How To Avoid A Gaunt Face As You Age?
Your Face Or Your Body?
There is an old adage that suggests as we age we have to choose between our face and our body.
What this refers to is the idea that if we want our bodies to remain slim and toned as we age, we have to sacrifice our faces.
And there is possibly some truth in this notion.Basically as we get older if we remain very slim our faces can become gaunt looking, as low-weight usually shows up on the face first of all.
Some people even use this idea as a good reason to gain a few pounds as the years progress.
The reasoning being that carrying a few extra pounds helps to plump up the face, smooth out the skin and minimize the appearance of gauntness and wrinkles.
To Fill Or Not To Fill?
But what if you want to stay slim and toned as you age but don’t want your face to take on a gaunt appearance?
Well, many celebrities resort to cosmetic fillers to fill out the face. These fillers are usually injected into the area around the cheekbones to give the face a plumper, more youthful look.
They work to a certain extent, however they can be quite obvious and end up giving you the look of somebody who has had ‘work’ done on their face.
Many tabloid newspapers and gossip columnists have become expert at spotting those celebrities who have had facial fillers in an attempt to hold off the aging process.
The look has been dubbed the ‘pillow face’ by the press and certainly once you become familiar with this process it does become easier to spot who has had this type of work done.
The results can look good but more often than not fillers can give a person the ‘hamster cheeks’ or ‘chipmunk’ look!
So if you are concerned about your face looking gaunt as you age, perhaps you are naturally slim or maybe you have recently lost a substantial amount of weight, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to improve the problem?
The good news is that you can plump out your face without the need for expensive cosmetic treatments that require regular upkeep and may spoil your looks rather than enhance them.
A Two-Part Plan For Plumping Up A Gaunt Face
A facial exercise plan combined with a skin-boosting diet is one of the best natural regimes you can follow if you want to plump up a gaunt face.
Below is a list of the top 5 skin foods to include in your diet.
The foods on this list have been chosen for their ability to improve the condition of your skin, helping to keep your complexion looking smooth, plump and glowing.
1. Water – Water is the absolute bedrock for beautiful skin helping to keep you hydrated from within whilst plumping up your skin at the same time. Aim to drink 6 to 8 glasses of pure water per day.
Not only will water help plump out your skin it will also help to improve the problems of dry skin and a sallow complexion.
2. Salmon And Other Oily Fish – Skin experts recommend eating salmon or any of the other oily fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines) around 3 times per week. You’ll be rewarded with plumper looking more youthful looking skin.
Salmon in particular contains high levels of skin-plumping omega 3 oils and is also an excellent source of lean protein – vital for any healthy diet.
You can expect to see an improvement in your skin after around 6 weeks if you eat oily fish 3 times per week.
3. Nuts And Seeds – Nuts and seeds are excellent skin plumping foods as they contain high levels of beneficial good fats. They also contain lots of healthy minerals and anti-oxidants that are good for your skin.
Don’t overdo the nuts and seeds if you are trying to lose weight, however a handful of each once a day will go a long way in helping to achieve that all-important youthful complexion.
4. Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes pack a skin-boosting punch because they are loaded with vitamin C – the vitamin responsible for smoothing out wrinkles.
Vitamin C facilitates collagen production and the more collagen your skin produces the less gaunt and sallow your skin will look.
5. Lycopene Rich Foods – Foods containing lycopene can help to improve the tone, texture and plumpness of your skin.
Choose from tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya and pink grapefruit to gain the skin-boosting benefits of lycopene.
Facial Exercises For Targeting A Gaunt Face
Try out the following facial exercises that target the problem of a gaunt face.
When performing these exercises, unless otherwise instructed, make sure you are sitting in a straight-backed chair, keep your shoulders relaxed but do not slouch.
Many experts recommend that you practice facial exercises in front of a mirror so that you can watch yourself and perfect your technique.
Exercise 1
▸ Close your mouth firmly but without tension or ‘clenching’
▸ With your mouth closed blow air into your cheeks to fill them out
▸ Hold for a count of 5
▸ Repeat 10 times
Exercise 2
▸ With your lips slightly parted imagine a line running from the corner of each mouth to the lobe of the corresponding ear
▸ In a series of 5 small pulling moments move the corner of the left side of your mouth out towards your left ear lobe
▸ Hold each move for a count of 5 – to a total of 25 counts over the course of the exercise
▸ Relax and repeat on the right side
▸ Repeat 3 – 5 times on each side
Exercise 3
▸ Suck your cheeks in
▸ Now smile so you can feel the inside of your cheeks resting on your teeth
▸ Hold for a count of 10
▸ Repeat 5 – 10 times