I recently discovered and watched Weeds – all eight seasons. I could identify with Mary Louise Parker’s character, of being lost for years after the death of her husband, of struggling (with mixed success) to keep the family going while trying to refind herself.
What I couldn’t identify with was the actress’s lack of expression. No matter what the situation, she always had a blank, mildly surprised look on her face. Her brows never furrowed. Ever.
Here’s my conundrum: while I find her doe-in-the-headlight-fixed-expression disturbing, I am a bit jealous of how young she looks without those creases between her brows. I’m not obsessed with staying young, but I am somewhat obsessed with doing what I can to look my best.
So I researched Botox, which I assume is responsible for her lack of glabellar frown lines (and affect.) Sure enough, it totally paralyzes the muscles between the brows. But did you know, people who use Botox also show a mild cognitive blindness with regard to social emotions? Turns out, our ability to understand emotion in others is tied to our ability to make appropriate facial expressions.
Well, that killed it for me. No pun intended – OK, maybe it was. (The bacterium used in Botox is the same bacterium that causes botulism, a fatal paralytic illness.) But I really wanted to minimize my frown lines, because the deep furrows marred my appearance., IMHO.
So I googled ‘frown lines’. And I found a video that shows a non-invasive way to minimize glabellar lines. It’s really simple. Buy athletic tape, pull your brows apart, and stick the tape between your brows. Wear it as long as you can each day. It prevents you from deeply frowning while you’re wearing it, and retrains you to frown less even when you aren’t. I added my own trick – I run a drizzle of honey over the frown lines before applying the tape. Honey is the best skin product EVER, by the way.
Turns out, this is a pretty good solution. It doesn’t involve injections, high cost, blank looks or cognitive disfunction. It does cause me to be aware of how much I frown – even in ‘non-frown’ situations, without preventing me from empathizing with other humans. It seems to be working. The lines aren’t nearly as deep, and I like to think I’ve had a more positive outlook, since I’m not (unconsciously) frowning all the time.
Am I being shallow? Probably. It’s OK, I’m down with my shallow self. And if you give it a try, let me know if it works for you. I won’t judge you, I promise. 🙂
Seeking My Best Self 
[…] Remember the frown remedy I shared earlier? I thought you’d like to see the update. Honey & sports tape really […]