an ADHD support group called ADHD Girls says that ‘basically I look like a teenager, although some have said those with ADHD look younger, maybe we do?’ 

She told Femail: ‘Having a job that I love also helps keep me young, along with good genes. I don’t use creams. 

 I’m trying to learn to love my greys but have a young face

Astra Kass, 36 from Norfolk says that throughout her life she’s had comments about her age and is fortunate to look younger. 

She doesn’t have any specific diet and ‘eats what she wants’. 

Astra told FEMAIL: ‘I think I’ve aged quite gracefully and that’s helped me embrace those sexy silver strands. 

‘As I’ve got older I’ve got more self-conscious and noticed that a lot of people are having cosmetic procedures done, and I have at times put mascara in my hair to hide the greys. 

‘I’ve noticed that a lot of my friends are now starting to put unfiltered photos on Facebook which is always healthy in my opinion. I think about how filters affect the lives of young and pre-teen girls.’ 

CBD is the reason people can’t believe I’m in my 40s 

Vicky Borman from St Neots is 44 and a mother to three boys who are 18, 15 and 10. 

She is passionate about hemp, so much so that she started her own business CBD Angels, and credits the compound for keeping her looking and feeling young. 

She says that she lives a a very natural, alternative way of life, has a vegetarian diet and works out regularly to keep herself in shape.  

Vicky told FEMAIL: ‘I’m really passionate about CBD and credit it with all the positive changes in my life.

‘I am constantly questioned about my age people are usually flabbergasted when I tell them that I am 44 and I have an 18-year-old.’ 

I swear by Nivea moisturiser  

Lucie Mountain from the UK is 41 and will be 42 next month, but people often mistake her for being in her early to mid-thirties. 

She says she takes after her aunt and grandmother when it comes to looking after her skin and swears by Nivea moisturiser. 

She said: ‘I think predominantly it’s down to genes though, as both my mum and gran look a good 10 years younger than their age.’

My pescetarian diet is good for my skin  

Kate Tynan, 44, from Manchester says that people always tell her she doesn’t look her age. 

She says it’s likely due to her pescetarian diet, not smoking and exercising regularly. 

The owner of Little Button Bakery in Manchester says that she doesn’t use any particular products except for Beauty Pie and doesn’t have a strict regime when it comes to skin. 

I eat lots of fruit and get plenty of sleep  

Viva O’Flynn from the Philippines is 40 and says when she goes out with her mother people think they are sisters.

She says it’s all down to diet and eats fruits strawberries, blueberries, mangos and bananas regularly. 

She said: ‘I keep hydrated and drink water regularly. I get sufficient sleep. 

‘I’m originally from the Philippines and I’d say I have good genes. My mother looks like she’s my sister.’ 

I think it’s because I’m on my feet all day as a teacher

Louisa Florence, 34, from King’s Lynn says she says she is always mistaken for being younger and thinks it’s because she gets a lot of exercise from being on her feet all day as a teacher. 

She told FEMAIL: ‘I always get ID’d and sometimes I think it’s because I have small boobs! 

‘I was quite sporty during my school years, but that all went out the window when I went to uni and had four cans of Redbull a day!’