En español | "You look tired" is a phrase no 50-plus woman likes to hear. It's a loud and clear hint we're not coming across as fresh, healthy and attractive to others — and who needs that? Clearly some combination of stress, insomnia, the daily barrage of social media and news, family/work/health issues and a few too many late-night Netflix binges is throwing us serious shade. Here are nine ways to snap out of it with an at-home routine and a 911 fast fix.
1. Cold brew your face and bodyNo hitting the snooze button. Even if you feel and look like a zombie, a cold shower, steamy suds-up and icy rinse finish will get your senses tingling, smooth superficial creases from your face and lift any brain fog. Prefer languishing in a cozy bath? Do the cold, steamy, cool routine as you wash your face. The heated soothing cleanser part will still steam the lines and the cold will give your circulation a jolt.
2.Timing and technique matter. Think of a "tired" face like a deflated balloon, a "fresh" face like a round inflated one. If you lightly blot your face and immediately apply your hydrating cream or oil, skin gets plumped up. Wait five minutes, or 20, and you've lost that absorption window when emollients work best. Gently massage moisturizer into face, neck and décolletage for two or three minutes. This helps relax tension lines and gets a glow going.
3. Freshen eyes ASAPThe skin here is super thin and dry. It not only shows fatigue first, but amplifies it by going red, puffy, dark-circled and saggy. Clarify the "whites" with fast-acting drugstore drops like Lumify by Bausch & Lomb ($12, Target) or Alcon Naphcon-A Eye Drops ($11, target.com) both staples in A-list celeb makeup artist kits. Next a caffeine-packed eye cream like Garnier SkinActive Clearly Brighter Anti-Puff Eye Roller ($8, target.com) with vitamin C and caffeine, cool metallic roller tip soothes or Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel De-Puffing Eye Gel with caffeine and cucumber ($10, target.
com) — chilled if possible (keep it on call in the fridge) — to soothe and reduce swelling and discoloration. No drops or cream handy? Check the freezer for frozen peas or blueberries and apply the icy bag over closed lids for five minutes. Or try cooled tea bags.
When you look tired, stressed mature skin either gets temperamental (sensitive, ruddy and possibly prone to breakouts) or it can go desert dry (ashy, sallow), and expression lines and wrinkles seem to sink deeper. Either way, a creamy, dewy stick foundation with a wide range of 30-40 shades like Flesh Firm Flesh ThickStick Foundation ($18, ulta.com), Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick ($46, sephora.com) or Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick ($46, sephora.com) pulls your face together fast. Pricey? Yes, but when you're aiming for authenticity instead of a mask, multipurpose coverage pays off. Using fingers, makeup brushes or sponges, dab and blend the foundation stick where and when needed on red, brown, blue or violet discolorations.
Instinct says go sunny and beachy — but hold it right there. Don’t reach for a self-tanner or bronzing powder. That's OK for your best days. But to restore a glow, grab a creamy pink or peach blush like Revlon Insta-Blush ($8, Target) or e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Blush ($4 target.com) and give cheeks a yoga-class flush in seconds.
Now's not the time for smoky dark eyes — black liner and dark brown shadows can look sexy at night in dim light, but they'll drag you down during the day. To restore sparkle, choose a nude palette in light to medium shades of mauve, peach and shimmery taupe like Maybelline Total Temptation Eyeshadow + Highlight Palette ($9, target.com) or NYX Professional Makeup Eyeshadow Palette in Soft & Rosy ($8, target.com). The combo of muted brown liner and mascara and pale shimmer on your upper lids restores shape and keeps the emphasis there. Skip makeup beneath the eyes, where liner and mascara can emphasize bags and crepey skin.
Pulling hair back or wearing it up can exacerbate a fatigued look, especially if hair is pulled too sleek and tight. Always let a few pieces float or cut feathery bangs if ponytails are your thing. Keep your hair loose, tousled and free and play up texture, wave or color. Yes, it's a distraction but one that works and makes you look lively, animated. Consider getting highlights around the face — it adds a frame of light just where you need it.
8. Wear cheerful vibrant colorsA white shirt is a classic brightener and black makes us feel slim and chic, but juicy colors like orange, red, raspberry, yellow and bright blue signal an energetic attitude. Ditto to splashy prints, stripes — even in a scarf. When feeling blah, throw on some color. It’s an instant pick-me-up.
Let's say you're already at work, a meeting, a party or a restaurant when a "frenemy" delivers the "you look tired" news.
