Featured Image Credit: @bryan_johnson / X
Bryan Johnson is obsessed with looking as young as possible, yet he's willing to subject himself to the effects of aging in the pursuit of love as his trip to Australia – his girlfriend's home country – aged his skin by 5%.
He has already suffered through the effects of jet lag after the lengthy plane journey, yet Johnson has been noticeably impacted after just a single week in Australia, commenting on the 'older looking skin' of Australians as a whole.
"Australians have older looking skin," the infamous biohacker wrote on X, adding that "in one week, the Australian sun aged my skin by 5%."
While some of his other activities have used unconventional methods to improve his health and strive towards his goal of 'cheating' death, this is a relatively sensible assessment that's backed up by science.
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It's hard to deny the impact that exposure to the sun and UV radiation has on your skin, and it's why Johnson has whipped out an umbrella in the past despite there being no visible rain clouds in the sky.
Continuing on in his lengthy assessment of Australia's harmful weather conditions, Johnson asserts that the nation's '15% stronger UV' levels can leave fair skin burned in under 15 minutes, adding that two out of every three Australians suffer from skin cancer before the age of 70.
Australians have older looking skin.
— Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) June 19, 2026
In one week, the Australian sun aged my skin by 5%.
> 15% stronger UV; fair skin can burn in under 15 mins
> 2 in 3 aussies skin cancer before age 70
> 2-3x increase in melanoma risk vs USA
A study involving 1472 Caucasian and Asian women… pic.twitter.com/bQC1BkirjJ
"A study involving 1472 Caucasian and Asian women found that signs of skin aging appeared 10–20 years earlier in Australian women than in US women from the same study," Johnson notes, adding that "Australians self-reported higher rates of change and significantly more severe facial lines and volume-related features like tear troughs and naso-labial folds than women from the other countries."
He notes that he experienced the impact on his skin despite using an umbrella and protecting his face during 'peak UV', and indicates that much of the danger comes from the fact that Australia offers a 'perfect storm' for UV exposure.
"Thinner ozone overhead makes it stronger," the biohacker notes. "Cleaner air allows UV to penetrate deeper. High solar elevation angles due to its relatively low latitude, meaning sunlight reaches the surface more directly and passes through less atmosphere."
The dangers of these come both in visible skin aging and the risk of developing cancer, with Johnson noting that up to 90% of the aging we can see in the face is sourced from exposure to the sun and UV radiation.
"The sun is great," he admits, but adds that "you want the right amount. Not too much and not too little."
