Different Sides of the Face

I have always known that no one’s face is symmetrical, but since we have begun offering microcurrent (a lifting and tightening device) I have become hyper-aware of the differences in the sides as I try to make them more even.  Other than the human body not being symmetrical, let’s look a couple of other reasons for differences.

A major reason for diffeences is getting more sun exposure on the left side of the face due to driving.  Most people will  have more sun damage, in the form of wrinkles and brown spots on the left side of the face, on the side that gets exposed to more UV exposure through the drivers side window.

A study from the New England Journal of Medicine certainly confirms what I have seen to be true.

This 69-year old man had driven a delivery truck for 28 years causing one-sided photoaging (called unilateral dermatoheliosis) from exposing only half his face to direct sunlight for nearly three decades.

So yes, you can get more sun damage on one side of the face through a car window. This also brings awareness that you can get UV rays indoors – or in this case, inside of a car. Wearing sun protection 365 days a year, inside or out is essential to lessen sun damage.

Another reason for differences between sides is sleeping habits. As you age, the connective tissue and collagen in your face isn’t as strong or supportive as it used to be. So when you sleep on the same side of your face night after night, the skin gets repeatedly smashed up against the pillow, and won’t smooth out or spring back as quickly as it did when you were young.  The best way to counteract this is to learn to sleep on your back.  A trick to help you stay on your back is to place a pillow under your knees, that way you have to physically move it to roll over.

Having an asymmetrical face is no reason to stress out, however.  While the more symmetrical a face is, the more likely it is to be judged as beautiful, look at what a perfectly symmetrical face would look like.

If you have a webcam or an iPhone, visit echoism.org to do an experiment with your face. Your picture will be  split into a left and a right section, then one side will be  horizontally flipped to create two symmetrical pictures. Now that your face was made symmetrical, do you consider yourself “more” or “less” beautiful? Do you have a best side? Do you even recognize yourself?

If after doing this experiment you would like to make your face more symmetrical (maybe not completely symmetrical), check into microcurrent.