Darker circles, extra lines, tired eyes and dull skin. Have you looked in the mirror and thought 'I look different - older?' perhaps. Well, join the que of us trying to rationalise how a year added to our lives, looks unflatteringly like ten. In recent research Glowday found that over 27% of UK women aged between 24-35 felt lockdown had aged their face significantly. With most of us not able to go out and receive that much needed vitamin C, an increase in zoom meetings and blue screens, home schooling, lack of sleep due to anxiety and stress - it's no wonder that we're feeling and looking, ahem, a little haggard. It is fair to say the pandemic has not only aged us mentally, but also physically.
Covid 19 is one of the biggest changes the world has seen. Our lives have been turned upside down, with mental fatigue, physical strain as well as physical symptoms such as aching limbs, back pain and headaches running rife. With most of us confined to the home, lack of activity, loneliness this has accelerated the ageing process.
Beauty clinics are now seeing a rise in bookings for treatments such as botox and dermal fillers.
“Since lockdown, we have over 15-to-20 enquires a day from patients asking for the clinic to reopen,” Dr Tijion Esho, one of the UK’s leading aesthetic doctors states.
He’s also seeing an increase in interest from new customers (or existing customers wanting to address a new problem) as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I am now doing between 10 and 15 video consultations a day, with more and more people who seem to be driven, or triggered, by how they look on Zoom, leading them to seek injectable treatments.”
There are a few of us however who, with alll the struggles we have had to face over the past year are seeing this as another hurdle to conquer. With very little that we can and will do about 'Covid face' we are sitting tight and waiting as spring comes to offer a change in the pandemic, an extra hour of sunlight and some much needed vitamin C.