There have been beauty tips for centuries, dating back to the ancients. For instance: the use of kohl to outline the eyes, rubbing the juice of red fruits across the lips to darken them and various oils to be added to the bath to sweeten the scent of the body. However, none of them, no matter how ageless, can beat this number one beauty tip and it’s already in your possession and free!
It’s really very simple – Smile. That’s right. The best thing for your face and your sex appeal is to smile. Endorphins – the hormones that regulate our feelings of happiness – are released in your body when you smile, therefore your happy face appears more radiant when you smile and naturally attracts attention from others.
Don’t forget that you also release endorphins in those to whom you gift a smile. That rush of hormones in them will attract them to you as well.
The face muscles when relaxed normally settle downward which naturally gives you a more aged look, where a smile lifts the face muscles shedding years with it.
If you don’t like your smile
Some people don’t like their smiles. Granted, it’s hard to smile if you don’t like the way you look when you do. However, try this little trick and see if your opinion doesn’t change a bit. Spend five minutes in front of a mirror, testing your smiling face versus your unsmiling one. If you’re still not convinced, use your phone to take a few selfies of both faces. Review them a few times and get your trusted friends’ opinions. Chances are you’ll appreciate your smile at the end of this little test.
I’m already a smiler
“But I already smile!” you may be saying to yourself. Well, it won’t hurt to increase the amount you smile. Have you ever had someone ask if you were okay, when you were just thinking? Perhaps, you tend to frown when deep in thought or even when just drifting mentally. How can you reduce your frowning or increase your smiles?
Think of a few things that automatically bring you a mental smile; your children or grandchildren, a happy memory, a line from a movie, your pet, etc. Now store these things in a mental file drawer titled “Things that make me smile” and add to it intentionally as you go through your days. Now practice the following:
- Each time you think of one of these things, let your face completely relax and transform.
- Set your timer or alarm on your phone for smile breaks.
- Put smile prompters – pictures of your kids, clipped cartoons or pictures of puppies, your “happy” place – on your refrigerator or cubicle walls.
- Practice smiling in your mirror – intentionally triggering one with this collection of thoughts
- Use the facial exercise below to warm up your face for all the smiling you’ll be doing from now on.
A Simple Exercise to Do Daily
A well-conditioned “quadratus labli superioris” (the muscle of the upper lip) is essential for maintaining a youthful appearance and ensuring a lovely smile. Below is a simple exercise to pump up this important muscle!
- Hold your mouth slightly open with the upper lip relaxed, flare your nostrils and crinkle your nose exaggeratedly.
- Pull up the upper lip and hold for a count of 10. Slowly release.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2, 10 times
Now, go forth and smile, and the world will smile back.