Social media has a manner of constructing us analyze each little factor about our look. Why is that this eyebrow arching larger than the opposite? Possibly your left cheekbone is sharper than the precise, otherwise you’ve received a so-called “dangerous” facet that’s much less snatched.
In the event you’ve ever discovered your self fixating in your “facial asymmetry,” you’ve in all probability stumbled upon a couple of TikToks claiming that side-sleeping is responsible. In principle, it type of is sensible: Certainly, urgent the identical a part of your face right into a pillow for years may make it extra “squished,” much less outlined, or barely lopsided. The fact is, “all of us are a little bit uneven,” Melanie Palm, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Artwork of Pores and skin MD in San Diego, tells SELF—however is it actually due to the way you sleep? We requested specialists to set the document straight about this viral magnificence fantasy.
So…why is my face asymmetrical?
For starters, blame genetics—none of us are born completely symmetrical, Prem Tripathi, MD, board-certified facial plastic surgeon at Bay Hills Plastic Surgical procedure in Alamo, California, tells SELF. However in right this moment’s world, the place social media has influenced us to be our personal worst critics, it’s straightforward to turn into hyper-aware of each little inconsistency. We’re additionally not used to seeing our faces inverted or flipped, Dr. Tripathi provides, which might make any pure asymmetries seem extra “off” or jarring than they really are.
Past genetics, sure environmental components can affect your face form. Extra so than your sleep place, specialists say chewing habits play a much bigger position. In truth, some analysis has proven that persistently utilizing one facet of your mouth to eat can strengthen and develop these muscle tissue, probably resulting in delicate imbalances within the decrease half of your face.
It’s additionally pure for our faces to look extra uneven as we age. That’s as a result of, once we’re youthful, “we now have a ton of quantity on our face,” Dr. Palm explains. “We have now way more smooth tissue, which might disguise small skeletal asymmetries.” Over time, nevertheless, we naturally lose that quantity (significantly within the cheeks and eyelid area), making a few of these structural, bony variations extra noticeable.
May your sleeping place actually be responsible?
Okay, so what about life-style habits—like the best way we sleep? There isn’t any strong proof to indicate that mendacity in your facet is the explanation you’re asymmetrical. However in keeping with Dr. Tripathi, this little TikTok principle possible stems from a well-liked 2016 examine, which prompt side-sleeping (and that face-to-pillow contact) may contribute to creasing and wrinkles on the a part of your face you snoozed on. Whereas this might theoretically make your face seem uneven, there are additionally a couple of essential caveats to think about, per Dr. Palm and Dr. Tripathi.
For one, this is only one small, restricted literature assessment, Dr. Tripathi factors out—not definitive proof that your pillow is responsible for any lopsidedness. What’s extra, the analysis didn’t single out sleeping place because the solely offender of high-quality strains: Different components akin to uneven solar publicity, as an example, could cause one half of your face to age quicker and seem “saggier,” “looser” or “wrinklier.”
