How to Fix Resting Bitch Face
Last week, The Washington Post reported the results of a new study led by behavioral researchers Jason Rogers and Abbe Macbeth that gives validity to the so-called Resting Bitch Face (RBF), a meme that took the Internet by storm in 2013 and largely focuses on celebrities.
Victoria Beckham, Anna Wintour and Kanye West have all been accused of sporting resting bitch face. Resting bitch face is the expressionless look on someone’s face that makes them appear mean without even meaning to.
Using a program called FaceReader to read facial expressions, Rogers and Macbeth discovered that the neutral expressions of people labeled as having RBF actually do exhibit twice the amount of “contempt” cues (think one side of the lip pulled back, or the eyes slightly squinty) as those without RBF. The study also uncovered that RBF occurs equally in both sexes, busting the common stereotype that women are more likely to exhibit RBF. Macbeth explained that our society may be “more attuned to notice it in women because women have more pressure on them to be happy and smiley and to get along with others.”
Following the study's publication, the consensus on the Internet is largely that there’s nothing that can be done about resting bitch face. We completely disagree! All of the subtle reasons for RBF, including slightly raised eyebrows, lip asymmetry, frown lines, and squinty eyes are ALL things that Botox can correct. In fact, I first tried Botox to help with my self-diagnosed RBF.
In high school, I had more than one good friend who, after having been friends for years, divulged that when they first met me, they thought I was a bitch. When asked why, the typical response was, “I don’t know! It was just the way you looked. I would never think that now.” Well, jeez, thanks!
Later in life, I was on television regularly and that’s when I noticed that I have a natural inclination to raise my eyebrows and it actually comes across as very condescending, even when I in no way feel like that. Here's a good example:
In this freeze frame, you can see the expression that best captures my version of Resting Bitch Face: raised eyebrows that are my natural expression when speaking but make me look condescending.
Now please forget you ever saw that.
When I joined the SKY Team and started learning more about how Botox works, I had my first “ah ha moment.” My decision to try Botox was not to prevent wrinkles, but to control my expressions! When I get Botox treatments for my forehead and glabella, I feel that my natural expression looks calmer and more relaxed. Botox treatments give me a huge boost of confidence when speaking both in front of an audience and in private conversations with my employees. Here's an example of me looking calm, cool and collected on television thanks to a simple Botox treatment:
In this freeze frame, I'm still explaining something while nervous, but because I'm not raising my eyebrows up, I feel like I look more calm and approachable.
If you’ve ever been accused of “looking like a bitch,” had your kids ask why you’re mad at them, or had your husband accuse you of “being upset” when you aren't, you may be a fellow RBF sufferer and I have some good news for you – there IS an easy fix.
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