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Beyond Collagen & Elastin: A New Look at Worry Lines (with Facial Gua sha)
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Tired of hearing the same old explanations about worry lines and wrinkles? In this episode, we challenge conventional wisdom and dive into a fascinating, nature-based perspective on why these lines form.
Forget about collagen and elastin for a moment. We'll explore how your forehead functions like a river system, and how understanding this can revolutionize your approach to facial care. Discover how Gua sha can revitalize this system and help smooth those worry lines.
Join us in this episode as we unravel the secrets behind your forehead's unique landscape, and learn how to harness the power of Facial Gua sha for a more natural, holistic approach to anti-aging.
Hello and welcome back to the Gua sha show. I took a break from recording the podcast to write another book (it's hard to believe now but it's my seventh), and it's called 'Gua sha: A Guide to Treating People'. I finally took the time to explain Ecology in Motion in detail and to go through the history of Gua sha using the original texts. It was illuminating to research and write and you can see it for yourself soon as it will be available to buy. But this means that I can now turn my attention back to doing other things and to bring out more podcast episodes.
Understanding Worry Lines: Beyond Standard Explanations
In this episode, I'd like to focus on Facial Gua sha and a classic beauty-related feature because I want you to see it in terms of how I view it, which is not the same as standard approaches. Because I've researched deeply into Gua sha and Chinese medicine both in the past and at current research in China, I can apply the lens of nature according to the ancient Chinese to understand the body and ageing features, and also how facial Gua sha has a firm place in prevention and treatment. So, with this in mind, let's start with a very common facial feature which many people develop - worry lines - which are the horizontal wrinkles located in the forehead area. And I'll try to give you another perspective outside of the standard Western and Chinese models. So that I can present something fresh in concept and practical in use, especially with facial Gua sha.
Genetics: A Deeper Look
If you do a search about worry lines, you'll normally get standard explanations about what they are and why they develop. So let's look at some of them. The obvious starting place is genetics. That these lines may be due to genetics in which case you inherited them from your parents and they appeared young and they are, essentially, a part of you. I'll come back to this later, as this very fact can reveal something interesting about how your body is structured. It isn't some random genetic trait, the early development of worry lines actually means something about your body circulation.
Collagen and Elastin: The Reductionist View
The main explanations of worry lines are divided into either intrinsic ageing - which involves a reduction in collagen and elastin production over time, typically caused by repeated muscle contractions; or extrinsic ageing, due to sun exposure and lifestyle factors. So let's go through these one by one and change the perspective.
Reframing Collagen and Elastin
This is the idea that skin elasticity reduces over time due to changes in the production of collagen and elastin (Collagen gives the skin structure and strength and elastin, as the name suggests, allows the skin to stretch and spring back into shape). And when collagen and elastin reduce, the skin thins and becomes weaker, and is more likely to contact and produce wrinkles. While there is nothing incorrect about this explanation, it is very much a reductionist strategy so that instead of focusing on the big body picture, you end up gazing at your navel.
Natural Patterns and Circulation
The scaffolding pattern of nature that collagen and elastin are a part of in the forehead area is best understood in the language of nature because they developed in the same way as the world around us. Patterns are repeated all around us not by random coincidence but by design. They are universal patterns and you can see them in the body, in your garden and in the stars in the sky. For the structure of the forehead, the obvious place to start is the design and for that the ancient Chinese gave us valuable insights.
They viewed the blood circulatory system of arteries, veins, venules, arterioles and capillaries as a complex system of rivers and tributaries which act exactly like rivers do in the natural world. The current can be slow or fast, the volume can be low or high, they dry up, and they flood. If you follow the descriptions of these rivers (which are also known as channels or meridians), they map the body in a series of organised valleys, with the blood vessel at the bottom as the river, and body tissue, muscle and skin along the valley sides. It's important to stress that I didn't just pluck this idea from thin air. This is the reality when you apply universal principles to the body and it's what the ancient Chinese often did. They understood how universal patterns work because they integrated them in how they saw the body, especially given the fact that they were experts in anatomy and regularly dissected bodies.
The Bladder River System: A Key to Forehead Health
The central forehead area is fed by a certain river system. It comes along the supratrochlear veins and arteries which rise up from the side of the nose, and the supraorbital veins and arteries which come up from the mid eyebrow. These vessels correspond to the beginning of the bladder river system and together they cover the central forehead area like a river meandering through the flat plains.
So if we want to maximise the circulation in the bladder river system (which is basically the whole central forehead) and allow the tissue beneath the skin to be properly fed with nutrients and what it needs, we need to view the forehead as not an isolated area of collagen and elastin reduced skin but as a river system which needs to flow unhindered through the landscape. The streams (capillaries) which run through the tissue and ensure that it is fed with oxygen and nutrients, also need to remove carbon dioxide and waste products in order for it to thrive. The collagen and elastin are just parts of this much larger process. And to see how this fits into the larger picture, let us turn to another explanation.
Muscle Contractions: More Than Just Movement
Wrinkles in the forehead area are thought to be formed primarily by repeated muscle contractions, especially when you make certain facial expressions, such as raising your eyebrows or squinting. If you raise your eyebrows and go look in the mirror, those lines are dynamic. If you then relax your expression and they are still there, they are static. The idea is that, as you get older, these repeated expressions cause the muscles under the skin to contract, and become static, leading to the formation of permanent lines. This is the reason why people have neurotoxin injected into the frontalis muscle to stop it from reacting to messages from their motor nerves and so temporarily removing these lines.
