Our face is our first visual target for people meeting us. In our face other people read our thoughts, feelings, desires, like and dislikes. With ageing, tiredness or even with the side effects of food, medication, non-prescription drugs and alcohol – our face may well be portraying us as a different person to what we really are, or as we really want to be perceived.
If you want to look younger – then try cold therapy on your face. Cold packs (wrap them in a fine cloth so there is no direct skin contact) have a lifting and firming effect that is immediate. A twenty-minute cold pack application (you can use them as you are going to sleep at night if you are time short) can make a world of difference. One over the eyes and another across the side of the face from mouth to cheeks firms and lifts significantly. If you do it on a daily basis you will see a dramatic difference in a week.
Also take a close look at what you are taking into your system. Remember many drugs, both over the counter and prescription plus alcohol are muscle relaxants. Your face and neck are a network of muscles, and if you are inundating your system with muscle relaxants you will get a very relaxed face – think bags under the eyes, jowls, sad looking features, worry lines – i.e. the hound dog effect. Sleeping in the arms of Prince Valium or even Valerian each night (possibly washed down with a glass of vino) might be a short cut to sleep, but the impact on your system and face for the next couple of days will be dramatic.
If you don't look well, you also probably won't feel well, there is a bio feedback loop at work here. In fact it is so strong, that recent studies on the Facial Feedback Hypothesis tests have found that between 27% and 42% of participants in test groups of people for whom antidepressants proved ineffective, responded very favourably to botox, and had noticeable and enduring mood improvement post treatment.
You can quickly try this for yourself. Place a pencil in your mouth – how do you feel when you place a pencil between your teeth lengthwise, and then when you place it pointing outwards. Consistently, people who have the pencil placed lengthwise find jokes funnier, laugh more easily, feel happier as a result. It is that simple. Try putting a smile on your face whether you feel happy or not, and soon you will in fact feel happier too.
About the author
Rikki McDonald Grinberg (B. Soc Sc, Psychology; Grad Dip Criminology) owns and runs the Laughing Buddha Health Retreat and Ballina Beach Village. She specialises in mind, body and spirit, and works with hundreds of women looking to improve their health and fitness.
