: Well, this is my surmising, but it may be due to his immense age.

: Not being quite as good with dates as some others, I am not sure just how much older Cirdan would be, but he is certainly the oldest elf we know about in Middle-Earth. He never really bathed in the light of the trees, which means that he would be pretty weary of Middle-Earth by the Third age. This could be why he looks so old, and has a beard.

: The next oldest elf in my humble opinion would be Galadriel. However, she spend much of her time in Aman, so maybe she hasn't aged nearly as much. Elrond by comparison is a mere stripling.

Cirdan may have awoken at Cuivienen (though I couldn't confirm this). Galadrial was born in the Year of the Trees, but there's no real way to tell how old that makes her since her father, Finarfin was also born in the Year of the Trees along with many others. Elrond was born in 540 First Age.

-RR