Do Facial Exercises Work?
Facial muscles are like any other muscle in your body. If you don't use them, they'll get weak and saggy. There are exercises for the face but do facial exercises work?
Sure, they do! If you do the right exercises, you can keep your face looking young for longer.
The good news is that facial exercises are easy to do and there's a variety of them out there. You can also take advantage of face yoga or Pilates classes if they're available in your area; both disciplines include movements specifically designed to target facial muscles.
Exercise No. 1: Look up, look down
Look up and down 20 times with your eyes closed, slowly and without moving your head.
Repeat the exercise fast, so that it takes less than two seconds to complete each time you look up at the ceiling and down at the floor.
Repeat once more, but this time make sure to stick out your tongue as far as possible at both ends of the movement (up for looking up, down for looking down).
Exercise No. 2: Smile
The smile exercise is all about activating the muscles around your mouth. Practice this move in front of a mirror. You should feel your cheeks lift up, which will make the area around your mouth feel fuller and more prominent.
You might feel silly at first and wonder to yourself, “do facial exercises work? This feels weird.” But, it pays off in the end.
When smiling, pay attention to the way that it makes you feel—it may not be an instant mood booster but over time, regular practice can help improve overall positivity and happiness levels.
The best way to practice this exercise is by smiling to everyone you pass. You’ll not only help your face look younger, but you’ll make everyone around you just that much happier!
Exercise No. 3: Squint
Squinting is another great facial exercise that you can do anywhere. It’s a very simple and easy way to relax your facial muscles, which helps reduce stress and tension in your face.
To do this exercise:
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Squeeze your eyes shut tight for 10 seconds Relax them again for 5 seconds before squeezing your eyelids together again for another 10 seconds – repeat 5 times.
You can also do the opposite like this:
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Open your eyes wide for 30 seconds. Relax them again for 15 seconds before opening them up as far as possible without straining yourself - repeat 5 times.
Exercise No. 4: Look left, look right
In this exercise, you'll be looking left and right while keeping your head in place.
To start, lift your chin up to the ceiling without lifting your shoulders or tilting the neck forward. Then look to the left as far as you can see before coming back to center.
Repeat on the right side of your body. You should repeat this process 10 times with each eye movement (left then right).
It’s important to remember that when you do facial exercises work hard at focusing on each muscle.
Exercise No. 5: Focus on your ears or the back of your head
The final facial exercise is to focus on your ears or the back of your head. This exercise requires you to keep your eyes and mouth still, as well as not move your jaw.
The goal of this exercise is to engage a muscle called the temporalis that runs along each side of your face from just behind the earlobe to just beneath the temple.
Holding this muscle in place can help improve posture by keeping your head straight instead of slouching forward or tilting it back.
Place one hand on either side of your head with fingers pointing toward each other and joining at the top just behind where they meet above both ears if possible (you may have one hand slightly higher than another).
You should feel a slight pull in these areas when pressing firmly enough; but don’t overdo it. If there's no sensation at all while pressing down then you're probably pressing too lightly—try pressing a little harder.
Once you can feel this sensation, hold the position for 30 seconds. Release your hands and relax.
Exercise No. 6: Chew gum
Chew gum.
That's it! Just chewing gum can help to exercise your jaw muscles, which can help to reduce the appearance of lines on your face.
It also helps with stress and mood, as well as improving concentration—all of which are benefits that make it worth doing regularly.
Conclusion
Facial exercises are effective when it comes to improving the appearance of your face. So, do facial exercises work? Certainly.
They can also help with issues like wrinkles, sagging skin and under-eye bags.
However, you shouldn't rely solely on them as your only means of facial maintenance because they're not meant for long-term use. Make sure that you're also using a good moisturizer or sunscreen every day so that your skin remains healthy.
