Dot, dot, comma, dash – the moon face is done. That’s how we drew it as kids. As adults we see two dark windows over an archway, two headlights and a wide grille, a gnarled oak tree in the forest – and discover eyes, ears, noses and mouths where none are. Faces fascinate us. Look at the portrait photos on this and the following pages; they will “talk” to you whether you like it or not. Because unconsciously we immediately begin to read facial features.
Table of Contents
The eyes are the gateway to the soul
Speaking of speaking: We use the face and its components as an all-purpose metaphor to express other things: The eyes are considered the gateway to the soul. We earn a fortune, tear our hair out, perk up our ears, defy others, hang on someone’s lips, or have it written on their forehead. And whoever is slapped on the right cheek should, as a Christian, also turn the left cheek. We intuitively associate certain facial features with very clear character traits. “Strictly speaking, we are all face readers,” confirms Eric Standop, who has been a professional face reader with his own practice in Karlsruhe for ten years. “What I do and teach in workshops is not a special gift. I’m honing an ability we all possess, stimulating an ancient knowledge in a way. “But what exactly does it enable us to do? How reliable is our face radar? Should I openly and honestly tell my counterpart what I read on his face? And would I want to know the same from him?
Our first impression hits the mark 60 times out of 100 times
Paul Ekman, Professor Emeritus of Psychologyat the University of California at San Francisco and one of the most well-known researchers in this field, warns of caution: “In a sense, our face is equipped to lie the most and reveal the most. So it can be quite confusing as a source of information.” This is also because the 43 muscles responsible for our facial expressions can represent a whopping 10,000 different expressions. Do you dare to distinguish the safe? Surprisingly, however, behavioral scientists found that certain traits are understood worldwide and independent of culture. These include pain, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, joy, surprise and contempt. In addition, as early as the late 1970s, Prof. Paul Ekman and his team discovered that it is difficult for us to suppress these strong feelings at will. They give themselves away through so-called micro facial expressions – facial expressions that only appear for fractions of a second. Consciously, most of us do not perceive them. Nonetheless, we all know that vague feeling of “something is wrong here” that can suddenly arise during a conversation. “We sense whether someone is playing something for us or not,” explains Eric Standop. “For example, when I speak, the right side of my face moves more than the left. Because the nerve tracts cross in the spinal cord, the connection to the left, rational hemisphere has strengthened over the years. I’m also more of a logic person. If I were to try to move the left side of my face more when speaking in order to appear more emotional, you would notice that pretty quickly. Trained detectives can use this to determine during an interrogation whether a suspect is intentionally concealing important things. Does that sound familiar to you? That’s right, Paul Ekman’s research was the inspiration for the American TV series “Lie to Me”, which has also been running on German television since 2010. However, there is a catch. “The extent to which we mask or modify emotional facial expressions depends on cultural rules,” says Ekman. When he showed films of amputations to American and Japanese volunteers,everyone initially grimaced in disgust. However, there is a catch. “The extent to which we mask or modify emotional facial expressions depends on cultural rules,” says Ekman. When he showed films of amputations to American and Japanese volunteers, everyone initially grimaced in disgust. However, there is a catch. “The extent to which we mask or modify emotional facial expressions depends on cultural rules,” says Ekman. When he showed films of amputations to American and Japanese volunteers, everyone initially grimaced in disgust.
Differences become even more apparent when lying
However, when an experimenter in a white coat and clipboard sat in the room—an authority figure—the Japanese participants simply smiled away at the bloody scenes. These differences are even more pronounced when it comes to lying: your best friend in this country would tell you if she knew for sure that your husband was having an affair. In Asia, where love is much more about maintaining shared values, she would be more likely to answer: “No, I can’t imagine that.” Her face would not reveal that she was fibbing – because she didn’t see it as a lie. It is possible that our skepticism about face reading is also related to cultural influences, i.e. it is “typically German”: After all, the Nazis misused supposed physical characteristics (“Jewish nose”) for their racial fanaticism. Such experiences remain in the collective subconscious of a society. We can therefore not see face reading as relaxed and playful as the Chinese see their science “Siang Mien” or the South Americans their “Lectura del Rostrot”.
