No. 2 Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 201–217, 2008 Enhancing facial beauty: diminishing tension‐caused forehead wrinkles through upper back massage

The organs and tissues of the human body function together, and many women know that facial skin quality can be influenced by the condition of other areas. From the perspective of esthetics, the condition of other tissues and organs can have significant impact on facial skin. In our lives, increasing numbers of people experience pain and discomfort in the neck and shoulder region; this study investigates the effects of neck/shoulder pain and discomfort on facial beauty, and demonstrates that facial beauty can be improved by alleviating this pain and discomfort. Shoulder pain and discomfort are correlated to increased shoulder muscle stiffness, increased tension in the frontalis muscle (a muscle of facial expression in the forehead, and forehead wrinkling. We show that body massage aimed at alleviating muscle tension in the neck and upper back alleviate frontalis muscle tension and improve forehead wrinkles. Since other non‐facial factors are likely to affect facial beauty, our results show that measures to make the face beautiful and healthy‐looking involve the entire body. Keywords: facial beauty, non‐facial factors, entire body, neck/shoulder pain and discomfort, shoulder muscle stiffness, frontalis muscle tension, forehead wrinkles, body massage aimed at alleviating muscle tension