Facial Exercises - Do They Really Work?

You've seen the products designed to be wrapped around your head or strapped to your face, facial exercisers designed to 'tighten and tone your facial muscles to prevent wrinkles and sagging.' Facial workouts featured in women's magazines claim to do the same.


 
Scary but necessary? Hilarious facial contraptions such as these claim to help you look younger for longer.



There's little proof that facial exercises can do anything to prevent wrinkles and facial deflation that occurs as a natural part of aging. While there are many different products that claim to tone, beautify, and slim your face, there just isn't any concrete evidence that they do anything except lighten your wallet.

Here are 4 reasons why facial exercises aren't a great idea:


1. Wrinkles are not caused by poor muscle tone: wrinkles are actually caused by repeated muscle action. A child's frown wrinkles are not as obvious as an adult's, firstly because the muscles are not yet as strong. Over the years, as we repeat the same facial expressions, the muscles will become stronger, thus increasing the wrinkling effect on the skin. 
The tell-tale lines on a smoker's lips
are caused by constant muscular motion
Think of smokers' lines, the fine lines and wrinkles that appear around the mouth as a result of years of pouting and sucking on a cigarette. Stroke victims who lose muscle control over one side of their faces, often have smoother and younger-looking skin on the immobile side of their faces. Too much movement, not insufficient exercise, contributes more towards wrinkling.  




2. Facial exercises cannot prevent or reverse structural changes in the skin. As the skin ages, it undergoes structural changes which cause it to lose its firmness and elasticity, and the facial skin starts to deflate and sag. David Bank, a New York Dermatologist, says "Volume loss is caused by a decrease in collagen, elastin and fat - none of which can be replaced by exercise." Too much facial compression or movement can actually contribute to loss of facial fat, which makes the face appear older. 

3. Years of pronounced facial movements can actually lead to static wrinkling. We call wrinkles that appear when you move a muscle dynamic wrinkles. They are most commonly seen in the forehead, eye and cheek areas, and occur when you smile, laugh, frown and cry. Over time, repeated action of a specific muscle causes creases in your skin above the muscle. This is not unlike the effect of constantly ffolding a piece of paper - the more you fold it, the deeper the crease will appear. These creases, or static wrinkles are so defined that they are visible even when your muscles are relaxed. 


While doing facial exercises in the short term may not cause static wrinkles, neither can they have any long-term effect if they are only done occasionally or for just a few weeks. Just as your muscles will lose tone if you do not keep exercising them, any facial exercises would have to be done in the long term to have a long-term effect, which is precisely why they are counter-productive. 

4. Building facial muscle tone can't make your face slimmer. Some of these facial exercisers claim to slim the face, and give it a V-shaped profile that women want. Exercises for the face is highly unlikely to remove any fat that gives a face roundness, but may encourage muscle tone where it is not wanted or needed. Just as spot exercising your stomach can't give you a slim belly, only overall weight loss can reduce fatty deposits in areas including the face. In fact, facial exercises may well produce the exact opposite effect. Just as many people who enjoy chewing gum develop pronounced masseter muscles, focused jawline exercises may also increase their size. 
A habit of chewing gave this young woman a square jawline, which was reduced by neurotoxin (Botox) injections

What can you do to help prevent aging? Read this previous post for nine tips on how to age well. You can also consider anti-aging treatments such as laser facials, discussed here. You can also see a brief overview of non-surgical options for looking younger in this article


Facial exercises cannot help you to prevent your habitual facial expressions, and they certainly can't help you relax the muscles that cause the wrinkling. Neurotoxin injections (brand names Botox and Dysport), on the other hand, are specifically designed for this very purpose, precisely how they work so well to make you look younger. Check this blog's archives for my previous articles that examine ways to improve your skin's collagen, or reverse the volume loss through the use of dermal fillers and thread lifts. 

--- Cosmetic Medicine, MD

Dr. Liow Tiong Sin is an aesthetic practitioner who practices in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, Malaysia. He has more than 12 years of expertise with non-surgical cosmetic treatments, and conducts training courses for other doctors from all around Asia. 

To connect with Dr. Liow, Like Cosmedmd's Facebook page, visit Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre's website at http://www.beverlywilshiremedical.com or drop him an email at cosmedmd@gmail.com

7 comments:

Clinic cure said...

This is awesome, share more.You can increase your butts, boobs and hips today with the best Pmma buttock injection artefill and Creams coupled with an amazing Hydrogel buttock injection 1000cc Online for a great sexy body shape butts and boobs lift creams buy azzalure online to treat wrinkles you can as well whatsapp+14013083901 for more details

physiotherapynearme said...

such a nice blog It is exceptionally accommodating for me I learn new information from your post.
physiotherapist in india
physiotherapy at home

Capri Spine Clinic said...

Looking for best physiotherapy at home for best Back pain | spine treatment in Gurgoan. In our Physiotherapy clinic highly trained specialist ensure that you get best care for physiotherapy and get easily rid with Pain.For more information call us at 9063696969.
physiotherapist at home in gurgaon

Harry ibbe said...

Hello everyone, Are you into trading or just wish to give it a try, please becareful on the platform you choose to invest on and the manager you choose to manage your account because that’s where failure starts from be wise. After reading so much comment i had to give trading tips a try, I have to come to the conclusion that binary options pays massively but the masses has refused to show us the right way to earn That’s why I have to give trading tips the accolades because they have been so helpful to traders . For a free masterclass strategy kindly contact (paytondyian699@gmail.com) for a free masterclass strategy. He'll give you a free tutors on how you can earn and recover your losses in trading for free..

Oscar said...




I would like to thank Ultimate Health Home for reversing my father's Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). My father’s ALS condition was fast deteriorating before he started on the ALS Herbal medicine treatment from Ultimate Health Home. He was on the treatment for just 6 months and we never thought my father will recover so soon. He has gained some weight in the past months and he is able to walk with no support. You can contact them at ultimatehealthhome@gmail.com

MATINA said...


I was diagnosed as HEPATITIS B carrier in 2013 with fibrosis of the
liver already present. I started on antiviral medications which
reduced the viral load initially. After a couple of years the virus
became resistant. I started on HEPATITIS B Herbal treatment from
ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC (www.ultimatelifeclinic.com) in March, 2020. Their
treatment totally reversed the virus. I did another blood test after
the 6 months long treatment and tested negative to the virus. Amazing
treatment! This treatment is a breakthrough for all HBV carriers.

Sonaksi said...

Such a nice blog. This is really effective and useful information for me. Get more useful information for different skin treatments on my official page Cosmetology Courses in Visakhapatnam.