“Honest Communication”
Let’s try to approach this with an open mind. The fact is that even if volunteers in studies are only presented with a face for a few milliseconds, their assessments hit the mark 60 out of 100 times. Admittedly, they are only ten hits ahead of their colleague Chance. But that’s reason enough to trust your gut feeling next time. In every interpersonal encounter, we have trouble correctly classifying the countless and sometimes very subtle pieces of information that we perceive: Who is that in front of me? How well do we know each other? What is this about? How do you act in such a situation? Not to forget: Why am I so nervous? Why am I weakening my arguments? Where is my anger suddenly coming from? To prevent boiling feelings from taking control, communication psychologists advise to ask such questions. The face of our counterpart may tell us when it is time for it. If his facial expression doesn’t match the situation or what he or she is saying, we can show empathy by gently addressing our discomfort. “Honest communication,” says Eric Standop, “that’s what it’s all about.” Even if I feel like my best friend is fibbing? “Yes, I would address that. And I’m not saying that as a face reader. The best friend is worth being open and honest with her.” This also applies to ourselves: We don’t criticize anyone more harshly, we don’t look at anyone in such a distorted way. Then it can help to hold your own nose (see instructions on the left). Our face reveals to us unvarnished how and why we became what we are – strokes of fate, we’ve overcome, decisions we’ve made. “It gives us a more objective view of ourselves,” says Eric Standop. But just as we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover alone, the face doesn’t explain everything either. However, it always invites us to get to know the people behind it.
read faces
PERSONALITY & POTENTIAL
read faces
Start with yourself: Consider a recent photo of yourself with little or no makeup on. Your reflection in the mirror is less suitable
- Eyes: The size of the pupils depends on the incidence of light. If it remains constant, small pupils are more likely to be associated with intuitive gut feelings, while large pupils are more likely to be associated with rational head decisions . If you’re someone who pays attention to detail, it’s often shown by narrow eye relief. People whose eyes are further apart are thought to be more curious and romantic in studies. Strong eyebrows are attractive. Long eyelashes are associated withTolfioowity and sensitivity, especially when choosing a partner.
- Philtrum: The groove between the nose and upper lip was long considered the erogenous zone. In fact, this feature has a significant impact in studies on how attractive and erotic people are judged to be in photos. The more pronounced the philtrum, the more charisma is attributed to its “owner”. This often makes the experience that he or she is reduced to this externality.
- Nose: No, there is no correlation between its size and the length of a man’s privates. Jokes aside: the personality trait humor in particular is associated with small and rather pointed noses. People with big noses tend to be perceived as energetic, consistent and ambitious, but occasionally fail as self-promoters.
- Mouth: The sex hormone estrogen affects how full lips look. In beauty studies, the fuller the lips, the higher the attractiveness scores. This trait also plays a role in sociability and open-mindedness. The different effect of the corners of the mouth pointing upwards (joy) and downwards (sadness) can already be demonstrated in infants.
- Wangen: Face readers like to call them the “cushions of power”. Studies regularly associate big cheeks with people who use power judiciously, don’t abuse their position, and always bring others on board. Small cheeks tend to signal to us that the wearer likes to do as much alone as possible. Broad cheekbones appear confident. In people with narrow cheekbones, we tend to see resilient crisis managers. We mostly like dimples and assume that the owner has a good sense of humor.
- Ears: Study participants often suspect the head of an ambitious personality between two large ears. Small ears, on the other hand, are associated with character traits such as creativity, modesty and shyness. If a photo shows flat ears, the majority of viewers point to a pronounced need for harmony. The more the ears stick out, the more criticism the viewer expects.
Our expert in an interview
“I offer guidance”
Eric Standop, 48, on his past life, the coincidences that led him to face reading and daily looks in the mirror
vital:
Mr. Standop, I immediately notice the deep vertical lines between your eyes on your face. What does that mean?
