The crowd at Wimbledon this year was as star studded as ever, with homegrown and across-the-pond talent turning up in droves for a slice of the action (and a chance to look effortlessly chic in head-to-toe Ralph Lauren, the official sponsor).
There were cameos from the likes of Ariana Grande, Idris Elba, Emma Watson, Hugh Jackman and our very own British royalty, but all anyone could talk about was the All-American royalty sat directly across from our future king, on the opposite side of centre court.
I am of course talking about Brad Pitt, the true monarch of youthfulness, long may he reign. Pitt’s appearance at Wimbledon, and earlier this week at the Silverstone racetrack, where he was filming scenes for an upcoming fictional F1 project, caused many to type the requisite “Brad Pitt age” into their search bars, only to marvel at the fact that the actor is just a few months shy of sixty years old. Sixty!
Without sounding like a new boyfriend trying to compliment your mother, he doesn’t look a day over thirty-five. If you take a look back at Brad at 35, in fact, he looks almost discomfitingly similar. This man discovered the fountain of youth, then played the character of a man who ages backwards just to laugh about it, because he is the man for whom time stood still.
So how does Brad Pitt look so good right now, even to the point where he looks younger than recent years? Well, ditching that long crop of hair and stubble he was sporting circa 2018 seems to have helped, according to Amish Patel, an award-winning aesthetics practitioner and skincare expert at Intrigue Cosmetic Clinic. "Brad Pitt has always been a classically handsome man with good bone structure,” he says, “but recently, it looks like he has lost the facial hair, which will instantly give him a more youthful appearance, especially as his facial hair will naturally show through some grey at his age. He also has a new hairstyle, giving him a more contemporary, youthful appearance.”
As for the skincare, we know some things for sure: Brad has quit drugs and drinking, as he admitted in his 2017 cover interview for GQ, in which he shared how he couldn’t “remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something." Brad is also a burgeoning skincare aficionado, having recently founded his own skincare brand, Le Domaine, so it’s likely that he does know what products to use and how much.
“Brad’s skincare is likely to include SPF to help prevent sun damage,” Patel says, “and it’s possible he may include retinol in his skincare, given the youthful glow.”
Plus, dental experts have spotted a change Brad’s winning smile as of late. “This time last year, Brad was sporting a very noticeable chipped tooth at the Bullet Train premiere in Leicester Square,” says dentist to the stars Dr Victoria Veytsman. “By January 2023, he had a significantly dazzling smile at the Golden Globes in LA. Alongside any potential facial tweakments Brad was displaying at Wimbledon this week, it’s important to note the difference his cosmetic dentistry has had on his anti-ageing looks. As well as fixing his chipped incisor, it’s reported that he has also given up smoking - a definite plus for a healthy, white Hollywood smile.”
And as for more invasive anti-ageing solutions, Patel weighs in. “I don’t believe he has had cosmetic surgery but it’s possible he may have looked at a few small dermal filler ‘tweakments.’ Facial fillers such as nose to mouth filler to soften lines or along the jawline to sharpen the jaw profile are popular with our male clients for refreshing the face but looking back through past images over the years, I can’t see any dramatic changes in Brad’s face and would put his more youthful appearance more down to a healthy lifestyle, a good haircut and a stylist.”
If you’re looking to replicate Brad’s eternal youthfulness, other experts advise that there’s only so much you can do without having his extremely fortunate genetic makeup. “Brad Pitt has naturally been blessed with good genes, and at 59 could well pass for a decade younger than he actually is in recent photos,” says Dr Ross Perry, medical director of Cosmedics skin clinics.
That being said, Dr Perry does agree that Pitt’s new short crop is helping him out. “The shorter messier haircut gives an almost boyish appearance than the longer locks we’ve recently seen him with.”
In terms of nips and tucks, “there’s no obvious signs of cosmetic surgery, however, I’d expect to see more lines and wrinkles for someone of his age. So I’d suggest that Brad has likely had some subtle tweakments to appear more youthful looking, like small amounts of Botox around the eyes to lessen the appearance of crows feet and also around the hairline and forehead for a smoother looking complexion.” Dr Perry also echoes Amish Patel’s assessment that filler may have been used around the mouth and cheek area to smooth out any obvious smile lines, though this is unconfirmed.
Ultimately, it looks like it comes down to three main things: genes, money, and SPF. We can’t do much about the first two, so get on that suncream hype while you can, and hopefully we’ll all be Benjamin Buttoning by 59.
