Muscles Around the Eyes

More than any other types, INFJs and INTJs exhibit a near constant, very noticeable squinting of the eyes. Specifically, the upper eyelids are left neutral – neither drooped and relaxed nor tight and widened. However, the muscles under the eye and extending slightly down the cheek are strongly engaged. This can be tested by closing your eyes gently, and then squeezing them closed, with minimal other facial movements. The muscles used when squeezing are the ones that INxJs have engaged most of the time. In the gif below, I demonstrate the transition between a neutral face and this squinting.

Additionally, and in contrast to INTJs, INFJs often – though not always – imbue their eyes with the warmth of an ‘implied smile’, an ‘implied frown’, or both. The smile is created by a very slight engagement of the cheek muscles, which results in an (often almost imperceptible) raising of the corners of the mouth along with a further narrowing of the eyes, albeit more focused on the outer corners, leading to the slight appearance of “crow’s feet” wrinkles. This is demonstrated in the gif below.

Likewise, the ‘implied frown’ is formed by a very slight engagement of the eyebrow muscles inward and upward, which creates a slight (again, often almost imperceptible) furrowing of the brow inwards and upwards, and also causes the upper eyelids to appear more ‘hooded’, drooping slightly toward the middle-to-outer edge of the eye. This is actually a unique combination of both ‘sadness’ (eyebrows together) and ‘surprise/fear’ (eyebrows up). This is demonstrated in isolation below.

And finally, the squint in conjunction with the slight smile and the slight frown gives a unique combination that is rarely seen in types other than the INFJ (hence why it is so hard for me to reproduce – please forgive the sloppy execution!):

Here are some close-ups on the eyes of actual INFJs. Can you spot the expressions mentioned?