The term “beauty sleep” derives its origin from the refreshing and brightening effects that sleep has on your face. However, your skin suffers from tugging and wrinkling all throughout the night due to the pillow and bedclothes. This is what causes the creases and lines on your face when you wake up in the morning. They are not dangerous or fatal but are definitely unsightly and may cause embarrassment in social situations. There are several ways to reduce the appearance of these lines on your face.
1. Sleep on your back
Get into the habit of sleeping on your back and place pillows around you to support you while you sleep and prevent you from rolling on to your stomach. Constantly sleeping on your stomach can cause superficial lines to become permanent. Hence, it is best to prevent the formation of lines in the first place. Sleeping on your side causes wrinkles to appear on your chin and cheeks. Sleeping on your face causes furrows in your brow.
Change your cotton or poly cotton pillow case to a satin one. Satin does not pull at your skin as much as cotton. Also, before going to sleep, it is a good idea to use a good quality moisturizer to maintain the softness and suppleness of skin.
2. Massage the skin
If wrinkles or creases have already formed on your skin when you wake up in the morning, massage the area. Tap the skin gently to boost the circulation of blood and fill in the lines and wrinkles. Eventually, the lines will disappear. Applying pressure causes fluid to rise up to the skin, giving a plumping effect.
3. Exercise
To reduce the appearance of wrinkles and sleep lines, exercise every morning. Jumping jacks or a morning jog are especially effective in minimizing the creases on the skin. This helps increase the heart rate and pumps blood faster in the body. With increased blood circulation to the face, the lines will melt away as the blood fills the lines on the face.
4. Apply cold tea bags
Green tea or white tea has antioxidant effects and caffeine. They act to constrict blood vessels lying underneath the skin. Tea is also a diuretic, which means it helps the body get rid of excess water. Keep green or white tea bags in the fridge for several hours. Place the chilled tea bags over the wrinkles on your face and under your eyes. The caffeine content of the tea gives a plumping effect to the face and reduces the lines.
5. Use cold and hot water treatment
Wrinkles may form temporarily while sleeping when the skin becomes warm and the impression of the bedclothes gets etched on your skin. Usually, rough or knobby cotton cloth causes these wrinkles. This can be treated by subjecting your skin to cold and hot water one after the other.
Pull your hair away from your face and hold it fast with a headband or towel. Fill a basin or a big, shallow bowl with chilled water. Dip your face in the cold water for a few seconds. Take your face out of the water to catch your breath and then dip your face again. Pat your skin dry with a soft towel. Next, wet a washcloth with warm water. Wring out the washcloth to remove excess water. Place the warm cloth over your face, covering the wrinkles. Gently massage your face with the warm cloth for a few seconds. Remove the cloth, pat skin dry and then apply moisturizer.
The cold water causes the skin to shrink microscopically back into place and remove the wrinkles.
6. Apply a homemade face pack
You can make a homemade apple and honey face pack designed especially to tighten the skin. Peel an apple and slice it into small pieces. Mash the pieces in a blender. Add a tablespoon of pure honey to the apple mash and blend some more to get a smooth consistency. Apply the mixture to your skin and leave it on for 15 minutes. Due to the runny nature of the mask, you will need to sit still for 15 minutes to prevent the mask from slipping off your face. Wash off with warm water and pat your face dry with a soft towel.
