The Aging Face: A Study of Emotions
Live better, in happiness
In my research paper “On thoughts, emotions, facial expressions and aging¹” I posit that psychological states directly affect perception of faces — we should reconsider the impact of cosmetic dermatology interventions like neurotoxins and fillers. The aging face has a purpose — the soul’s.
Our inner world directly shapes our aging faces. The expression you wear, the thoughts you think, these imprint on skin via our facial muscles which become wrinkles when we age. Injectables claim to modify these movements. Neurotoxin for instance paralyses muscles episodically to limit movement — what dermatologists believe smoothens out wrinkles and patients think makes them look more youthful.
The truth may be more complex than that. If only beauty were really a science. Historically, the study of aesthetics belonged to the realm of philosophy. Mathematical proportions might have been discussed during the renaissance, but that has little to do with biological creatures. More like in reference to sculptures and artwork. Modern psychology sheds light on how humans are hardwired to perceive facial cues — microexpressions too subtle for objective analysis but triggering psychological responses measurable by scientific standards.
Mental states affect our perception of beauty. Depression for instance is characterised by anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy activities one used to find pleasurable. Does that sound to you like an inability to appreciate beauty? Our own psychological traits also influence how we perceive aesthetics in others. As do memories that shape our ideals of beauty standards.
Dermatologists discuss the wrinkles in the context of photoaging. There are static wrinkles and dynamic wrinkles. The latter, an expressive human face that is a pre-requisite for social interaction; it also allows us insight into the other’s thoughts and emotions. We consider expression an integral part of human personalities. Yet, the aging face presents us with a conundrum. Skin begins to thin, the dermis, once plump and elastic, now becoming a laxity. A sagging, almost. That takes on the form of facial expressions that seem permanently marked on the aging visage.
You know the saying that your favorite expression ultimately becomes ingrained in your face? Like everything else in nature, I wonder if physiology (not psychology) has a lesson to impart.
Science does not acknowledge the soul, not really. Philosophy does. Aquinas stated that the human existence is not merely corporeal — it’s body, soul and spirit. This is why the soul does not die when the body dies, or so we like to think. Our will and emotions which define our consciousness ought to be more than just material. Ultimately, because we want to believe that some part of us is eternal.
How to age beautifully — are cosmetic treatments the answer?
It’s no mystery how media messaging works to influence beauty standards. But our current stance on aesthetic enhancements does not take into consideration the full picture. For instance, how these interventions will affect the psychological wellbeing of an aging population in the long run.
Is there such a thing as “natural-looking” or “tweakment”, really? Based on whose standards? The axiom of do whatever makes you happy, as long as it makes you happy should have no place in medicine. That’s why I find these justifications troubling. I think when it comes to “becoming the best version of yourself” because it’s natural that “everyone wants to look good” — there is never enough and one cannot be satisfied. Today yes, but tomorrow?
Equally important are scientific papers that point out how patient dissatisfaction is readily associated with aesthetic practices. Research has also highlighted the association with personality traits/psychiatric comorbidities. Body dysmorphophobia may not be as overt as other mental health conditions but it does not mean it is any less disabling for the sufferer. How do physicians know when they have crossed the line, when they have become enablers?
Beauty is imagined
The most beautiful things in the world are things we find in our imagination. Isn’t that intuitive? We associate “beauty standards” with a person typically. Or with an image — most often of one we are not even personally acquainted with. Critically, we show intense attachment to this ideal precisely because it’s really an internal emotion driven by a memory. In sports psychology, we learn that imagination has a specific purpose in enhancing real world performance. What if we could translate that into a blueprint for well-aging? This could have implications on the treatment of body dysmorphophobia — a bona fide affliction of the imagination. An imagination about defects and disfigurements which are not consistent with reality.
How to Age Beautifully
“Imagination, also called mental imagery or mental practice, is a conscious simulation of a stimulus or an event that can impact perception, cognition, and emotion” (Holmes and Mathews, 2005; Kosslyn et al, 2006).
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness has practical applications in cognitive behavioural therapy, it can reduce stress levels and promotes better control of emotions, promoting psychological wellness. Reflective journaling, art therapy — these can induce favorable emotional states.
2. Altering perceptions with imagination therapy
Art therapy also engages the imagination, which induces neural plasticity — the beneficial phenomenon responsible for adaptive responses, brain rewiring and overall more efficient function. Pascual-Leone et al.2, found that imagination therapy activates the parts of our brain responsible for our real world perception. Our imaginations do in fact influence our reality.
3. Choose self-compassion over self-criticism
Ultimately, these are tools that can be harnessed to choose self-compassion over self-criticism. The latter, associated with psychopathology, the former, a means to achieving healthy a self-stance. Embracing one’s failures and shortcomings isn’t just necessary for wellbeing; it’s the only option we have.
Another perspective to beauty, aging and happiness
Studies show that aging emotions accompany the aging face. Hearts racing with excitement, palms sweating with anxiety, faces blushing with embarrassment, these are the bodily sensations much like the emotions we feel, that must begin to dull with age. In spite of this is the observation that the older self reports positive emotions greater in intensity and frequency than the younger self while negative emotions experienced conversely decline.
How this happens is intuitive — the older adult is now better equipped with emotional expertise acquired over a lifetime. And we also find our older selves more willing to choose the positive over the negative. The aging face is how physiology chooses to teach us these lessons.
Our dominant facial expressions are how our soul chooses to paint our faces. These expressions are in turn affected by a lifetime’s practice of emotions. These emotions — ultimately traced to the very thoughts we conjure.
The wrinkles on our face may just be a reminder to our soul. Like the memories we grow to cherish. Of a time, when we were young. Once.
- Teo WL. On thoughts, emotions, facial expressions, and aging. Int J Dermatol. 2021 May;60(5):e200-e202. doi: 10.1111/ijd.15443. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33559158.
Dr. Teo Wan Lin is a board certified dermatologist with published original research on the brain skin connection and the skin microbiome. Her position paper “On thoughts, emotions, facial expressions and aging” published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2021 describes the intersection of philosophy, psychology and dermatology in the perception of aging faces. Her podcast Dermatologist Talks:Science of Beauty discusses the influence of art and the imagination in perception of beauty, as well as holistic approaches to skincare and dermatology. Subscribe to her newsletter Skincare Blueprint: Glow Up From Within here. She can also be found on Instagram and Tik Tok @drteowanlin.