A mirror becomes kinder when it is allowed to be information rather than an examination.

A mirror can be used two ways. As information it answers a practical question about a collar, a stain, or the weather outside, and then you move on. As an examination it invites a verdict, and verdicts are seldom either kind or accurate. Nothing about the glass decides which is happening, so the difference lies entirely in what you came to it for.

Try giving mirrors a job this week: check the specific thing, then leave. If a verdict starts forming, treat that as a signal to step away rather than a fact about your face.