Facial exercises may be one of the oldest anti-aging techniques. Yogis in India have been practicing it for thousands of years, and variations of facial gymnastics have become popular in popular culture since the early 20th century. The idea seems sound: just as we work out in the gym to keep our bodies flexible and strong, it follows that with regular exercise, the facial muscles can become tighter and stronger. And now, with technologies like Emface gaining popularity and home EMS devices becoming more effective and affordable, there may be more ways to strategically build facial muscles than ever before. What can give youth. . Here's what you need to know.
What are facial exercises?
Basically, that's exactly what it sounds like: performing repetitive movements and exaggerated facial expressions to activate and build muscle. Think of it like strength training for the face: by strengthening the matrix that holds everything together, sagging of the jawline and eyes can become less likely over time. Facial aging is caused by a loss of elasticity, as well as a gradual migration of fat between the muscles and skin, which tends to decrease over time. The idea behind the exercise is that as you build muscle, fat deposits are more likely to stay in place, making your face look fuller and younger.
He works?
Can! A 2018 study by Northwestern University found that 20 weeks of daily facial exercise actually resulted in significantly tighter skin and plumper upper and lower cheeks. The protocol included 30 minutes per day for the first eight weeks of the study, then every other day. Participants — 16 women aged 40 to 65 — rated themselves three years younger by the end of the study, while unbiased dermatologists noted a slight but significant increase in cheek fullness. Since this is the first and so far the only reliable academic study that measures the effects of facial exercise, consider this a cautiously optimistic sign that facial exercise actually does benefit if you spend a lot of time on it and diet.
“I recommend daily facial exercises,” says Doris Day, MD, a New York City dermatologist. "We exercise our face every time we make an expression, and most people over-tighten certain muscles, which weakens the opposing muscles. When you wrinkle your face a lot to create wrinkles, you over-exert those muscles and weaken the levator ani and smile muscles. because you use those muscles less." One more rule. A muscle can only be pulled in one direction. So for every muscle that goes down, there is an opposite/accompanying muscle that pulls up. I try to teach my patients (and there is a section in my book Beyond Beautiful ) how to do facial exercises to tighten and rejuvenate them. This helps to prolong the period of treatment in the clinic, helps in many cases to delay the need for treatment.
© Westend61 - Getty Images Close-up of a young woman receiving a facial massageWhat are the best anti-aging facial exercises at home?
The Northwestern University study included exercises designed by Gary Sikorsky of Happy Face Yoga. The two most effective are the cheek lift and the brow lift. For a cheek lift, open your mouth in an "O" shape, pull your upper lip toward your upper teeth, and smile to tighten your cheek muscles. Then gently place your fingers on the top of your cheek, relax the muscle and lift it up a few times. To raise your eyebrows, smile, then press three fingers of each hand under your eyebrows to open your eyes. Try wrinkling your face with your fingers, then close your upper eyelids tightly and lift your head up. Hold this position for 20 seconds, then relax.
Day recommends what she calls a thin smile: "It's all the movement of a wide smile, wide enough to pull your ears back, but no teeth," she says. "It lifts your jaw, makes you happy, and helps you look solid and real. It's the opposite of a frown, so you don't pucker your brows or lift the corners of your mouth.
Do you have a scammer?
this is not true. But there is another way: stimulation of facial muscles through massage. This is the theory behind the phenomenal success of FaceGym, founded by the former mischievous Financial Times columnist Ing Theron. “I really wanted the workout to mimic what you do in the gym,” she says. So each face consists of a warm-up followed by "detox and cardio detox" and then "muscle shaping, conditioning and strengthening." He considers it "a personal training studio for the face." Our instructors go on an intensive 3 week boot camp to learn, manipulate and perfect deep tissue massage techniques. The muscles are used with the addition of equipment such as the FaceGym Pro. Face Ball, Guasha Stone and Golden Roller Ball are a unique combination of muscle work and tools, very effective, giving amazing results.
Celebrity facial specialist Tuyen Nguyen, who regularly works with Michelle Williams, Cindy Crawford and Amal Clooney, takes a similar approach to facial exercises, but believes it can all be done by hand — without microcurrents or rollers [as she says: given . Better results than facial exercises alone and faster results]. "It's very difficult for people to do facial exercises because they have to do 20 to 30 minutes a day. Most of us don't have time to shower," he says. "When you're 20, you don't need to exercise and maintain muscle tone." "because your metabolism is very fast. But after five to ten years, your body doesn't maintain proper muscle tone, so you need to exercise more. Same philosophy for the skin. I just work while the client is lying down."
The difference between active facial exercises, which can strengthen muscles, and passive facial exercises done through massage, he says, is that the former “cannot improve elasticity or porosity,” while the latter can. “You see your tone come back,” she says, “and when you train your body, you increase endorphins, strengthen your immune system, and improve your complexion through blood flow.” Nguyen usually meets with clients once or twice a month, depending on schedule and budget. “But when I start with most people, I bring them back a week after the first session because as a coach I get muscle memory. The more blood I push, the more my cheeks stretch and the more they work…. their skin and muscles are elastic, so the more you exercise, the better the body looks.”
Cosmetologist Joanna Schick says the best approach is to combine a regular facial with at-home microcurrent massage for muscle building—and if you have time for a facial, go for it. “I recommend facials to all my clients,” she says. “It's different from facial exercises and I think it's a lazy way to stimulate your muscles and skin. It can really reshape your face, lift your eyebrow and jawline, and shape your cheekbones. This improves circulation. It stimulates, brings more oxygen. and nutrients to tissues and results in a brighter complexion." All of my treatments involve facials, but I can't do facial exercises on clients, they have to do it themselves.
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