How In My 50s I Reversed My Skins Biological Age By 18 Years As A High

George Orwell taught us that, ‘at 50, everyone has the face he deserves’. Now, in a suitably Orwellian development, futuristic technology is about to tell me whether this is true.

I’m testing out a new AI-powered facial scanner which claims it can ­determine a person’s ‘skin age’ – how old they should be from the quality of their complexion alone.

Apeer is a Danish dermatological brand offering this service for free. But there’s no return flight to Copenhagen needed. Instead, the whole procedure is carried out virtually when I upload a single selfie online.

Apeer uses software platform Skin.AI to analyse 150 ‘unique multidimensional ­biomarkers’ and than 15 ‘skin health and beauty metrics’ on every photo.

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Basic translation: it can assess redness, pore quality, hydration, wrinkles and acne. How, you may well ask? Well, Haut.AI has access to a vast database of 3million facial images – from women of all ages – with which to compare yours. Then, voila, it delivers its verdict, for better or worse.

I heard about Apeer’s device from a mob of furious, well-groomed women, indignant to have been told their skin age matches their actual age, despite their devotion to expensive lotions, potions and tweakments. ‘You have to do it,’ shrieks a pal. ‘I need to know I’m not alone in looking my bloody years.’

I’ve had my face scanned before and usually am told I look a lot younger without make-up. But, this time – given the degree of tech involved – I assume I will be just as disgruntled by my results as my fellow beauty aficionados.

The following morning, in my pyjamas – at 54 and with a cold – I scrape back my hair (random strands can be mistaken for ­wrinkles), apply moisturiser and cover up a mole (which skin scanners mistake for acne). Other than this, I am baldly ­bare-faced when I take my shot.

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I press send, which is followed by an ­ominous ten-second pause as Apeer makes its assessment. Then – result! – I learn my score. I’m told my skin age is 36, despite being a germy mid-50s.

The attached report shows a breakdown of my imperfections across several marked-up images: a little redness on my nose from blowing it, slight pore congestion in my T-zone, almost no wrinkles bar the furrow I have on one side of my forehead ­(taking me to ‘99 per cent unlined’) and no acne (‘100 per cent clear’).

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Rating almost 20 years below my real age feels generous, to say the least. Perhaps my result issues from my pallor, given that humans – and presumably computers – associate paler faces with youth?

The analysis is certainly detailed – I hadn’t even clocked my forehead pores under a magnifying mirror. But, still, can one’s agereallybe guesstimated from a selfie?

Either way, the friend who prompted me to do the test demands I tell her what I ‘do’ to attain such a spring chicken-ish score. Readers, here it is.

Skincare

I put my skin’s relative springiness down to two things: genes and vampiric sun avoidance.

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For someone who tests beauty wares for free, regime-wise I am disciplined but basic. In the morning, I cleanse with a sweep of Avène’s Tolérance Extremely Gentle Cleanser (£20 for a 400ml bottle,amazon.co.uk), cosseting even on the most reactive skin. Then I apply a layer of (any) face oil for added moisture. After this comes sunblock, even if indoors.

I started adding SPF 30 to my Olay moisturiser in my mid-20s; today, it’s proper SPF 50 daily. Right now, I’m wearing Hello Sunday’s light-in-texture The Everyday One SPF 50 (£13.50,boots.com).

At night, I cleanse obsessively. First, I use Monu’s gentle Micellar Water (£31.90,monushop.co.uk) to remove make-up; next it’s a rinse-off oil cleanse (currently Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice Moisture Cleansing Oil, now £15.20,boots.com). Finally, I wield my Avène lotion again until every last scrap of slap and sunblock has vanished.

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Then, I apply any decent serum that’s knocking about, whether that’s by purse-friendly The Ordinary or someone swanky. I look for collagen-boosting peptides as an ingredient.

I don’t depend on the two products middle-aged women are taught to rely upon for turning back the clock: vitamin C by day and retinol by night.

I’ve dabbled for testing ­purposes, but my feeling is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I don’t use eye cream unless slumped and exhausted, at which point Perricone MD High Potency Growth Factor Firming & Lifting Eye Serum (now £51.20,john lewis.com) is a great all-rounder. Commercial skincare experts are always hugely disappointed by my low-maintenance, ­low-cost, no-frills routine.

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Dermatologists invariably approve: beyond basic maintenance, the less you do to your skin, the less ­sensitised it is.

Tweakments

I am extremely conservative about what I ‘do’ in terms of tweakments – avoiding anything new-fangled that hasn’t been tried and tested for years.

Since my late 30s, I’ve been having lower-face Botox with the genius Dr Michael Prager every few months to prevent my painful teeth-grinding and maintain a youthful jawline (from £700,drmichaelprager.com).

Botox weakens overactive jaw muscles, decreasing clenching. At the same time, it provides lift in the entire lower-face area, where ­otherwise I would have jowls heading southwards. But we never lose sight of my actual face, monitoring matters twice a year.

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A couple of times Dr Prager has given me a small amount of filler. Most recently, this was his ‘liquid facelift’ (from £849), inserting a cannula up along the side of my face, or hairline, going under the muscle to raise it. It felt strange than painful.

I loved the effect, but – knowing how filler stays in the face – I imagine he’ll make me wait another ten years before doing it again. And quite right too.

And that’s it. No salmon sperm, no thread lifts, no ‘vampire’ regenerations or home tech like LED masks.

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Diet

I gave up alcohol 11 years ago and people could see the difference in my complexion within days. Without all that sugar and dehydration, I lost my ‘booze face’.

Until that point my skin was hollow and shrunken about the eyes, but also constantly bloated.

As a vegetarian since my teens, I easily exceed the recommended 30 different vegetables per week.

I now try to eat some fish too, especially salmon, which – like berries – gives the complexion a boost.

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My protein comes largely from nuts; full of face-feeding vitamins, minerals and good fats. Daily, I devour Linwoods Milled Flaxseed with Bio Cultures & Vitamin D (£4.40,sainsburys.co.uk) on top of kefir, not only for protein, but also vitamin D. Skin requires vitamin D for its barrier function and cell renewal. For supplements, if I remember, I take iron, vitamin B and linseed oil.

I am perimenopausal, taking HRT. I didn’t notice a facial change when I started using it, because I still have a cycle so hadn’t let my hormones crash, but I am convinced it stops my skin shrivelling.

And I’ve never dieted, so I retain the volume upon which facial structure depends. When I inadvertently lost a stone last year, reduced collagen and elastin lead to dullness, hollowness and ­sagging. Faces need (some) fat.

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Make-up

I favour barely-there complexion concealers. My arsenal includes Beauty Pie’s ingenious Superluminous Under-Eye Correctors and Superluminous Violet Brightening Booster (£12 for members,beautypie.com) for a no-make-up look.

TirTir’s Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation (from £12.50,sephora.co.uk) is my daily fix: four tiny swipes for outstandingly radiant, yet real-looking skin. While MAC Studio Radiance Serum-­Powered Foundation (now £27,maccosmetics.co.uk) is my ride-or-die should greater coverage be required.

At 54, if hormones or lack of sleep mean I don’t wake up with 30-something skin, I’m delighted to fake it ‘til I make it.

To find out your skin age, visit apeerbeauty.co.uk/ pages/skin-test

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