Age-related skin changes are inevitable, but your daily habits could be speeding it up. According to an expert, everyday facial expressions, including frowning, nose scrunching, squinting, pouting and smiling, can gradually add years to your face by leaving wrinkles and fine lines.
Dr Gizem Seymenoglu, a London-based medical aesthetician, says muscle hyperactivity “definitely” contributes to facial ageing, specifically in the upper third of the face.
Below, Dr Gizem outlines 5 faces we might make every day that could quietly exacerbate facial ageing.
Frowning: The Worry Crease
Whether you’re stressed, frustrated, confused, lost in thought, or simply sad, chances are a frown has crept onto your face.
Unfortunately, according to Dr Gizem, this particular expression may leave you with the so-called forehead elevens, also known as “frown lines.”
“The skin between the eyebrows, known as the glabella, creases to form parallel vertical lines when you’re frowning or scowling. And if you have a habit of making these expressions quite often, this will eventually leave deep wrinkles and lines there because of muscle hyperactivity.
Of course, the effects of factors like ageing, stress, sun exposure, smoking and alcohol cannot be discounted, but frowning definitely accentuates these lines.
It is even possible to see them when your face is relaxed after a certain period of time,” the expert cautions.
Nose Scrunching: The Bunny Crinkle
Up next is the face we all pull when something grosses us out or gets under our skin, but this expression can be accompanied by nose wrinkles, also known as bunny lines.
“Have you ever seen the nose of a twitching bunny? That’s exactly where bunny lines get their name from. While several muscles play a role, the key player here is the nasalis muscle, which is what you use to flare your nostrils.
Now, skin ageing certainly contributes to bunny lines, but so does the repeated movement of the muscles in that area. The result is the appearance of horizontal and diagonal wrinkles that appear right on the bridge of the nose,” Dr Gizem explains.
Squinting: The Crow’s Talons
It’s hard to avoid squinting when you’re facing the sun, bright lights, struggling with your vision, smiling or even just looking suspiciously at something. Dr Gizem said:
“Squinting gives you crow’s feet, a weird-sounding word, but it’s because these lines resemble the talons of a crow. Basically, they are diagonal and horizontal wrinkles, also known as lateral canthal lines, that fan out from the corners of the eyes.
Orbicularis oculi, the round-shaped muscle encircling the eyes, is the one responsible for it. Though it helps protect the eyes by closing the eyelids, their repeated contraction can eventually cause wrinkles to form in that area.”
Pouting: The Sulk or Kiss Folds
Pouting isn’t just reserved for the classic duck face. People also do it when they’re upset or sulking. But that’s not all, as the lips naturally take on a pout for many other activities like kissing, sipping through a straw or whistling. However, this also comes with the risk of perioral wrinkles, according to Dr Gizem.
“The pouting or puckering of the lips is helped by the orbicularis oris muscle encircling the mouth. This is also the muscle that’s involved in kissing, which is why, unsurprisingly, it’s also called the kissing muscle. But, unfortunately, its constant contraction also contributes to forming vertical lip lines or lipstick lines.
These wrinkles are also referred to as “smoker’s lines,” and although they might appear worse in smokers as a result of collagen breakdown, bear in mind that even non-smokers can develop them.”
Smiling: The Trace of Joy
There is no expression more universal than smiling, but it also comes with its own imprint in the form of laugh lines or smile lines. According to Dr Gizem:
“The repetitive muscle contraction from smiling can deepen creases extending from your nose all the way to the mouth. These are technically known as the nasolabial folds.
But though muscle hyperactivity plays a role in their development, they are more the result of facial fat loss, as well as collagen and elastin breakdown.”
The expert further explained that as fat pads in the area separate and get displaced due to gravity and the loss of skin elasticity causes sagging, these folds start to become prominent.
How To Tackle Wrinkles and Fine Lines From Facial Expressions
Dr Gizem says it would be absurd to ask people to stop making these expressions, since they are fundamentally human. There are, however, a number of ways to smooth out or minimise the wrinkles and lines they leave behind.
“An excellent treatment option for dynamic wrinkles, which occur as a result of facial muscle movements, is Botox. Frown lines, bunny lines, crow’s feet and perioral wrinkles can all be treated with Botox as it prevents muscle contraction. And where there’s volume loss, as with nasolabial folds, dermal filler can help.
Laser resurfacing, chemical peels or dermabrasion may also be recommended depending on the problem, but getting in touch with an experienced professional is key.”
