'Smartphone Face' is Not Only Real, It's Pretty Scary!

iPhone and Android junkies: beware! Apart from the gazillion things you're reading about how your smartphone is f*cking you up, American Board Certified Dermatologist, MD and Medical Director of Lumiere Dermatology Dr Kiran Lohia just made us realise it's doing absolutely zero favours for your skin and face, too! 'Smartphone Face' is here to stay, and unless you plan to renounce your mini-screen, it's time you took notes on how to fix it. 

So, What IS Smartphone Face Anyway?

"Smartphone face is a rapid sagging of the face, caused by your smartphone. Interestingly, smartphone face has nothing to do with radiation," Dr Lohia tells us. "It occurs because of posture. With the advent of smartphones, people keep their heads bent down and forward for hours to look at their phones and tablets."

How Does That Cause Your Skin To Sag?

"This causes their neck muscles to be shortened which in turns increases the gravitational pull on your skin, " Dr Lohia explains. "Your collagen weakens, because it is constantly being stretched, and you start to get literally 'pulled down'. Ultimately, this results in sagging skin, double chins, nasolabial folds (lines next to your nose), marionette lines (those vertical lines from your lips to your chin) and loose jowls," she adds. 

We're officially freaking out, now.  

Easy, There's a Simple Fix.

It's scary, but the world hasn't ended just yet. "Smartphone face is easily preventable. It can be managed by simple postural changes. For example, don't constantly keep your head down. Instead, hold your smartphone or tablet up to look at it so your chin stays parallel to the ground," Dr Lohia advises. "Furthermore, use them less! Try and allocate some time away from your phone or tablet so that you can give your neck a bit of a rest."

You Can Also Treat It If You Already Have It...

"The kinds of remedies range from non-invasive to invasive," Dr Lohia says, telling us we can try "face yoga, or facial exercises to increase the tone of the muscles in your face so that the sagging will reduce," warning us that "while this theoretically can be helpful, it will likely take an extremely long time to see even a small result."

The other alternative is Radiofrequency. "This technology uses simple and natural radio waves and is pain-free, risk- free and proven to tighten your skin rapidly by tightening existing collagen and stimulating new collage;  provided that you are using the right machines." She recommends looking for US FDA Approved therapeutic machines such as the Accent Ultra. "They have the power to give you the best results.  At Lumiere Dermatology, we have an amazing lifting and tightening facial known as the Instalift, which uses instant tightening MegaHertz technology, a variation of Radiofrequency to instantly yet gently give you a natural lift. It takes 25 minutes, and you immediately look refreshed and back to the way you looked years ago. Its great for younger skin because its ultra-light, and has no side effects or downtime, so you can go right back to your normal day afterwards," she explains, adding that it's so  simple and pain-free, you can have it done during a lunch-break and go back to work!