How Old is Your Skin Really?

This ingenious beauty quiz was originally created for ‘The Mind-Beauty Connection’ by Amy Wechsler, M.D, Axel Goetz, M.D, Ph.D, and Harriet Imrey, Ph.D, to find out the exact age of your skin. These researchers working with RealAge, an anti-aging website in San Diego went over a decade's worth of deep-reviewed scholarly papers to discover a scientifically valid way to measure how old you really are, as opposed to how old you look.

The Guidelines
Before you start with the quiz, wash your face and pat it dry, rubbing a moisturizer later. Now look into the mirror without smiling and start with the test. Towards the end, add up your score using the help box below and get the true age of your skin.

(Note: You must be between the ages of 27 and 81 to get a valid result.)

Lets Start:

1) Is the skin on your cheeks (or forehead) smooth or sagging?
A. Smooth
B. Somewhat sagging
C. Sagging a lot

2) Can you see bags under your eyes?
A. No
B. Small ones
C. Distinct bags

3) Are your upper eyelids drooping, almost touching your upper lashes?
A. No
B. Slightly
C. Yes

4) Can you see fine lines on your forehead and/or on cheeks?
A. No
B. Some
C. Yes

5) Can you see deep wrinkles on your cheeks?
A No
B. Some deepening wrinkles
C. Several deep wrinkles

6) Do you see smile lines leading from the corners of your nostrils to the corners of your mouth?
A. No
B. Yes, soft lines
C. Yes, very clear lines

7) Can you identify crow's feet at the outer corners of your eyes?
A. No
B. Slight lines
C. Marked lines

8) Can you spot wrinkles under your eyes?
A. No
B. Yes, fine wrinkles
C. Yes, very clear wrinkles

9) Are there any frown lines running horizontally across your forehead and/or vertically between your eyebrows?
A. No
B. Yes, slight lines
C. Yes, distinct lines

10) Do you see fine vertical lines above your upper lip?
A. No
B. Yes, a few
C. Yes, clearly

11) Do you see fine vertical lines on your lips?
A. No
B. Few
C. Many

12) Do you have small red dots or uneven coloring on your face?
A. No
B. Some dots or uneven coloring
C. A lot of dots and uneven coloring

13) Can you spot any milia on your forehead or cheeks (milia are the small bumps that look like little whiteheads but don't go away)?
A. No
B. Yes

Now determine your skin's exact age
To figure out how young or old your skin really is, circle the points for each of your answer, adding them up later.

1. a=0; b=3; c=6
2. a=0; b=1.5; c=3
3. a=0; b=1.5; c=3
4. a=0; b=1.5; c=2.5
5. a=0; b=1; c=2
6. a=0; b=0.5; c=1.5
7. a=0; b=0.5; c=1.5
8. a=0; b=0.5; c=1.5
9. a=0; b=0.5; c=1.5
10. a=0; b=1; c=2
11. a=0; b=1; c=2
12. a=0; b=7; c=14
13. a=0; b=5

Answer to Your Skin Query

Total Points + 27 = True Age of Your Skin

So did your skin turn out to be younger, equal to, or older than your chronological age?

If this quiz has shown that your skin is younger to your age, try to maintain the lead. If it's older, don't panic. It’s never too late to start looking after your skin. Because the longer you neglect your complexion, the bigger difference you will see when you take this quiz six months from now.