"Facial fixation" is disconnecting you from how you really look
I’m the first to admit that I spend more time staring at my face than I’m proud of. In part, it’s an occupational hazard; a byproduct of a job in which trying out new skincare and makeup products, often filming myself in the process, is quite literally in the job description. Factor in all the Zoom calls with dermatologists, cosmetic scientists and beauty founders and I spend hours of my working day staring at my face – or at least, a digital rendering of it.
So you’d think I’d be sick of the sight of myself at the end of the working week. But even then, I can’t resist having a good old gawp; inspecting my pores, checking the status of my dark circles and engaging in a lively one-woman debate about which I care more about on any given day: the injustice of patriarchal beauty standards that forbid women from visibly ageing or the lines on my forehead. But before you write me off as a total narcissist, I’m not the only one scrutinising her appearance face first.
Our faces have never wielded more power. For one, we have more access to them than ever before; while there was a time when the only glimpse our species got of our reflections was when the sunlight hit a puddle, today, we rack up an eye-watering 92 million selfies daily – a figure that doesn’t account for hair days. When we’re not papping ourselves, our profile pictures are staring back at us from Outlook, Slack and Teams. And if looks can kill, they can also unlock an iPhone and bump your post up the Instagram algorithm.
But in news that will surprise nobody who’s ever cancelled their plans because they’re having a bad face day, all this facetime is doing us no favours. While we’ve known for years that too much time eyeballing ourselves leads to a specific strain of self-loathing (see: Zoom face) new research is shining a light on the mechanism by which your brain responds to your reflection – and it isn’t pretty. As those on the frontline of appearance-based culture warn that our facial fixation is having the perverse effect of disconnecting us with how we really look – along with the people we love – is it time we stopped judging ourselves face first?
The impact of social media
Like so much of the appearance culture of today, this trend can be traced back to the march of our digital lives. ‘As well as seeing ourselves on Microsoft Teams, Zoom or FaceTime, it’s also our social media use that has contributed significantly to increased scrutiny of our faces and appearances,’ says Dr Ravi Gill, a clinical health psychologist. Finding yourself confronted with your face at different (and novel) angles can create what Dr Ravi calls a ‘hyper-awareness’ of your appearance. It’s this awareness that can create brand new insecurities.
That social media can affect the way you feel about your face has been born out in research. A 2015 study conducted by Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, a Professor of Psychology and a body image and mental health expert, looked at the impact of using Facebook for 10 minutes compared with viewing a magazine, website, or not doing anything at all. I ask her about her findings. ‘We found that for women who tend to compare themselves to other people when it comes to how they look, spending just ten minutes on Facebook resulted in increased dissatisfaction with their faces.’ And that was then.
A decade on, not only is the average UK adult spending more than 10 times as long on social media each day – one hour and 49 minutes, according to 2023 data– but the faces they’re viewing have… changed. Once a pair of bunny ears on Snapchat, filters are now part and parcel of our digital footprint. Just last year, the Bold Glamour filter – 18 million downloads and counting – was hailed by AI researchers as “incredibly convincing”, while the retouching app FaceTune has reportedly had over 200 million downloads. And if you thought you were off the hook during your salaried hours, last year, Microsoft introduced a feature allowing video call users to pick from 12 digital makeup looks created in conjunction with beauty brand Maybelline, while Google have added a "portrait touch-up" feature to their video call settings.
Emotional impact
The net result is a gap that’s opened up between how our faces actually look and how they look when they’ve been digitally modified. When I ask Dr Gill what impact this gap is having on us, she is clear: ‘This discrepancy can drive emotional distress and self-criticism.’ She cites a study published in 2021, exploring the impact of frequent filter use on facial perception; it found that viewing your modified, "ideal" face decreases satisfaction with your natural appearance.
Studies like these – exploring social media’s impact on body image – have been around for years now. But what those who work in this space are now reporting is a rise in what’s known as the "micro-insecurity" – with most of those insecurities residing on the face. ‘Terms like "cortisol face", "facial harmony", "facial symmetry", or even whether someone is a “bottom or top teeth talker” found in the press and on social media exemplify the growing obsession with the minutiae of appearance,’ explains Dr Gill, on how fast-paced algorithms teamed with cyclical trend culture have made way for new types of self-loathing.
Until recently, much of this research has relied on this exactly this kind of self-reported data. But scientists are now building a more detailed picture of how your brain responds to your reflection. ‘Research shows that viewing your own face – or someone else’s face – triggers a complex mechanism in the brain called the fusiform face area or FAA,’ Dr Gill explains, on the way in which you recognise and process facial features. ‘When the FFA is activated, other neural pathways such as the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex that are associated with self-reflection and emotional evaluation, are also triggered, which creates heightened self-awareness and self-consciousness.’ It isn’t all bad, she explains; this kind of self-viewing can lead to greater self-awareness. ‘But it also has the potential to amplify self-criticism and fixation on appearance, which can contribute to negative mental health outcomes.’
Idealised beauty standards
What makes our self-scrutiny even harder to untangle is the surreptitious creep of beauty standards – and the more our digital world collides with the real one, the more we legitimise the idealised faces that stare back at us. ‘Having the “perfect” face or the “perfect” image of it on social media is becoming crucial to identity, the key to being “good enough”,’ shares Dr Diedrichs. As well as having the effect of tangling our beauty/morality wires, she explains, it can convince us that herein lies our future happiness. ‘We start to believe that if we have smooth skin and youthful appearance then we will be rewarded with a better life.’
