How to Prevent Wrinkles Caused by Technology (Your iPhone is Aging You!)
As technology evolves, so should your skincare routine – more specifically, your arsenal of strategies on how to prevent wrinkles. It’s not that your smartphone, laptop and eReader are evil per se, but from a beauty standpoint they’re giving you wrinkles in the sneakiest way possible: Through your everyday routine, where you’re so focused on what you’re doing you become totally oblivious to how your screen of choice is scrunching up your face. (Cue “Psycho Strings.”)
Ladies, it’s time to fight back. Here are 3 ways technology is aging your skin – and how to prevent wrinkles before your smartphone refuses to take selfies:
1. Computer face
We all have a specific face we make when we’re deeply focused on something – experts call this our “computer face” or “smartphone face.” It’s kind of like a repetitive stress injury for our skin: Any repetitive facial movement (like frowning, squinting, or tensing your mouth) overworks your facial muscles and creates a groove under the skin’s surface. Over time, this groove turns into a wrinkle.
Learn how to prevent wrinkles by getting into the habit of relaxing your face. Starting at your chin and working your way up to your forehead, gently massage your face using small circular motions with both sets of fingers. If you tend to clench your jaw when you’re focused, open your mouth and move your jaw to the right for a few seconds, then to the left, repeating about five times on each side. Smiling is also a great way to ease tension in your face, especially in your cheeks, eyes and lips. Hold your smile for a few seconds, then relax. Repeat five times.
2. Squinty eyes
“Whether it’s from the glare on our screen, our eye sight, or trying to read small print on small screens, our brows are furrowing and our foreheads don’t look happy about it,” says Marie Delcioppoo, health and wellness expert, and owner of Lush Vitality. In the process, we’re exhausting our eyes and stretching the already delicate layer of skin around them.
Delcioppo suggests being mindful of how you sit: “Make sure you’re not doing the whole ‘lean in’ thing.” Sit all the way against the back of your chair so you’re not straining your neck and face. Zoom in to enlarge fonts and images. “Also, set your phone alarm for every two to three hours to get up, take some deep breaths, and stretch/move around when you’re logging hours in front of the computer,” says Delcioppo. “This helps with circulation and eases eye strain.” Give your eyes a breather from the screen every 20 minutes or so by simply focusing on your surroundings, and adjust your screen’s brightness so it’s not as glaring. Sayonara, squinting!
3. Tech neck
Tech neck is this lovely annoyance that causes lines, wrinkles, double chins and (gasp!) sagging jowls to form – and all from how frequently you look down at your smartphone or tablet. Fun, right? In terms of how to prevent wrinkles, focus on keeping your posture in check and try not to look down at your phone as much. Instead, hold it up so you’re looking straight into it and not having to bend your neck. Also make sure your computer monitor, laptop screen, or tablet screen are at eye level when you use them.
Finally, here are two uber-useful exercise ideas on how to prevent wrinkles:
- Kiss the ceiling. Stretch your neck back and pucker your lips. This will put muscles to good use that might otherwise weaken and start to sag.
- For a quick and dirty neck workout, move your head from side-to-side, and hold for several seconds.
How savvy are you when it comes to how to prevent wrinkles?
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Image: Lonely Pine
