WATCHING A FILM CAN MAKE YOU LOOK OLDER THAN YOU ACTUALLY ARE

Did you know, people can grow physically older just by watching their favorite film? Well, according to the experts, some of the expressions we make while watching a slice of cinema, can occasionally contribute to the age lines etched upon our faces. From a study of 2,000 Brits, it’s been discovered that over the course of the average horror film, fans will contort their faces in fear 11 times in total, while thrillers will see viewers pull a shocked, tense, or surprised face 9 times. Comedy, on the other hand, normally involves 11 bouts of laughter.

Dr. Harry Singh, who’s a beauty specialist at FOREO, previously wrote an article on this subject which explained this strange cinematic phenomenon. In it, he said: “When we express a shocked look, we activate the evaluator muscles of the forehead, known as the frontalis. So by repeating this expression and strengthening this muscle, we develop horizontal lines across the forehead. Squinting is also a common coping mechanism that some people use when watching a violent or distressing scene, and generally, it requires the activation of a number of different muscles, both in the eyes and the depressor muscles. Essentially, this double whammy of muscle over-activation might result in frown lines and crow's feet around the eyes, which when repeated over a five-year period, could again result in 50 percent worse lines developing around the eye area.”

To coincide with Dr. Singh's article, FOREO conducted a practical test to see how three popular films affected the faces of the viewers. What now follows are the results of these tests as well as Dr. Singh’s comments on the outcome.

Insidious: On average, viewers were found to react with shocked facial expressions 20 times in total (Repeated viewings of Insidious over a five-year period could result in 50 percent more lines on the forehead).

Bridget Jones's Diary: The vast majority of participants laughed or smiled 115 times while watching this rom-com (Laughing could result in nasolabial folds, which are the folds that run from the corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth).

Bird Box: Audience members generally frowned 50 times during this 124-minute thriller (The overexertion of this muscle will result in excessive lines and wrinkles around the eyes, as well as nasolabial folds, which, if maintained over a 10 year period, may also result in worsening by 40 percent).

PLEASE NOTE: The guys and girls over at FOREO would like you to know that there isn’t anything wrong with someone having frown or laughter lines. But in the same vein, they also want you to know that implementing an effective skincare regime is good for your skin and wellbeing, either before or after watching a good movie. Or to be more specific about it, any of the good movies FOREO used to carry out their survey (which took place during the Summer of 2019)! Here, check them out... 

TOP 20 MOST GRIPPING THRILLERS

1. The Silence of the Lambs
2. The Sixth Sense
3. Die Hard
4. The Bourne Identity
5. The Terminator
6. Aliens
7. Taken
8. Jaws
9. Seven
10. Mission: Impossible
11. Psycho
12. Shutter Island
13. The 39 Steps
14. The Dark Knight
15. Bird Box
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
17. Rear Window
18. Fatal Attraction
19. Gone Girl
20. Mad Max: Fury Road

TOP 20 FUNNIEST COMEDIES

1. Bridget Jones's Diary
2. Monty Python's Life of Brian
3. The Hangover
4. Bridesmaids
5. Airplane
6. American Pie
7. Hot Fuzz
8. Some Like It Hot
9. The Blues Brothers
10. Meet the Parents
11. Shaun of the Dead
12. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
13. Step Brothers
14. 21 Jump Street
15. Dumb and Dumber
16. Groundhog Day
17. Blazing Saddles
18. School of Rock
19. The Naked Gun
20. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

TOP 20 SCARIEST HORROR MOVIES

1. The Shining
2. Alien
3. The Exorcist
4. The Sixth Sense
5. Jaws
6. Saw
7. Psycho
8. The Wicker Man
9. 28 Days Later
10. The Conjuring
11. A Nightmare on Elm Street
12. It
13. Rosemary's Baby
14. The Omen
15. A Quiet Place
16. An American Werewolf in London
17. Halloween
18. Poltergeist
19. Insidious
20. Carrie

In closing, I'd like to thank Dr. Harry Singh for his time and the beauty specialists at FOREO for allowing me to use their research in this article.