Let me paint you a picture. It’s a Tuesday, and you’re walking to your car with the sun blazing straight into your eyes. You squint. Then you sit down, pull out your phone to check a message, and the screen is a little dark, so you squint again. Later, you’re reading the fine print on a vitamin bottle, and yeah—you guessed it—you squint. None of these are big emotional moments. They don’t feel like laugh lines or smile lines. But they are the biggest culprits when it comes to the tiny cracks fanning out from the corners of your eyes.
You know that skin around your eyes? It’s ridiculously thin, almost like the skin of a grape compared to a peach. It doesn’t have a lot of underlying fat or oil glands to cushion it. So every time you squeeze that delicate area, you’re physically folding it. When you do that hundreds of times a day, day after day, those folds start to remember where they’ve been. That’s how crow’s feet become permanent residents, not just temporary visitors.
Now, smiling gets a bad rap here. But honestly, smiling is worth it. A real smile—eyes crinkling, cheeks lifting—is an expression of joy. You’re not going to stop doing that, and you shouldn’t. The sneaky problem with squinting is that it’s not joyful. It’s often just a default mode you slip into when you can’t see something clearly or the light is too bright. And because it’s so low-key, you rarely notice you’re doing it. That’s what makes it dangerous. A laugh comes and goes quickly. A squint can last for minutes at a time while you stare at a spreadsheet or hunt for your keys in a dim bag.
Think about your phone for a second. How close do you hold it? If you’re like a lot of women, you might bring it closer and closer as the day wears on, especially after you’ve been on screens for hours. Your eyes get tired, and you compensate by squinting. The same happens when you read a menu in a dark restaurant, or when you try to see the dashboard while the sun is glinting off it. None of these are expressions of who you are. They’re just your eyes working overtime. And your skin is paying for it.
So what do you do? You tackle the squint at its source. First, get yourself a great pair of sunglasses. Not just for the beach—keep them in your bag, your glove compartment, your desk drawer. Put them on whenever you step outside, even on overcast days. Bright clouds scatter light in a way that makes you squint just as much as a sunny sky. Polarized lenses are a game changer because they cut the glare that triggers those little eye squeezes. They’re not a fashion accessory; they’re a wrinkle-prevention tool that actually works.
Second, look at your screen habits. Raise the font size on your phone right now by two or three notches. You’ll feel like a grandmother, but your eyes won’t have to work as hard. Hold your phone farther away—a comfortable arm’s length, not right under your nose. For your computer, increase the display zoom or enlarge the text in your browser. Position the screen so you’re looking slightly downward, which lets your eyelids relax a bit. The goal is to avoid any situation where you have to actively pinch your eyes together to focus.
Third, consider reading glasses. If you’ve hit your early forties, or even your late thirties, close-up focus starts to slip. Instead of holding the menu at a weird angle and squinting like you’re trying to see through fog, just buy a pair of inexpensive readers from the pharmacy. Keep them near your bed, in your handbag, even in your kitchen drawer. Using the right strength means your eye muscles don’t have to struggle. That struggle is what creates the constant mini-folds that eventually turn into lines.
One more thing: sunscreen. You know it’s important, but are you actually applying it all the way around your eyes? You need a gentle, mineral-based SPF there because chemical sunscreens can sting your eyes and make you squint more. That would be counterproductive. So find a sheer mineral formula you don’t hate, and dab a thin layer over your whole eye socket—not just your eyelids. Let it sink in. Then go about your day.
Here’s the last piece, and it’s the most important. Just pay attention. When you catch yourself squinting—at a receipt, at a street sign, at a tiny text bubble—take a breath. Drop your jaw slightly. Relax your forehead. Let your eyes rest a second. That tiny conscious correction can break the pattern. Over time, it becomes automatic. You’ll notice you’re holding your face a little softer, even when the world is demanding you see through bright light or small letters.
Crow’s feet from smiling? Those are your life story, and they’re kind of lovely. Crow’s feet from squinting? Those are just a bad habit wearing a permanent frown on your eyes. So stop squinting. Keep your eyes at ease, and that delicate skin will reward you. Not because you’re fighting age, but because you’re finally giving that area what it always needed—a break.
