More than 24 muscles grace each side of your face. While each type performs a different function, they work together in synchrony. Most of them control your facial expressions, but they can also contribute to signs of aging, including frown lines and crow’s feet.
Face exercises don’t require any special equipment. You can practice them anywhere. wherever you are. Do facial exercises provide benefits? Learn the answer and how to perform them and incorporate them into your daily skincare routine.
Do Yoga Facial Exercises Provide Benefits?
Performing facial muscle exercises may have a toning effect on the face’s appearance. While there aren’t extensive studies on the matter, exercising your facial muscles may produce some benefits, Suzanne Olbricht, an associate professor of dermatology, says in an interview for Harvard Medical School.
These benefits may theoretically include, she says, in helping to:
- Fight gravitational pull on the face
- Reduce the appearance of thicker scars
Olbricht says that if you’re interested in trying facial exercise, there’s no harm in that, even though she admits that she remains unconvinced that it actually works.
What Is Yoga for Your Face?
Facial exercises are also sometimes referred to as face yoga — stretches and movements for the face that are intended to activate the muscles and make them stronger and more toned. The exercises sometimes also include neck and shoulder movements, to target lines across the neck and keep them stay toned. As muscles become stronger, it’s thought that they can help prevent the skin from sagging or from developing expression lines to some degree.
This is also done in an effort to decrease the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Additionally, lightly tapping the face and massaging it may boost facial circulation, which may give you a youthful-looking glow and help reduce puffiness.
Any kind of exercise can feel pleasant and may release endorphins and reduce stress, including facial exercises. A University of Tsukuba, Japan, study found that twice-weekly facial exercises for 30 minutes each session improved mental health, facial expression and tongue muscle power in elderly people. The study recommended facial yoga as a potential therapeutic option.
How Long Does Facial Yoga Take to Work?
The research on face yoga and facial exercises in general is relatively new. However, a study in JAMA Dermatology looked at participants ages 40 to 65 years old who had photodamage and other associated mild symptoms. The participants performed 30 minutes of facial yoga exercises daily over eight weeks at home, followed by three-to-four times each week for the next 12 weeks.
The study found improvements in upper and lower cheek fullness in participants at the end of the study.
According to Cosmetic Clinician Dr. Rita Rakus, to see long-term results from facial yoga, the best recommendation is to do a daily facial yoga exercise practice of at least 15 minutes a day.
How to Do Face Yoga
Any consistent movement, stretching, tapping or massage of your facial muscles qualifies as face yoga exercise. Following are some ways you can build a daily 15-minute facial exercise routine into your schedule.
Tap in Your Skincare Products
When you apply skincare, such as a serum like the Tensage Daily Serum or a moisturizer like the Tensage Advanced Cream Moisturizer, you can spend some extra time giving your face a massage as you apply the products.
Many face yoga exercises can be remembered by animal and other names.
- The lion. Take a deep breath, then stick out your tongue and exhale to stretch and release your facial muscles. Repeat the movement, similar to a lion’s breath you might have done in a traditional yoga class, for about 10 times.
- Hamster cheeks. Puff your cheeks and transfer air from cheek to cheek for about a minute while breathing through your nose. It may help tone the muscles in your cheeks.
- The giraffe. Tilt your head back and stick the bottom lip out. Hold for a count of 10 to tone and strengthen your neck muscles, then repeat five times.
- Flirty eyes. The sensitive eye area may benefit from exercise, too. Tap and gently sweep the fingers around the eye area to reduce the appearance of dark circles and bags. Practice “flirty eyes” by holding your pointer fingers under the eyes, looking up and fluttering the eyelids for around 30 seconds. While you do this, pucker your lips to tone the lower face.
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