One place we’ve sought solace from these feelings is in cosmetic procedures. Research conducted by Nuffield Council, an independent policy and research centre on bioethics, found that pressure from social media to look perfect is driving young people to turn to procedures such as anti-wrinkle injections and fillers in increasing numbers (the UK injectables market is growing at a rate of around 3.6 per cent per year). And while it’s my firm belief that women should be free to do as they please when it comes to their own faces, alarms bells are ringing in the ears of some aesthetic practitioners, who worry that unscrupulous providers of injectables – teamed with societal pressures – are fuelling perception drift.
Originally coined by dermatologist Dr Sabrina Fabi, the term refers to the shift (or drift) in self-perception that accompanies changes to your appearance, such as the kind associated with cosmetic procedures. You might smooth out the lines on your forehead with anti-wrinkle injections, only to notice that your cheeks look a little slack, leading you to enquire about filler. It becomes a vicious cycle; one in which your perception of what you look like moves further away from the reality the more procedures you have done. (Think of that crack in your ceiling you finally got round to fixing, only to notice the chipped paint on the walls, then the wonky light fitting, and you get the idea).
One woman who’s name often appears alongside the phrase is Jocelyn Wildenstein, an 84-year-old Swiss socialite whose face has been drastically altered by decades of cosmetic procedures. Jocelyn’s story is one of extremes; a cautionary tale for the tweakment age. But while you might think your own chances of falling victim to perception drift are slim, it can be insidious. ‘It can manifest as patients developing altered expectations regarding the efficacy of treatments,’ shares Dr Anjali Mahto, Founder of Self London, who’s witnessed perception drift among her own clients. ‘These shifts may lead to dissatisfaction with results or a preference for alternative therapies that may not be scientifically validated.’
Perception drift doesn’t just affect how you perceive yourself, either. Back to Jocelyn and as well as being widely cited in conversations about perception drift, she’s been dubbed by some as the real-life embodiment of Uncanny Valley. Originally coined by a Japanese roboticist in 1970 to describe the feelings that robots invoke as they become more human-like in appearance, it’s since been used to explain the eerie, disquieting unease that the faces of those who’ve had extensive cosmetic procedures can inspire in those looking at them. Meaning? As well as disconnecting you from your own appearance, perception drift can disconnect you from the people who know and love you, too.
How to address the issue
It all makes for deeply depressing reading. And yet, it may not be as Black Mirror as we think. ‘From talking to women and girls and looking at the research, we know social media does impact people's satisfaction with their faces, but whether or not that has increased their dissatisfaction relative to before the rise of social media, I couldn’t say,’ Dr Dierichs tells me. Sensing my need for optimism, she points me to research suggesting that looking at images that show more diverse depictions of beauty – particularly faces – can be beneficial to your overall body image. Dr Gill agrees, recommending that you curate a positive feed on social media and take regular breaks from platforms where you feel pressure to meet certain beauty standards.
There are steps you can take offline, too. ‘Cognitive restructuring [such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT] can be valuable for challenging negative thoughts by asking yourself: Is this thought true? What would I say to a friend who had this thought? And how important is my appearance in the grand scheme of things?’, adds Dr Gill. ‘By reframing thoughts like "I have to look young to be happy" to "My worth is not based on my appearance," you can shift your focus from physical perfection to more meaningful qualities, such as your skills, relationships, and inner values,’ she schools.
But for me, more empowering than anything else I’ve read on the topic is the role your health habits can play; getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet rich in nutrients and engaging in stress-reducing exercise will not only benefit you physically, but improve your mental clarity, mood, and self-esteem – all of which helps shift the focus away from how you look and towards how you feel. Take care of yourself: it can’t opt you out of our face-first culture, but it can help you care less.
How to fall in love with your face
Body image is complicated and multi-faceted. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to build a better relationship with your reflection, says Dr Ravi Gill.
Adopt self-compassionate talk
When you catch yourself feeling critical about aspects of your face (wrinkles; spots) try to imagine what you might say to someone you love in the same situation, suggests Dr Gill. ‘For example, you might replace “I hate these wrinkles” with “These wrinkles are a sign of the life I’ve lived.”
Curate a positive social media feed
This approach is two-fold, adds Dr Gill. ‘Unfollow accounts that make you feel insecure about your appearance and follow positive, body-neutral accounts that promote self-acceptance, health, and inner beauty over physical perfection.’ She also recommends taking regular breaks from social media, particularly platforms where you feel a heightened pressure to meet certain beauty standards.
Practise body neutrality
The concept that promotes neutral feelings towards your body applies to your face, too. ‘When you look at yourself in the mirror, focus on neutral observations instead of critical thoughts,’ adds Dr Gill, who also recommends focusing on the function of your face. ‘Shift your attention from how your face looks to what it can do: expressing emotion, helping you connect with loved ones, and supporting your health and wellbeing.’
Seek professional support
‘Be gentle and realistic about expectations for appearance, acknowledging the emotional impact without letting it dominate your thoughts,’ adds Dr Gill, with the caveat that you don’t have to do this work alone. ‘If insecurities about your appearance feel overwhelming, consider reaching out to a therapist who specialises in body image or self-esteem issues. Talking about these feelings with a professional can help you work through them more effectively.’
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