Everyone knows that the main goal of any aesthetic treatment is to improve your outward appearance. And fortunately, there’s been no better time to take advantage of state-of-the-art treatments that can keep us looking younger and more vibrant. But don’t be so quick to think that treatments like BOTOX® Cosmetic, laser skin rejuvenation, and HydraFacials® are only about keeping up appearances.
Beyond Appearance
From time to time, you’ve probably heard friends and family members say something like “I don’t feel good about how I look.” The structure of this sentence is very telling. The important part is how the person feels. And multiple psychologists have realized that our outward appearance affects our emotions, and vice versa.
We often like to tell patients that beauty begins within. The reality is that no matter how many skin treatments we perform, if a person is struggling with a poor outlook, extreme stress, or other mental challenges, they will never look their best. But the majority of people we treat are in a good headspace, and are just looking to regain a bit of their youthful look or capture a more healthy glow. What these patients often discover is that after they see their results, they not only look fantastic, but they also feel more confident and assured in their relationships and interactions.
Case Study: BOTOX Cosmetic
While it makes sense that looking good can help you feel good, recent research suggests that certain medspa treatments can actually have a more direct impact on emotions.
Under what is called the “facial feedback hypothesis,” researchers have seen a link between certain facial expressions and correlated mood or thoughts. One example might be that through smiling more, a person will actually start to feel happy. It sounds like the cart before the horse, but there’s actually some scientific evidence that it works.
Which brings us to BOTOX Cosmetic. BOTOX works by temporarily relaxing the muscles in the forehead that cause dynamic wrinkles – the wrinkles caused by repeated facial muscle movements. Properly administered, BOTOX will not “freeze your face,” but it will limit the ability to frown. And frowning is associated with frustration, sadness, and anger. Several BOTOX studies have found that after treatment, patients rated themselves less sad, and had less activity in the emotional processing centers of the brain when trying to mimic frowns or other negative facial expressions.
Beyond BOTOX
It’s important to note that while the studies mentioned above focused on BOTOX Cosmetic, the principle that the face you see in the mirror – and how you feel about it – can affect your mental state applies more broadly to a wide range of cosmetic treatments. And it just intuitively makes sense. For example, how great do you feel when you get a good haircut, versus when your stylist is a bit off their game? The reality is that a person’s physical appearance can influence how they feel inside, just like how you feel inside impacts your physical appearance.
To make the most of this positive feedback loop, people shouldn’t shortchange how they feel about how they look, or tell themselves they are being vain. If you have wrinkles, aged skin, or another cosmetic concern that can be treated quickly and affordably at a medspa near you, it’s worth starting the conversation and learning more about your options.