A new study has uncovered the first genetic evidence explaining the difference between how old we look and how old we are, according to Unilever. Researchers from Unilever, in conjunction with Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam and other partners, made the discovery following a large collaborative study on aging.

During the project, more than 4,000 people were assessed for their youthful appearance in facial photographs, involving more than 100,000 assessments of perceived age. The team then examined more than 8 million variants in the DNA of the participants to investigate whether those who looked young for their age carried different variants to those who looked old for their age.

This first-of-its-kind research, published in the journal Current Biology, discovered that individuals with one form of a gene called MC1R looked two years older than those with a different form.

“This research is tremendously exciting and opens up brand new understanding of why some people maintain a more youthful appearance as they age,” said Unilever senior scientist and study co-leader Dr. David Gunn. “By learning the ‘secrets’ of those who look young for their age, we can find innovative ways to help everybody keep younger looking for longer in the future.”

Gunn noted “there is more work to be done, of course, but we are hopeful that this discovery could influence future product development and innovation at Unilever.”

Study co-leader Professor Manfred Kayser from Erasmus MC University Medical Center, added, “Discovering this first gene involved in perceived age is important, because it opens the door for identifying more, which we know exist, and we now know are possible to find. Our finding marks another step in understanding aging differences between people and provides new leads to identify the molecular links between perceived age, chronological age and biological age,” he explained. “The next step is to understand on the molecular level why looking younger implies that you are healthier, eventually allowing to comprehend healthy aging.”