Black Don’t Crack

We’ve all heard and seen shining examples of the age-old adage, “black don’t crack.”

Thanks to good genes, lots of ultraviolet ray-shielding melanin, natural oils and some say the grace of God — many black folk enjoy a youthful appearance way past the age others start to experience winkles, age spots and sagging skin.

Well, that notion was part of Allure’s first-ever anti-aging survey in the April 2013 issue, and the results show that most African Americans do indeed celebrate their age-defying looks.

The monthly publication polled 2,000 women and men on the modern perception of aging attitudes and behaviors. The survey yielded interesting insights about sex (it gets better as you get older), the ideal age (everyone wants to be 31) and going gray (we’re not fans), to name a few. And when it comes to which ethnicity thinks they age the best? African Americans have that in the bag.

The survey found that 86 percent of the African-American participants thought that they aged the best, compared to 81 percent of Asians, 53 percent of Hispanics/Latinos and 46 percent of Whites/Caucasians. We clearly don’t lack self-esteem.

More fab findings from Allure’s survey:

  • 64 percent of black women say they aren’t worried about the physical signs of aging
  • 81 percent of black women think they look younger than other woman their age
  • 65 percent of black women have no intention of considering anti-aging treatments or procedures in the future

In addition, African-American women also believe that a woman stops looking sexy around the age of 64. That’s approximately 10 years past the sexy “expiration date” given by the rest of the survey participants.

What do you think about the findings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. And make sure to flip through the slideshow below for the “Black Don’t Crack” gallery of our favorite age-defying, over-the-hill stars.