Muscles and Rivers: An Integrated System
From a nature-based perspective, this idea of frontalis muscle contraction is only part of the process involved. The muscle is not acting alone and it is dependent on more than local contractions. Let us come back to the rivers (blood vessels), directly connected to these rivers is the landscape they flow through and this consists of the muscles and tissues which lie along the bladder valley. You may think that I am being metaphorical and that the river and valley is an analogy but I am not. Rivers and valleys in the natural world are affected by the same patterns of formation as those in the body. In this part of the bladder valley, the muscle is the frontalis, which is the main muscle of the forehead, and the one which principally causes the muscle contractions which lead to the contraction of wrinkles. Whatever state this muscle is in and also that of the tissue that surrounds it, is directly related to the health of the bladder river system to which it belongs.
The Bladder River System: More Than Just the Forehead
The bladder river system which starts close to your eye can actually be traced over your head and all the way down your back to your legs and onto your little toe. Again, this isn't imagination or wishful thinking. In fact, it is scientific. It is related to how the body moves, and any backwards motion of the body requires the muscles within the bladder valley system to activate. Lean your head back and feel for yourself. Feel the back muscles support the movement as they contract. This is showing you that certain muscles are interconnected by their collective movements and this is something recently called myofascial bands but was known by the ancient Chinese.
Whole-Body Approach: Treating the Forehead Holistically
So, the frontalis muscle is dependent on all of the muscles in the valley system of the bladder which include the galea aponeurotica, the occipitalis, the trapezius, the erector spinae, the glutes, the hamstrings, the calf muscles and so on. They interact with each other because they are all activated with the same body movement and the bladder river runs through them all via the main blood vessels. If any treatment is aimed at the frontalis muscle or the tissue related to it, therefore, it must incorporate the whole valley or no long-term change can occur. If there is a problem in a plant, you don't just treat the leaves, you treat the stem and roots.
Sun Exposure: Understanding Photoaging
We can apply the same principles to some of the other typical explanations of the causes of worry lines:
This involves a reaction (again in collagen and elastin fibres in the skin) to Ultraviolet (UV) rays from extended sun exposure. This is a process called photoaging and results in more features than worry line formation and includes stains and discolorations. From the river valley perspective, the process is obvious. What happens in nature to rivers when exposed to the heat of the sun for too long? They dry up, of course. And once the flow resumes, some parts of the river bed can remain cut off from the main flow as it diverts. These are the seeds of ageing and how areas get quite literally cut off from circulation.
Lifestyle Factors: Holistic Impacts
Again, if we apply natural principles, things can make sense. Smoking will of course cause damage to the skin because the lungs and the skin are interconnected. For the ancient Chinese, the skin is created from the lungs. This often becomes clear with the close relationship between eczema and asthma and the 'atoptic march'. As for diet, well that is basically the contents of the river. If you throw garbage, chemicals and pollutants in the river, guess what happens to the river banks? And how this might affect the valley itself. And as for lack of sleep, this affects the flow of the river. When sleep returns so does the turbulence of the flow.
Genetics Revisited: Understanding Family Traits
If you recall, at the start I said that I would revisit genetics as a cause of wrinkles. With this knowledge of the forehead being a major part of the bladder river system, any features along this valley will be connected to it. So if you have worry lines and they were passed down to you by your family line, then some impairment in the flow of the bladder river was passed down too. This is why the wrinkles are there. That part of you has restricted flow. Everyone is born with restricted flow somewhere, yours is in the forehead on the bladder river.
Conclusion: Facial Gua sha as a Solution
With this background in the formation of wrinkles in the forehead area, it should be clear by now where Facial Gua sha fits in. It's a technique which can dramatically affect the river circulation system and make changes at the capillary level in the tissue beneath your skin. If you can use this natural knowledge to enhance your treatments, you'll be getting closer to what Facial Gua sha really is. And when you do that, the results start coming!
Questions & Answers
Q: What are worry lines and why do they form?
A: Worry lines are horizontal wrinkles on the forehead. They can form due to a variety of factors including genetics, repeated muscle contractions, sun exposure, lifestyle factors, and changes in collagen and elastin production.
Q: How does genetics influence the formation of worry lines?
A: Genetics can predispose individuals to developing worry lines earlier in life. If your parents had worry lines, you might inherit the same pattern due to similarities in skin structure and circulation.
Q: What role do collagen and elastin play in the development of worry lines?
A: Collagen and elastin are crucial for skin elasticity and strength. A reduction in their production over time can lead to thinner, weaker skin, making it more susceptible to wrinkles.
Q: How can Facial Gua sha help reduce worry lines?
A: Facial Gua sha can improve circulation and enhance the delivery of nutrients to the skin, supporting the underlying tissues and potentially reducing the appearance of worry lines.
Q: Is sun exposure really that harmful to my skin?
A: Yes, prolonged sun exposure can damage collagen and elastin fibers through a process called photoaging, leading to wrinkles, discoloration, and other signs of aging.
Q: Can lifestyle changes impact the appearance of worry lines?
A: Absolutely. Factors such as smoking, diet, and sleep can significantly affect skin health. Improving these aspects of your lifestyle can contribute to healthier skin and potentially reduce worry lines.
Q: How does the ancient Chinese perspective on the body's river systems relate to worry lines?
A: The ancient Chinese viewed the body's blood circulatory system as similar to rivers and tributaries in nature. Understanding worry lines from this perspective emphasizes the importance of maintaining good circulation and overall balance within the body's systems.
Q: Is it possible to see long-term results with Facial Gua sha?
A: Yes, with consistent practice and a holistic approach that includes a healthy lifestyle, Facial Gua sha can support skin health and potentially lead to long-term improvements in the appearance of worry lines.
Hi, It's Clive
Director of Komorebi Institute
Hi, It's Clive
From researching underfunded healthcare in Uganda, to running a thriving chronic illness clinic in North Africa, to collaborating with hospitals in Sri Lanka to train staff and empower communities - My journey has been dedicated to democratizing access to beauty and health.
