How to Make Your Face Look Thinner

Now more than ever our faces are front and center – and in multiple places at once. Your face doesn’t just appear in front of whoever you’re with; your face is on websites, blogs, dating apps, social network profiles, and rows and rows of Instagram photos. And although you can point the camera downward, so your selfie makes you look slimmer, you can’t do that in real life. If you want your visage to appear more slender, you’ve got to work for it.

While there’s no specific diet or clinically proven regimen that sheds only facial weight, there are some general measures you can take to make your face appear more slim.

Here are some ways to make your face look thinner:

Avoid Foods That Make You Swell

Altering your food choices can make a considerable difference. For starters, cut down on the amount of salt in your diet. Too much salt causes the body to retain fluid, which may contribute to facial puffiness. The same holds true for refined sugar, which is often found in carbohydrate-laden junk food. Eating a well-balanced diet that focuses on fruits, vegetables, and lean meats will help your body get the nutrients it needs without the unwanted substances that can cause water retention or weight gain.

Get Your Beauty Sleep

It’s not just a fairytale – sleeping beauty is real. That’s probably why more and more experts are focusing on the importance of a good night’s rest, or more specifically, the consequences of not getting enough of it. The most visible indicator of sleep deprivation manifests in the form of dark circles, saggy skin, and puffy eyes. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, and ensure you get between seven to nine hours of shut-eye to keep puffiness at bay.

Load Up on H2O

Drinking lots of water helps flush out toxins and other unwanted substances (including the aforementioned salt) from your body. On the other hand, when the body gets dehydrated, it tends to store more water, which can lead to swelling in the face and joints.

The body’s fluid balance can also be disrupted by drinking too much alcohol. ¹ Since alcohol consumption can make your liver and kidneys work harder, it can produce the side effect of water retention. You don’t necessarily have to give up alcohol completely, but you should eschew imbibing excessively if you want to avoid these types of unwelcome results.

Is It Medical?

If you’re embracing a healthy lifestyle, but your face still isn’t as slender as you would like, you may want to check the medications you are taking. Drugs such as antibiotics, statins, steroids, sulfas, and beta blockers all list facial swelling as a possible side effect. Even aspirin, insulin, X-ray contrast dyes, and hair loss medication can produce similar adverse results. In addition, if you have an allergic reaction to any medication, a swollen face is a common symptom. Speak to your trustworthy medical professional if you think this might be the cause.

Bonus Tips

Finally, there are some tips and tricks you can use to help improve the general appearance of your face:

• Maintain good posture. Letting your chin drop or slumping your shoulders both make your face look bigger, which can accentuate any excess facial weight.
• Tweak your hairstyle. A lob or long layers combined with side bangs tend to elongate and slim the face. For men, a high top or extra wave can accomplish the same thing.
• Try a face massage. Gently massaging the skin on your face with your fingers can help improve circulation, eradicate wrinkles, and reduce puffiness.
• Quit smoking. In addition to host of well-documented health problems, smoking can also cause parts of the face to sag, which can make it look bigger than it is.

With the exception of surgery and overall weight loss, there’s no instant way to radically change the weight around your face. But if you can identify the reasons why your face isn’t as slim as you want it to be, you can take the proper steps to remedy the problem. In doing so, you’ll ensure that you’ll always be selfie-ready!

1. Epstein, Murray. “Alcohol’S Impact On Kidney Function”. N.p., 1997. Print.