A scam or a fountain of youth?
Facial exercise is no recent fad— and this latest fitness craze can be mastered while sitting on your sofa. Some historians even claim it helped Cleopatra keep her jowls at bay.
Foga (face yoga), is something Meghan Markle swears by and given her swoon-worthy jawline, I’m sold! Hailed as a non-invasive alternative to Botox, a little bit of clowning and frowning can keep both the wrinkles and needles away from your face. By working all these layers correctly, it increases the blood circulation, allowing more oxygen and more nourishment to reach the cells of the skin. If you’re still not sold…. A 2018 peer-reviewed study on both men and women between the ages of 40 and 65 found that doing 20 weeks of facial exercises resulted in significant improvement in their facial fullness and facial features.
Also, it’s never too late to start, in the early 90’s Greer Childers, the then 60-year-old founder of the BodyFlex workout.
In the early 1900’s, a man named Sanford Bennett wrote rapturously about his face workouts in a book called Exercising in Bed. Troubled by how quickly his face and body had aged, Bennett began exercising at age 50; after two decades, he was a regular Benjamin Button, known as “the man who grew young at 70."
In theory, when you exercise consistently and correctly, you see results in the form of a leaner, tighter, stronger body. Science and Instagram’s #beforeafter hashtag has proven that exercise can transform our bodies, but what if I told you, it could also change your skin?
The idea of foga is simple: Just like you would work out your thighs or pump iron to make everything firmer or more toned, facial exercise is founded on the belief that working out your face muscles will tone, lift, and boost volume. The principle behind facial exercise is that stimulating and building the muscles in the face through a regimen of repetitive movements can help contour your features and maintain skin elasticity.
How do facial exercises work?
Facial exercise works on your facial muscles to increase their strength. While you do them, you’re actually helping to re-contour your face in a way. As we age, the more collagen we lose, which results in sagging, drooping, and wrinkles.
Muscle is muscle facial muscles react the same way as your arms and legs do when you go to the gym to work out. The movement helps increase heat and microcirculation in those areas—the stronger the muscles beneath the skin, the tighter it looks on the surface. Simple hey?
How often should you do a facial workout?
As with all types of fitness, consistency is key to seeing results. Most fans of face yoga say that doing just a few facial exercises, most of which take about a minute, every day is enough to see a change—so long as you stick with the regimen. And while you might notice a temporary improvement right off the bat that lasts a few hours, keep in mind that it takes about six to 12 weeks of consistent facial exercises to see set changes.
What’s the difference between facial massage and facial exercise?
A facial massage boosts circulation and helps flush out excess fluids beneath skin to depuff, tighten, and bring a glow to your complexion. That said, facial massage is also believed to help tone facial muscles, so some regular kneading may help give you a tauter look.
Facialists have long been using tools and massage techniques in combination with skincare to help the face appear tauter and more sculpted, and there’s evidence that facial exercise has real benefits. Have a look at instagram accounts like @nursejamie she has her own range of tools that can be used to massage your face & on YouTube Blush with me – Parmita has some cool face yoga sequences you can follow.
What Are the Benefits of Facial Exercises?
The main one being tighter, fuller, plumper skin. When you do facial exercises, you’re contouring your face and shaping it up. Obviously doing them consistently will also increase blood circulation, and therefore increase your glow. Others claim facial exercise can release tension, reduce lines, and rejuvenate skin.
Facial exercises will not "thicken" the skin. We all have muscles that contract and allow movement in one direction, along with an opposing group of muscles that allow movement in the opposite direction. Strengthening of one muscle group with repetitive exercise allows that muscle to thicken, get larger, and more defined. However, muscles of the face (think: the forehead, around the eyes, and on the neck) are generally very thin and unlikely to get appreciably larger from exercise as they are not intended to do the heavy lifting that our large muscle groups are.
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
According to studies you’ll start seeing results in as little as three days, but three weeks will yield noticeable results. If you're concerned about facial exercises causing wrinkles just know that you aren’t holding these positions long enough to cause more wrinkles than you’d get from, say, drinking from a straw.
Are there any other ways to tone and tighten skin?
Products alone won’t build muscle, but you can get your skin to appear firmer and more defined with the right skincare formulas and tools.
Try this at home. I am literally doing it on the daily! Shall we make it a challenge?
MMM Honey!!! Yes! Its magic!
Eye Foga
Since the skin around the eyes is thinner than that on the rest of the face, it tends to show signs of aging first, in the form of wrinkles and fine lines.
Give your eye area some TLC with these exercises.
Exercise 1
Keeping your jawbone firm, move both eyes from right to left, left to right, top to bottom, and bottom to top. Repeat this exercise five times in each direction to prevent wrinkles around the eyes.
Exercise 2
To exercise the muscles around the eyes and diminish the appearance of wrinkles, place your thumbs on the outer corners of your eyes and your fingers on the top of your head. Close your eyes and squeeze tight. Meanwhile, using your thumbs, pull the outer corners of your eyes outwards and slightly upwards. Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds, relax and do 10-25 reps.
Tip:Prevent wrinkles while sleeping by sleeping on your back or reduce damage by using a memory foam pillow or silk pillowcase.
Mouth Foga
Laugh lines, or wrinkles around the outer corners of the mouth, are so-called because they’re most visible when you smile or laugh. Check out these facial exercises for wrinkles around the mouth.
Exercise 1
Keeping lips partially separated, use your fingers to pull the corners of the mouth back towards the face. Pull as far as possible while making sure lips stay parallel to each other. Hold the position for 10 seconds, relax and do 10-25 reps.
You can also do this exercise without using your hands. Simply keep your mouth closed and smile as fully as you can. Hold the position for 10 seconds, relax and do 10-25 reps.
Exercise 2
Target the orbicularis oris muscles which help control puckering and in closing the mouth. Use your index fingers to hook the corners of your mouth. Pull towards the outside about a quarter inch from resting position. Simultaneously, apply resistance with your fingers and tighten the mouth muscles, pulling in the corners of your mouth. Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds, relax and do these facial exercises for wrinkles for 10-25 reps.
Exercise 3
To strengthen the cheek muscles and reduce laugh lines, apply pressure to the wrinkles around the mouth using the tips of your index fingers. Now, smile as wide as you can while keeping the lips separated. Hold the position for about 5-10 seconds, relax and repeat 15-30 reps.
Tip:Prevent wrinkles from forming around your lips by not using straws to drink beverages, staying hydrated, and limiting caffeine and alcohol intake and smoking.
Forehead Foga
Studies suggest that deep forehead wrinkles can be a reflection of unhealthy lifestyle factors like diet and stress. While you upgrade your daily routine, also do these exercises for forehead wrinkles.
Exercise 1
Increase muscle tone in your forehead with these simple exercises. Place your little fingers directly above your eyebrows and other fingers spread lightly covering your forehead and the front part of your head. Raise and lower your eyebrows as you would if you were surprised, making sure no creases are forming on the forehead. Repeat facial exercises for wrinkles 10 times.
Exercise 2
Another facial exercise for wrinkles involves interlocking your fingers and placing your wrapped hands just behind the hairline on your forehead. Pull your forehead back a little, purse your lips to make an ‘O’, and look downwards. Hold this position for 10 seconds, relax and repeat 20 times.