Do Facial Exercises Work?

Assume for a moment that you’re a healthy young woman about the age of thirty, starting to see those first few lines around the corner of your eyes. Naturally, you want to postpone the inevitable, so you buy a cheap over-the-counter wrinkle cream product that costs about $20 a tube, that you have to buy once a month.

If you were to continue this trend for the next 40 years (by which time you’ve decided to accept your wrinkles), you’d spend at least $9600 on anti-aging products – and that’s the cheap alternative.

Some wrinkle cream products cost over $120 for a 6 oz. bottle that will only last you two weeks = $115,200 for your lifetime. Botox treatments can cost upwards of $300 a treatment, that must be repeated multiple times, added on top of expensive doctor’s visits -and let’s not even go into how much plastic surgery would cost.

Get the picture?

Fighting wrinkles can be expensive if you’re not careful, which is why many consumers are choosing natural and alternative methods for younger looking skin. One of the most popular methods for smoothing skin is through facial exercises.

Despite our desperation to find the best way to treat wrinkles, we can’t help but be a little skeptical. Do facial exercises work?

The Theory behind Facial Exercises

In theory, many believe that the muscles on our face are just like the muscles on the rest of our body. If stretched and worked properly, they can stay toned and tight. Consequently, because the skin sits on top of facial muscles instead of bone, working the face muscles will lead smoother tighter skin.

When performed on a regular basis, many consumers have reported a noticeable difference in their appearance, supposedly resulting in a more streamlined face and healthier complexion.

Types of Facial Exercises

A typical facial exercise program can consist of a wide variety of exercises that must be performed in a certain order. They’re simple to learn, and can be performed in front of a mirror until you’ve mastered the correct technique. Chyntia Rowland’s facial magic system, and Deborah Crowley’s DVDs can give you your first instructions on how to smooth lines and wrinkles.

One such example of a facial exercise involves placing the fingers in a row above the brow line, pushing the skin upwards toward the hairline, and then holding the skin against the bone as a form of resistance. While maintaining the resistance, work the eyebrows up and down, without closing the eyes, and then move the forehead muscles down.

Sounds like a pretty simple way to get rid of forehead wrinkles, doesn’t it? Let’s see what the experts have to say about such a technique.

What the Experts Have to Say

When asked the question, “do facial exercises work?” Dermatologist and former AAD president Wilma Bergeld stated that “you never want to do anything that moves the facial skin, especially as it ages, or over manipulate the skin because it would create more wrinkling, increasing the loss of elasticity in the skin.”

Think of it this way, when you perform facial exercises, do you see how the skin crinkles and wrinkles as you move the skin? These muscular contractions are creating deeper and more noticeable lines and crows’ feet in the future.

How Wrinkles Really Form

There are multiple reasons why wrinkles can form, ranging from genetics to sun exposure, and smoking, but the number one culprit for causing wrinkles is everyday facial expressions.

As the muscles contract, the skin forms a temporary fold or groove. When we’re young, the skin produces adequate amounts of collagen and elastin to enable the skin to spring back into place as soon as the muscle is relaxed again.

As we age, this collagen production slows and the skin is more likely to stay in the same position or even start to sag as gravity pulls it down year after year. Additionally, the muscles beneath our skin have a more difficult time relaxing after each expression, and it’s the constant tension combined with lack of collagen that causes wrinkles –not the deterioration of the tiny muscles beneath the skin.

Affordable Tips to Prevent Wrinkles

• Moisturize your skin and stay hydrated
• Protect your skin against UV light with sunscreen
• Eat a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables to provide nutrients for your skin
• Cut out smoking and alcohol
• Get plenty of sleep each night
• Try an avocado mask or other home facial
• Consult your dermatologist

Final Thoughts

Although facial exercises may be able to be beneficial to a select few individuals, for the most part, this anti-aging tip is nothing more than a fad that could potentially damage your skin and cause more harm than good.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to treat wrinkles, then try these at-home remedies instead.

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