Put Your Best Face Forward!

Our face is our billboard. When someone looks at us, they first see our face. It simply is our natural focus of attention, it’s what we are naturally towards to observing when we first see someone. Our brains are wired to attend to faces, since the time we were babies and looked to faces to seek comfort and have our needs met.

The face is also a powerful tool for creating first impressions - and we do it all unconsciously, as a survival mechanism from our primitive, reptile brain (read more here). We spontaneously form trustworthiness impressions of newly encountered people from their facial appearance. Understanding that first impressions are formed to faces is especially important now that we live in a digital era where there’s a widespread use of images of faces on social media or LinkedIn profiles. Understanding the meaning behind your facial traits and how to put your best face forward aligned with your image goals automatically puts you at a great advantage at any situation and makes you comfortable to step forward knowing you’re projecting your best self. (For more information on the impact of the face on first impressions, read here).

Positive first impressions can lead to greater opportunities for social and professional interactions, as well as potential benefits such as increased trust, likability, and perceived competence. You have the power on your face. 

Have you ever been told that you look too young for your position? Have you felt that people misjudge you from your appearance and that it has prevented you from nailing that big job or obtaining trust from your clients/audience, advancing in your career or having people hesitating to approach you? Your facial traits may be sending out an image that may influence what people think of you and how people interact with you. 

These assumptions are originated in our reptile brain, the amygdala, responsible to assess your environment and help us make decisions to keep us safe. There’s neuroimaging data suggesting that the amygdala contains neurons that respond to faces (read more here). When we see someone, our brain immediately goes into interpretation of visual cues to figure out someone’s intentions and decide whether someone is trustworthy, capable or even attractive. We know that the appearance of one’s eyebrows and lips do not reliably tell us anything about that person and yet, our brains rely so heavily on facial features to judge people. Our brains just naturally and unconsciously make too much out of too little information. 

In addition to it's role in creating first impressions, our face is also a huge source of self-esteem and self-confidence. The first thing you see in the morning upon awaking is your face. If you look at yourself and don't like what you see, be it a bad hair day, tired eyes, you'll start feeling less excited about your day. Throughout the day you'll find mirrors here and there to remind you of the sleepless night - just start driving and the small mirrors in your car will remind you as well. The face is also the one part of our body that we don't usually cover (here in the western world) so it's our most exposed body segment, the one continuously impacting our nonverbal communication instantaneously and unconsciously.

With all this information about the face, does it not make sense to work with someone who has studied about the face and other areas such as anatomy and physiology, image strategy, nonverbal visual communication, neuropsychology and elements of design to apply them directly to the building of your image or identity focused on your face? 

Visagism is the practice of determining the most aesthetically pleasing appearance for an individual based on the face. It also involves understanding the principles of psychology, psychiatry, and anatomy. Neuropsychology, which is the study of the relationship between the brain and behavior, also plays a role behind my image designing strategies for my clients.

Neuropsychology can provide insight into how people perceive and respond to visual stimuli, and how they form judgments and make decisions based on their observations. This information can be used to help create an appearance that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also aligns with the individual's personality, lifestyle, and preferences.  

Understanding the impact of different colors and lines and shapes on the brain can help us create an appearance that creates a certain mood or elicits a specific emotional response. For example, curved shapes are often associated with feelings of softness, warmth, and comfort, which can evoke positive emotional responses in the brain. This is thought to be because curved shapes are often found in nature, such as in the contours of the human body and in organic forms, and are thus perceived as more "human" and approachable than angular shapes and sharp edges. The use of curves and round shapes in one’s style, for example, can create a more inviting feeling than using sharp edges which tend to evoke stronger physiological reactions. This is also thought to be because sharp edges are often found in nature as weapons, and our brains are wired to detect and respond to potential threats. Neither strategy is right or wrong - it all depends on what needs to be emphasized or balanced out in one’s image.

Principles of neuropsychology and visual language will be used to suggest small adjustments to an individual's appearance that can have a big impact on the way they are perceived by others. Based on how our brain perceives images, we’ll create your desired image based on your needs.