 All
That Wrinkles Is Still Gold
By Dr. Melonie Jensen of TerraSana - Mar/Apr 04
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”
“Surely, it is not I - for I have wrinkles crawling across my
forehead and my eyelids are puffy and sagging. Just the other day I looked into you,
mirror, and found an extra chin had taken residence below my original one. What is
happening to me, mirror? I still feel young; why don’t I look it anymore?”
As each year goes by, with all its experiences, trials and
tribulations, we gather wisdom, and with that wisdom comes wrinkles. Wrinkles aren’t
the only things that sneak their way onto our faces, so do extra chins, sagging jowls,
puffy eyelids, bags under our eyes, furrows and so on. After getting over the shock of
these changes, I think to myself: why didn’t I appreciate my looks when I was
younger, because I would take back that face in an instant. Maybe in 10 years I’ll
wish for my ‘now’ face.
So, when did it all happen? Why do our faces look older? What can we do
to prevent this seemingly inevitable aging? Let’s start with how sags, bags and
wrinkles develop.
Habitual Expression
Did your mother ever tell you, “If you don’t quit making that
face it’ll stay that way”? As kids, we believed her. As we got older, we chalked
it up to one of the sayings she used to help us behave. Well, we were right to believe
her. Habitual expressions, meaning expressions that we hold on our faces for long periods
of time or make often, actually train the collagen (connective tissue) to stay in that
position. It’s like when you leave the laundry in the dryer for too long and wrinkles
form in the fabric, only our skin takes more than a few squirts of water to smooth it out.
Being pensive or worrying or angry will create creases in our skin. So we need to remember
to check-in with our face and ensure that we are relaxing. Do this when you are driving,
eating, reading, brushing your teeth, and so on.
(A short word about wrinkles and emotions: emotions are what make us
human and wrinkles are the footprints of emotions. We all know it’s not healthy to
hide our emotions, so let go of resentment and anger and put on a smile, because
laugh-lines are beautiful.)
Muscle Tension
This is the result of stress; it lodges in our shoulders, necks and the
muscles of our face and scalp. Tight muscles form knots and, over time, forget how to
relax. Consider the muscles of your eyebrows; when you are concentrating, thinking or are
unhappy with a situation, they come together creating a furrow between your brows. As
knots form, they are reluctant to let go and you end up walking around with the Bow River
Valley etched into your forehead. These need to be massaged in order to really relax and
prevent the Bow River from turning into the Grand Canyon. The same goes for the muscles of
your neck. These muscles pull our jaw into our chest and neck and generously add an extra
roll of skin and flesh. We can do exercises and stretches to loosen the muscles and
tighten the flesh.
Food and Diet
What you eat can have a big impact on the appearance of your face.
According to Chinese Medicine, different areas of the face represent different organs. The
upper eyelid represents the spleen and digestion. Consuming too much sweet food and drink
taxes the spleen and pancreas, causing the accumulation of fluids. Where do those fluids
accumulate? The upper eyelids, of course! The same goes for high protein diets. Proteins
are difficult to digest in general, and by throwing nothing but proteins into your body,
you can actually harm your digestion and metabolism. If you haven’t noticed puffy
eyelids before, maybe you are starting to.
The state of your kidneys and adrenals are found in the area below your
lower eyelid, which is why when we are stressed or running on too little sleep this area
gets puffy or sunken. The use of stimulants such as coffee, colas and other caffeinated
substances cause an increase in the release of adrenalin from our adrenal glands, leaving
them overtaxed and undernourished.
Diets high in processed food and fast food are also high in oxidizing
chemicals that quicken the aging process. Natural foods (in particular ‘organic’
foods) contain antioxidants that clean these harmful chemicals from our bodies and are
actually beneficial for the rejuvenation of tissues.
Now, what can we do about it?
•Self Massage - Pinch, Poke, Rub and Press!
Smooth out your eyebrows. Run the tips of your index fingers from the
inner edge to the outer edge, use gentle pressure - enough to cause slight discomfort,
like a massage. Do this when you are parked at a light, when you look up from your
computer, or any time you catch yourself holding unnecessary tension in your eyebrows. You
can do this same technique on your forehead and along your cheeks.
Grab some loose skin from your jaw line and walk your fingertips up
your cheeks, dragging your thumb below the roll of skin. This will increase circulation to
the skin and redistribute excess water or toxins that are accumulating in the superficial
tissues.
Run your fingers along your jaw, applying pressure to tight spots. Hold
these pressure points for at least 10 seconds.
•Change Your Diet
Add more greens to your diet - they are full of vitamins that are
antioxidants and prevent aging.
Foremost, learn to love your face the way it is now, because you might
wish you had it back tomorrow.
Dr. Melonie Jensen DTCM, R.Ac practices Traditional Chinese
Medicine & acupuncture at TerraSana Health Clinic & instructs at the Wild Rose
College. Her specializations are cosmetic acupuncture & headaches. Contact her at
403.686.2971or visit www.reveal.ca/terrasana
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