Grab an ice cube and head for the restroom. Rub the cube (or pat hands splashed with icy water) over your face right over face makeup. It revs up circulation like a cold shower. Brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with fresh water. Yawn to relax your jaw and de-tense facial muscles that exacerbate lines. Bend at the waist, run your hands through your hair and flip it back. Unbutton your blouse or shirt to a V to show more neck and upper chest, roll up your sleeves to show forearms, or take off your jacket or cardigan and go sleeveless — don't let it all be about your face. If possible, take a brief brisk walk. Movement has a caffeine-like effect that makes you look more alert. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm, five counts out and five counts in. Sit and stand up straight — no slouching — to appear more energetic. Add some statement glasses and bling. And smile: instant facelift.
‘How are you?’ It’s something we’re asked countless times a day by friends, family and colleagues, and the resounding response is usually along the lines of, ‘I feel tired.
’ One of the many outcomes of the upheavals of the past year and the uncertainty of the months ahead is a feeling of perpetual tiredness—and that fatigue is written all over our faces as dullness, dark circles and angry, misbehaving skin.
“This ongoing situation is having numerous indirect effects on our skin,” says Dr Anjali Mahto, a consultant dermatologist at Skin55 in London. “Many of us are suffering from increased levels of stress and anxiety, which means that not only are we feeling mentally tired, but levels of baseline chronic stress are affecting sleep patterns, resulting in physical tiredness and impacting the stress hormone, cortisol, aggravating any pre-existing skin conditions.”
It is the effects of stress that Noella Gabriel, co-founder and global president of Elemis, argues that we are noticing in our skin. “We need to understand that stress is not just something we go through, but something our skin has to contend with on a daily basis,” she says. “Our skin faces external stressors every single day, a fact that is then exacerbated by our own emotional stresses.
”
So, even if we are sleeping well, the constant hum of stress that many of us are experiencing right now is causing us to feel tired and making our skin look fatigued in the process. Here’s what you can do about it, according to the experts.
“Around 9pm, as the day closes, the body prepares for sleep by producing melatonin, a powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidant,” explains Gabriel. “Melatonin helps to balance the circadian rhythm and counteract inflammation and oxidative stress, which are key players in ageing. If this process is interfered with by broken sleep, anxiety or stress, the body produces cortisol, which in turn prevents your skin from producing hyaluronic acid, its natural hydrator.” What all this means is, poor sleep can result in dry and dehydrated skin, leading to dullness and an impaired skin barrier.
With many of us working from home now and foregoing makeup, it’s tempting to skip an evening skincare routine, but if you do, you are missing out on an opportunity to support your skin’s repair mechanisms while you sleep.
In terms of the best products out there, Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair takes advantage of your circadian rhythm and helps to even out skin tone and boost glow, while Elemis Ultra Smart Pro-Collagen Night Genius is clinically proven to help strengthen the skin’s protective barrier, so it can hold on to its own moisture better and minimise sensitivity. It has also been shown to hydrate skin over 72 hours. Both help to make you look more rested than you may feel.
“When my patients tell me they think they look tired, what they are often referring to are changes in the upper third of their face, especially around their eyes,” says Dr Mahto. “Their concerns can range from pigmentation or dark circles to fine or deep wrinkles, to hollowing due to volume loss and subsequent tear troughs.”
But what if the skin is sensitive? “During the winter months, you can try polyhydroxy acid (PHA) toners that exfoliate the skin very gently without drying it out.
”
“Towards the end of the day, around 9:00 pm, the body begins to prepare for sleep by producing melatonin, an antioxidant with powerful anti-inflammatory properties,” explains Noella Gabriel. - Melatonin helps to balance the circadian rhythm, prevents inflammation and oxidative stress, which play a key role in the aging process. When lack of sleep, stress or anxiety interferes with the biorhythm, cortisol is released in the body, it interferes with the natural production of hyaluronic acid - the main natural moisturizer. In other words, lack of sleep is a sure way to dry and dehydrated skin.
“When my patients complain of a tired look, all the external symptoms are usually concentrated in the upper third of the face, especially around the eyes,” says Dr. Mahto. “Manifestations are different: pigmentation and dark circles, wrinkles from fine to deep, bags caused by loss of volume and, as a result, sagging of the tear troughs.
”
According to Dr. Mahto, hydration is the secret to a revitalized appearance. “Make sure that the area around the eyes is always well hydrated, use a quality moisturizer with caffeine or peptides for this, it will make the surface of the skin more uniform and smooth out expression lines at least temporarily. It doesn’t hurt to add a couple of products with vitamins A and C - they will help lighten dark circles by several tones.
