Do facial exercises actually work or make your wrinkles worse?
There is plenty of information about face exercises, but is there any scientific evidence that exercises for the face are really effective?
No, as far as I know, all we have is the testimonials of many people who believe they work.
Update: A small study carried out by Jama Dermatology found that women who practiced facial exercises for 20 weeks looked 3 years younger. You can read the article in The New York Times.
Theory Behind Face Exercises
The theory behind is that contracting and relaxing the facial muscles will improve muscle tone and thus the face will be more defined and relaxed.
It makes sense to think that if we exercise the muscles in our bodies to tone them up, the same will happen for the muscles in our faces.
Some people will argue with that, saying that the muscles in the face are smaller and don’t respond to movement in the same way as the larger muscles in the body.
I can only talk for personal experience. I have my own theory and it works for me.
I have been doing these exercises for years and I can honestly say that they help my face to look tighter, but with some exceptions.
How to Do Facial Yoga for Best Results
If you want to avoid creases and wrinkles when performing facial exercises you need to stretch the skin with your hands and work the muscles underneath (by isolating the muscles).
If facial expressions give us fine lines and wrinkles over time, the same could happen with the exercises in which you have to adopt a wrinkled expression.
At first, you should start with a few repetitions, and as you get used to and the facial muscles become stronger, increase the repetitions.
The goal is to increase the number of repetitions until the facial muscles tired.
More and more people are experiencing the benefits of facial exercises but the results will vary from person to person.
For me, facial exercises form part of my daily skin care routine and I practice them twice a day.
You need to be constant to get all the benefits.
If you are consistent I’m sure you will soon see great results!
There are many exercises you can do but I’m a follower of Cynthia Rowland and her facial exercise program. This program is really effective and one of the best I have ever tried. If you are ready to prevent, delay & reduce wrinkles, as well as sagging skin, check Facial Magic.
Have a look a this video by Cynthia Rowland teaching how to perform face exercises.
You only need to look at her face to see the benefits of these exercises.
If you don’t have access to the seminar the best next thing is to learn the exercises through her effective program.
5 Face Firming Exercises for Wrinkles
These simple anti-aging exercises work very well to achieve a youthful look at the home and prevent sagging skin. They will benefit those with younger skin (prevent), middle age woman (reduce) and older women (reverse).
Practice them as often as you can (daily or every other day) if you want to see an improvement in your skin’s appearance. It will only take few minutes of your time, so there is no excuse to be lazy.
Do facial exercises work? Get into the habit of doing face exercises to delay and diminish wrinkles
You could even practice them when watching television, listening to music or preparing dinner once you get used to.
Remember that if you are constant and perform the exercises in the right way you will see results, maybe not immediately, but don’t forget that this is a longer and cheaper investment for your face.
1. Reduce forehead wrinkles
- Place the index fingers just above the eyebrows.
- Pull the skin down with your fingers, making sure that there is not creases between the eyes.
- Raise the eyebrows while pressing down with the fingers, opposing to the movement.
- Repeat thirty times, then relax and repeat twice more.
2. Get rid of a double chin and jowls
- Relax the shoulders and raise your chin.
- Place your closed hand underneath your chin.
- In this position move the chin muscles forward, hold it and count until ten.
- Relax and repeat ten times.
3. Get more cheek!
- Open your mouth forming a long “O” making sure that there is not lines (wrinkles) from the nose to the mouth.
- In this position try to smile with the corners of the mouth, towards the cheeks.
- Is just a small movement to work the muscles underneath the cheeks.
- If necessary place your fingers over the lines from the nose to the mouth to smooth them over.
This a similar cheek exercise. To prevent wrinkles in the lower part of the face, stretch the skin with the thumb at the same time you practice the exercise.
4. Eye exercise for eye bags
- With your head straight and looking ahead squint with your upper eyelid thirty times.
- The rest of the face must remain still.
- Now with the head in the same position look down, towards the floor and raise your upper eyelids for another thirty times.
- Relax and repeat twice more.
5. Lift your eyelids
- Place your middle fingers underneath your eyebrows and push them as high as you can with your fingertips.
- Now in this position and with your forehead muscles begin to push down to create resistance.
- Hold for 5 seconds and release.
- Relax and repeat the exercise 5 times.
This last exercise is from my favorite facial exercise program called facial magic. It does really help you to tone those facial muscles and lift the skin.
