Rob Lowe's 'ageless' look at 62 unmasked by longevity doctor

Rob shocked fans when he shared a shirtless photo alongside his son, revealing the effects of his exercise routine. However, while he is committed to remaining fit and active, Rob says he has had to adapt his workouts as he's got older. "What has changed is I have to force myself to take recovery days, because as you get older, the recovery is crucial and that kills me.

 "You also have to think about injury, because you don't come back so quickly from injury [at my age]. Those are things you don't think about when you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s."

According to Charlie Cox, longevity doctor and nutrition expert at Reborne, staying committed to fitness could be a key reason why Rob is still so youthful.

"Exercise is genuinely one of the most powerful interventions we have in longevity medicine, and the evidence for this is now overwhelming. Regular physical training attenuates sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass that begins in our thirties and accelerates significantly after fifty. It preserves VO₂ max, which is one of our strongest independent predictors of all-cause mortality," Dr Cox told Best Quality Designer Handbag .

"It reduces systemic inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, and supports cardiovascular and cognitive health simultaneously. When I look at someone like Rob Lowe at 62, what I'm seeing clinically is likely a preservation of lean muscle mass, good metabolic health, and low inflammatory burden, all of which are direct downstream effects of consistent training over decades. 

"No pharmaceutical intervention comes close to replicating what sustained exercise does across that many biological systems at once."

Rob's workouts include a mix of strength training and cardio, and he has a surprising song of choice for more challenging moments - Survivor's Eye of the Tiger. Admitting it's "the cheesiest thing in the world," Rob told People: "You can't go wrong. If I want to knock off a set of 20 or go for a max bench press, I've got to have that on. You're not raw dogging and doing your max bench press [without that song]. That's not happening."

According to longevity expert Dr Cox, it is Rob's consistency and dedication to his routine that make it so effective.

"There's an enormous cultural appetite for novel interventions, peptides, cold therapy, biohacking protocols, and some of these have genuine merit. But the data consistently shows that the compounding effect of ordinary habits maintained over time is what drives biological age outcomes," he says. 

"Consistency of sleep, of movement, of stress regulation, these are what build the physiological reserve that determines how you age. We use objective biological age assessment, and what we see clinically is that the patients who age most gracefully are rarely those who did anything extreme. They're the ones who didn't stop."

While Rob has been the subject of speculation about whether he's had plastic surgery, he says the secret to his youthful appearance is actually down to good sleep.

“I get tons of sleep. Like, an embarrassing amount. I don’t want people to think something is wrong with me. It’s a lot of sleep, not 12 hours. But if there’s ever 12 [hours] to be had, I’m taking it.

"I have it down to a science," he continued. "The eye mask, the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. And I’m gone."

Nutrition is also a key part of how Rob takes care of himself. He has previously fronted campaigns for the Atkins diet, and says he tries to limit his sugar and carbohydrate intake.

"It makes a big difference," he said. "You’re only as good as what you eat."

According to nutritionist Esra Soylucicek, diet can also play a big role in ageing well. 

"Diet has a profound and underestimated influence on the ageing phenotype, and I mean that in a very measurable sense. Nutritional status directly affects cellular repair mechanisms, mitochondrial function, skin integrity, hormonal balance, and inflammatory pathways. What someone eats in their forties and fifties is quite literally determining the biological scaffolding of their sixties and seventies," she told us.

"We know, for example, that diets high in refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods drive glycation, a process where sugar molecules bind to collagen and elastin, making skin less supple and accelerating visible ageing. Conversely, adequate protein intake, micronutrient density, and anti-inflammatory dietary patterns support the very mechanisms that keep us looking and feeling vital. Diet isn't cosmetic, it's structural."

Rob has made slight shifts to his appearance over the last few years, experimenting with a clean-shaven look as seen here in 2020, along with a slightly shorter hairstyle. However, hairstyles aside, the actor has barely changed. He denied undergoing plastic surgery during a chat on his podcast, but said he doesn't judge others for doing it.

“I’m a big believer in everybody has the best within them that they can bring out, however they want to do it. Whether it’s spiritually or physically or whatever. And if you want better hair, go get it."

Running plays a regular part in Rob's exercise routine, and he was pictured jogging through Los Angeles back in 2015. Speaking to People, the 62-year-old previously said he has some particular requirements when he goes out for a run, explaining: "If I'm out on a run, I don't want music in. I want to hear the wind. I want to hear my feet. Also, I don't want anybody sneaking up on me from behind."

This picture may have been taken over 15 years ago, but Rob has hardly aged at all. The most noticeable differences to his appearance are in slight changes to his hair and facial hair, showing that his commitment to a healthy lifestyle is paying off.

While some of Rob's ageless look may be down to his genetics, Dr Cox says his lifestyle likely also plays a big role.

"Twin studies suggest genetics account for somewhere in the region of 25 to 30 per cent of longevity variation, which means the majority is attributable to modifiable factors. Where genetics does play a meaningful role is in predisposition: how efficiently someone clears oxidative stress, their baseline inflammatory tone, telomere dynamics," he explains.

"Someone with a genetic predisposition towards accelerated cardiovascular ageing, for instance, can intervene aggressively and effectively once they know. Genetics loads the gun; lifestyle largely determines whether it fires."

Back in 2000, Rob sported slightly longer dark hair than he does now. By this time, Rob had been sober for around ten years, another factor he credits to supporting his well-being. As part of his sobriety journey, the actor said he often writes gratitude lists to express thanks for all of the great things he has in his life.

"Some things never change. My family, our health, my sobriety. And then I go into my dogs and the ability to do a job that I love," he said.

One of the most drastic changes to Rob's appearance throughout his extensive career was probably in 1995, when he sported this moustache.

Rob gained worldwide fame in 1985 with the release of the film St. Elmo's Fire. Then just 21, Rob rocked a classic eighties look with longer curled hair and a statement earring. Yet he's still recognisable as the Hollywood icon who we still see regularly on both the big and small screens today.