Take a series of deep breaths - this is the simplest of all the recommendations. “Personally, I am a big fan of the deep breathing technique, it helps to relax the skin and make it softer,” says Gabriel. “Many of us sit hunched over at our desks for days on end and breathe rather shallowly, which is in vain. Breathing - real breathing - is the key to the proper functioning of the whole organism. Digestion, detoxification - all this is impossible without enough oxygen, without it our cells are simply not able to work at full capacity.
Skin cells included. When you take a deep breath, the diaphragm moves down to the abdomen, allowing the lungs to expand and fill with air. The lungs saturate the blood with oxygen, and it, in turn, carries it throughout the body to support all life processes.
Some people think that if you don't leave the house, then you don't need to wash your face before going to bed. It's a delusion. The air in the apartment is not the cleanest, and in general it is extremely important to cleanse the skin of fat and dead particles. Noella Gabriel advises washing your face in two steps. “In my opinion, cleansing is the key to beautiful skin. Start your ritual with some kind of oil cleanser to remove makeup residue and deep clean your pores, she recommends. - The second step is cleansing, aimed at specific problems of your skin - whether it's dryness or acne. The two-step wash creates fertile ground for the oils and serums you apply after."
Medici Clinic Blepharoplasty
Eyes are not in vain considered the “mirrors of the soul”.
They convey our feelings, so they are remembered when meeting and getting to know each other. Unfortunately, over time, the skin in this area ages, and the look acquires characteristic “age-related” tired features. You can get rid of this with the help of blepharoplasty - lifting the upper and lower eyelids.
The skin of the eyelids is thin and delicate, so it's no surprise that signs of aging begin to appear around the eyes earlier than in other areas. Age processes change the facial expression, which seems tired, sad or even angry, although this is not true.
Cosmetic eyelid surgery is designed to counteract aging and restore a youthful appearance to the eyes. After blepharoplasty, the look will not be heavy and tired, and the eyes will take on a youthful look.
Eyelid surgery requires not only deep knowledge of facial anatomy, but also a special “flair” for aesthetic details.
In addition, each doctor uses a certain method and style. Therefore, for the operation it is very important to find your specialist.
During the consultation, the portfolio of the selected specialist should be reviewed, with particular attention to patients with a similar face type. Although the results obtained are individual, previous work will help guide the choice.
Eyelid lift surgery involves several different surgical techniques. Which one a cosmetic surgeon will use depends on the anatomy of the patient's eye and the specific changes that need to be made.
Eyelid Lift Surgery OptionsAn eyelid lift may involve surgery on the upper, lower, or both. Often, aesthetic transformation is supplemented with non-surgical procedures - the introduction of Botox, fillers, skin resurfacing, various non-surgical facelifts.
Upper eyelids lose their contour with age, and their skin becomes flabby and wrinkled.
As a result, the eyes look tired and sleepy.
When performing surgery through an incision made in the natural crease above the eye, the cosmetic surgeon removes excess skin and tightens the surrounding muscles to make the area look younger. The eyelids become clearly defined, and the expression of the eyes becomes open.
Upper eyelid surgery before and after procedureBags under the eyes give the impression of a sleepy, tired look. The reason for this condition is fatty hernias, which are formed due to the weakness of the tissues through which subcutaneous fat appears. Bags under the eyes are not necessarily associated with age. Due to the peculiarities of the structure of the tissues, they can occur in very young patients, who, because of this, look much older.
An excellent solution is lower blepharoplasty. Through incisions on the outer edge of the eyelid under the eyelashes, the cosmetic surgeon removes or repositions fat, creating a smooth, natural contour.
To enhance the effect, you can tighten the muscles of the lower eyelid.
The result obtained can be improved with other aesthetic methods. Together with blepharoplasty, a facelift, eyebrows, the introduction of fillers (fillers) and other methods of facial rejuvenation are often performed.
A combination of blepharoplasty with Botox and mesothreads, polymer threads inserted under the skin for a non-surgical tightening, gives a good result.
Combination of blepharoplasty and brow lift before and after procedureCosmetic eyelid surgery is performed on an outpatient basis and usually lasts from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the complexity of the intervention and the anatomical features of the patient's periocular region. Local or light intravenous anesthesia is used for anesthesia.
During the first 1-2 weeks after surgery, bruising and swelling may appear on the face, and the eyelids may feel unusually tight.
A little soreness is possible, but severe pain, as a rule, does not occur. Approximately one to two weeks after the eyelid lift, all these phenomena disappear, and the patient can return to normal life.
To speed up recovery after surgery, follow these guidelines:
Compliance with these simple recommendations will allow you to recover much faster after plastic surgery.
