Help - I am young and want to look my age!

I understand your concern, we hear it every day in our Dallas skin care spas.
Three suggestions:
Wear sunscreen built into your moisturizer, 365 days a year, rain or shine, inside or out. (You still get sun damage if you're next to windows in your home or office!)
Since you're young, you need to find one that's light weight and won't clog the pores. Renee Rouleau Daily Protection SPF 30 (www.reneerouleau.com) is our best selling product because it's so light.

You must be using a good antioxidant serum. Vitamin C is my favorite. It's a must for brightening the skin, and preventing aging.

And lastly, check out all of the mineral foundation makeups that they have out night. They are lightweight, and more importantly, "light reflective" so they give your skin a luminous glow. It's the perfect way to "fake" having flawless skin.

But don't be too hard on yourself. We are all our own worst critic!

Hi Erika,

I see that you are writing from the Philippines.  This may be why you are getting comments that you look older than your boyfriend (who is probably the same age as you.)

Asians in general look much younger than their age, relative to European ethnicities.  In general, we have more fat in our faces which makes us look like we still have baby fat in our faces.  Interestingly, many Asian women look to make their faces thinner in order to look more "attractive" and less like a "teenager."

My suggestion to you is not to do anything to your face, in regards to facial cosmetic procedures.  If your face ages prematurely in the futures, meaning in your 40's, then these options are available to you.  But, just as you would not tell a 12 year old girl with baby fat to have liposuction on the face or body, you are too young to start on a course of facial rejuvenations procedures, which will most likely require some upkeep for the rest of your life.

The first thing you may consider is not to wear any makeup.  Women who wear make up can be mistaken for someone much older.  If you look at teen models, or children's beauty pagents (think Jon-Bennett Ramsey) you can see how make up can make someone who is obviously a child look much older than their age.  The second thing that women begin to do as the mature is to pluck their eyebrows.  Most pictures of teenage girls reveal that they have not started to pluck their eyebrows.  You may not like that look, but the basics of making a woman more attractive involve makeup, eyebrows, and hairstyle.  If you have a very sophisticated appearance you will look older than your boyfriend, especially if he only wears jeans and a tee-shirt.

Since age is relative you could probably make him wear a suit or sports jacket, and that might make him look a bit older.

I think these two things would help make you look younger.  If you are not wearing makeup or shaping your eyebrows, then there may be another factor which makes you look more mature. 

In the Filippino population, there are people who look more Chinese and some who look more Caucasian/Spanish.  In general, the more Caucasian features may be considered more attractive in particular the eyelids.  Asian eyelids tend to have a very small eyelid crease or no eyelid crease at all (which is rare in your culture.) Deep-set Caucasian eyelids show much more eyelid and may be considered more attractive.  This is why many Asians will get "Double Eyelid" Surgery to Westernize, but more importantly show a little more eyelid than they had before.  This helps when women are wearing makeup.

If your boyfriend looks more Asian, and you look more Caucasian, you will most likely look more mature than him.

Let's compare Cindy Crawford as a teenager to JonBenet Ramsey as a child  beauty queen contestant.

Cindy Crawford did not have the characteristic deep set eyes that she is known for now.  She has "puffy" eyelids, and actually does not have much eyelid showing at all.  In some ways, JonBenet looks older and more mature in her photos than Cindy does as a teenager.  Also note how the lack of eyelid showing is similar to how Asian eyelids naturally occur.

If you have eyelids similar to Jennifer Barrientos, Miss Philippines 2008 representative to the Miss Universe Pagent, then you most likely have very beautiful eyes, although more mature looking. 

In comparison, we can look at Sarah Geronimo, a well known Philippines pop star, who is also 20 years old, and she looks more typical Asian/Chinese.  She looks younger, although one could argue that Ms. Barriento is more "beautiful."

Most young women seeking facial plastic surgery, look to change their eyelids from "puffy" or as I like to say "full" to a more deep set appearance, by showing more eyelid.  This will create a more "mature" appearance, which is helpful for women when wearing eye makeup.

This would be the opposite of what you are looking to achieve.

A bit off the subject, but I think your question was very interesting.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer it.

It's a mixed blessing.

Best,

Dr. Yang