Eric Standop: Chinese face readers call this fold “hanging needle”. In a way, it is a testament to my past. It occurs in people who are very goal-focused, block out right and left, use their elbows. This is definitely related to my previous career aspirations. That’s how young men tick.
You studied pedagogy, worked as a journalist, marketed an amusement park, then you were the regional manager of a company in Hamburg …
… and suffered from burnout for the first time. I was physically exhausted, but recovered fairly quickly. I went back to work, wanting to take it slow. But since my boss realized that I was basically bored, he quickly promoted me to Marketing Director. The second burnout came three years later.
Is that when you decided to change your life and become a face reader?
No. I never consciously decided that. At that time, as with the first burnout, I traveled to recover. In a bar I happened to meet a face reader who I treated quite disrespectfully. I thought the whole thing was humbug. But when the man told me exactly what diseases I was actually suffering from, my ambition was aroused. I wanted to learn that, go back to my line of work and apply face reading to colleagues. It should give me an advantage. Very shady desires.
It turned out differently. For a year and a half you became one of the last students of an old German face reader and opened your first practice in 2006 .
Yes, I called it “Restart Life”. Apparently I was still thinking in my old professional terms. I offered fitness, nutrition and life coaching and face reading. But hardly anyone came. I very much doubted that.
what did you do
I traveled again to figure out what I wanted. I had planned three weeks. It’s been eight months. On a beach in Colombia, where I didn’t really want to go, I met another group of face readers. The South American “Lectura del Rostro” is primarily about love, partnership and sexuality. After that I wanted to know everything. I went to China where a master taught me the art of Asian face reading. Since 2012 I have been a grandmaster in “Siang Mien”.
A whole new life.
Yes. I didn’t think it would change so much. But if you deal so intensively with your face day after day, you start to ponder. At the beginning I asked my German teacher: How much does the course cost? He did not say anything. I said: I can’t imagine. He replied: You will pay with your belief system. So it was.
Please explain that to us in more detail.
My belief system went something like this: Impatience will get you far. You have to make an effort. Focus on your goal, step on the gas, elbows out. In retrospect, I gladly gave it up. But it was a struggle to let that go. 
They offer various themes that you read in the face. Which are they?
Let’s start with health and nutrition. The so-called face diagnostics uses the fact that all organs are connected to the face via the autonomic nervous system and the two facial nerves trigeminal and facial nerve. Disturbances can lead to discolouration, redness, swelling or wrinkles. Kidney problems show up B. by wrinkles under the eyes, I recognize an inflammation of the gastric mucosa by a reddened tip of the nose.
What does the face tell you about love, partnership and sexuality?
For this topic I mainly use the South American technique. The eyes, the mouth and the philtrum, the groove between the nose and upper lip, are particularly interesting. I advise people who are looking for a partner but cannot find one. Or I try to help couples who keep having conflicts. moves e.g. B. the mouth hardly, is something fallow in the areas of love, creativity or communication.
But that also has to do with your own personality.
Naturally. All themes in the face are related to each other. However, personality questions are also about getting a more objective look at yourself. I can also read potentials and talents. Helping when someone is faced with a difficult decision.
Then can you give guidance?
Well said! It’s about orientation, not about crashing statements like “You’ll die at 82” or “You’ll get married at 42.” That’s not readable on the face.
Which topics are still missing?
The two most mystical: the Chinese reading of destiny and life’s purpose. Our face shows what phase of life we are in, how we can shape it and when we will change to the next phase. When I read that, I find myself often speaking like this: “The Chinese would say now…” Apparently my Western mind hasn’t gotten used to it yet.
Can you still read something if a woman has had botox injections?
Botox disappears quickly. Real cosmetic surgeries make it harder for me. They erase various sides of the face. But with 570 pages instead of 600 I can still read a lot.
Which side was the most surprising in your own face?
I can’t say. I stand in front of the mirror every morning, discover something and observe what develops.
