Something strange has been happening lately; every time I’m out with my mother, without fail, someone asks in earnest if we are sisters.
As a now 40-something, this is the type of occurrence that could potentially send one into a middle-aged emotional tailspin—but if you saw my mother, you’d know it’s impossible to be offended, in the least. She looks easily 10 to 15 years younger than her actual age, and frankly, is still in phenomenal physical shape (seriously, I’m trying to catch up).
Of course, my mother is no rarity. It has long been said that “black don’t crack,” as if our actual reparations are our ability to age at a significantly slower pace than our white counterparts. But while it’s long been believed that our increased melanin was the source of our prolonged youthfulness, recent research from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School says it’s far more than skin deep. In fact, it’s in our bones.
As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the study, published in JAMA Facial Plastics in April is titled “Long-term Patterns of Age-Related Facial Bone Loss in Black Individuals.” Researchers looked at the faces of six black men and 14 black women from all over the world between the ages of 40 and 55; their findings revealing the following:
