When you scrunch up your face real hard while you're laughing, the skin around the outside corners of your eyes wrinkles and crinkles. When you stop laughing, they go away. Sometimes. Sometimes they don't. Those that don't are called crow's feet. And while I'm 25 and prone to thinking that crow's feet are a sign of a happy woman who's busy living life, mine aren't that prominent. Others may not feel that way.
If you're concerned about your crow's feet, there are natural ways to eliminate wrinkles if you want to avoid painful, expensive, cutty and stabby methods of wrinkle removal, like Botox or a face-lift. The most important thing we can do for our skin, and the best way to prevent wrinkles from forming but also to minimize the look of wrinkles we already have, is to live a healthy lifestyle. Okay, so that seems a little vague, and it is, so read the rest of this article for specific ways to treat both facial wrinkles in general and crow's feet specifically.
Getting Rid of Crow's Feet
Avoid sun. Whenever your skin is darkened due to light exposure, whether it's from the sun itself or a tanning bed, you are causing damage to your skin. That damage turns into crow's feet, lip wrinkles, smile lines, discoloration, and sometimes even acne. So, if you're desperate to embrace that bronze goddess, sun-kissed hippie, or Bermuda babe look, the only safe option is to spray and/or paint it on. However, if you want to avoid that eaten-too-many-carrots look, then just accept your pale skin and remember that ladies like Gwen Stefani, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Hepburn, and Morticia are all hotties. So think sunblock with UVA and UVB protection, sunglasses, hats, and, for the dramatic types, even parasols.
Avoid cigarettes. Nobody can say this enough. Cigarettes are bad, m'kay? We all know that they cause devastating health problems like of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and all those nifty things. Smoking can also destroy your teeth and skin. Cigarette smoke, whether you're smoking yourself or are around it all the time at home or at work, will absolutely wreck your skin. You will get wrinkles, yellowing, and discoloration, and your skin's ability to repair itself will be compromised. That means crow's feet, neck wrinkles, lip wrinkles, and even age spots will crop up. And nothing says cool like neck wrinkles.
Moisturize yourself. This means both kinds: inside and out. Everybody—women, men and children—should remain hydrated. Besides the health benefits of losing weight, increased healing abilities, increased energy, and whatnot, this will also keep your skin looking better. Drinking plenty of water will help you get rid of acne, get rid of stretch marks, and get rid of wrinkles, including crow's feet. Water helps your body to heal and regenerate new tissue. But you can also moisturize from the outside. You can use moisturizer daily on your face and around your eyes. Look for lotions that are made specifically for the face and for lotions that contain SPF to keep your skin looking young and firm.
Exfoliate. Along with daily washing to remove dead skin cells and the grit and grime that accumulates on our faces, you can also exfoliate once a week to accelerate your skin's ability to slough off dead cells. Removing the old cells will make your skin look tighter and fresher, minimizing facial wrinkles. You don't even have to spend lots and lots of money on this. Try making an all-natural, homemade facial with honey and brown sugar, or with lemon juice and sea salt. Take a minute or two to lightly rub over your skin, then rinse off. If your face starts bleeding, you've scrubbed too hard.
Stay healthy. Yes, some wrinkles, with age, are inevitable. But the healthier your skin is, the longer you can prevent wrinkles and the less prominent they will be. But overall the best protection you can offer your skin is to keep it healthy. This means that when you keep your body healthy, your skin will stay healthy, and that keeps your skin looking soft, smooth, and free of winkles, crow's feet, and acne. So do the usual kind of things like eating healthy, not doing drugs, not smoking, exercising plenty (yes, that does include sex), and going to see your doctor regularly. This may or may not include going to see a dermatologist if you believe you need a stronger wrinkle treatment.
Eyeliner and Underpants
Yes, readers, there is a connection. This nifty bit of wisdom was passed to me from an Estée Lauder consultant. For those of you out there that wear eyeliner (these also have to be persons that have consistently worn underpants at one time or another), there is a proper and an improper eyeliner application technique. And, to avoid getting crow's feet, one must avoid the improper technique at all times. That is to say, when one applies eyeliner, one must not use a finger to pull the skin around the eyes taut. This being my favored eyeliner application procedure, I asked my consultant why not. In her typical eloquent manner, she said, "What happens when you pull on the waistband of your underpants too much? That's right. They get all baggy and won't stay up. Well, the same thing goes for your eyes. If you pull on that skin too much, it'll start to lose its elastic, and one day it won't come back into shape. BAM! You've got crow's feet." So eyeliner should be applied in small dashes along the lash line without pulling the skin taut and smearing it on.
