Facial exercises also referred to as facial yoga, has been a trending topic lately. The routines promise to deliver anti-aging benefits, glowing skin, and even relief from stress and headaches. At face value, they seem like a great non-surgical way to put your best face forward, but the question remains: Do they actually work?
What Are Facial Exercises?
Facial exercises include different movements involving the muscles of the face that are supposed to work the same as resistance training, similar to how you work out the rest of your body. Because you can’t lift weights with your cheeks, the routines demand multiple reps, and recommend that you do them every single day.
Though they seem to be trending only lately, fitness coaches and celebrities have been touting some version of the exercises since the 1960s to slim the appearance of the face or to stave off the aging process. Now, you can find hundreds of different facial workout routines online to get those muscles moving.
Do Facial Exercises Actually Work?
Maybe. Until 2018, there was no clinical evidence that facial exercises did what they say they will. Then, Northwestern University held a study asking women aged 40 to 60 to exercise their faces 30 minutes a day for 5 months. The findings reported an improved appearance with firmer skin and fuller upper and lower cheeks. The doctors involved in the study surmised that bigger muscles, such as those that support the cheek, resulted in skin that looked more filled out and therefore firmer. However, until more long-term studies are conducted, it remains to be seen whether facial exercise is a practical solution or even a promising one.
In terms of slimming and anti-aging, there are reasons why health experts are especially skeptical that facial exercises can have any effect at all. When losing weight, the human body tends to shed pounds proportionately, which means that working out one specific area is not going to result in slimming that area down. As far as anti-aging goes, some facts point to their inefficacy there too. For instance, since the skin on your face is more delicate than on other areas of the body, the stretching and creasing brought on by muscle movement is actually what causes wrinkles. This is how we get laugh lines, crow’s feet, and wrinkles above the brow.
Even if they do result in an improved appearance, the nature of the exercises means that you have to do them every day, for up to thirty minutes a day. That’s a huge time commitment for most of us, and for many of us, an impossible one. While they could be a unique addition to your regular workout routine, these days there are faster ways to improve your appearance that are proven to be effective.
Non-Surgical Treatments That Do Work
Depending on what your concerns are, there’s a medical aesthetic solution that can address it.
Oftentimes when it comes to the face, people want to treat a few different issues together, such as wrinkles, sagging skin, and other visible imperfections related to aging. With radio frequency-based wrinkle reduction and skin tightening treatments, you can treat your most pressing concerns hassle-free.
Using Multi-Polar Radio Frequency and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields—Venus Concept's patented (MP)2 technology—produces uniform heat under the skin’s surface. (MP)2 works to safely restore skin’s natural collagen and elasticity for a firmer, brighter, and more youthful appearance. The sessions are designed to be comfortable and relaxing, with no downtime. Best of all, at just 15-30 minutes, they take less time doing one facial exercise workout.
Qualified professionals can help you create a personalized plan with anti-aging treatments to reach your aesthetic goals, the first step is to find one near you. Take the first step by using the search field provided below.
