We all want to put our best look forward. Whether you’re an eligible single on the dating scene looking for the love of your life, a professional who wants to create a great image, or just someone who loves feeling confident in their appearance, your look matters to you. It’s no wonder anti-aging treatments and products thrive. As it turns out, there’s something free you may be able to do at home to help enhance and rejuvenate your facial aesthetic. It’s called face yoga, and it’s quickly becoming a hot trend in the cosmetic world.
Table of Contents
3. The Best Face Yoga Exercises
4. Adding Face Yoga to Your Wellness Plan
What Is Face Yoga?
Face yoga is a practice that involves movements and exercises designed to enhance your facial appearance. If that sounds general, it’s because it is. There are different facial exercises that have their own goals: some are meant to help you look younger, others aim to lift or slim your face, and so on.
Face yoga can take many forms. It can involve performing specific movements with your face to target specific muscles. It can also involve using your hands or fingers to massage your face in precise ways. In truth, while the term itself is catchy, it’s a bit of a generalization because face yoga involves a combination of facial exercises as well as massage, acupressure, and relaxation techniques.
How Does Face Yoga Work?
When we get into the anatomy of face yoga and how it enhances your appearance, this varies based on the exercise you’re performing.
Some exercises, for example, are designed to release muscle tension in specific muscles. This can help with certain lines and wrinkles that form from facial muscles tensing under the surface and pinching the skin into a wrinkle.
Other facial exercises work by toning targeted facial muscles to adjust your facial contours. Others stimulate blood circulation that nourishes and brightens your skin, and others help with lymphatic drainage: your body’s system of removing cellular waste to reduce bloating or swelling.
Does Face Yoga Actually Work?
Any time there’s a trend or treatment that claims to improve your appearance, there’s a question everyone naturally asks: does it really work or is it just snake oil?
When it comes to the science behind face yoga, the research is somewhat limited, but there are some studies that support the practice. In a 2018 study, a group of middle-aged women was asked to do 30 minutes of yoga for your face daily or every two days for 20 weeks. After those 20 weeks, researchers saw a decrease in the women’s visually estimated ages and improved cheek fullness. Interestingly, another study in 2018 found that it produced mental health benefits for seniors.
With that said, keep in mind that face yoga is a very broad, unregulated term. Some exercises are science-backed and that align with what we know about facial anatomy and aesthetics. Still, anyone can say they’re doing face yoga and perform exercises that aren’t based on science. It’s also important to note that while the aesthetic results of facial yoga in several studies have been noticeable, it is still mild, so don’t expect an extreme or dramatic change.
Benefits of Face Yoga
The benefits can vary based on the types of exercises you’re doing and the techniques you’re using, but there are several positive results you may be able to enjoy.
Reduces Signs of Aging
Some types of face exercises can give you a refreshed, more youthful appearance. As we noted above, face yoga can relieve tension in certain facial muscles to relax fine lines that are caused by those tense muscles. In some cases, it can combat the loss of facial volume and shift in facial volume that comes with age as well by selectively toning certain facial muscles.
Improves Skin Health
One of the more unexpected benefits of face yoga is an improvement in mental health. Certain movements can trigger the release of stress-related tension and help to put you in a more positive mood. In doing facial exercise, you can include movements that shape your mouth into a smile, and studies show that smiling can improve your mood.
Improves Skin Health
A powerful way to improve your facial appearance is to enhance your skin health. Healthy skin has a bright, glowy complexion. Some types of face yoga can boost your skin health by enhancing the blood circulation to your face. This circulation is what brings your skin the oxygen and nutrients it needs for a healthy appearance.
Reduces Puffiness
Puffiness in your face can cast unflattering shadows and change your facial contours. That puffiness often comes from cellular waste, which your body naturally produces and then removes through the lymphatic system, though that removal can sometimes slow down. Some types of face yoga can stimulate your lymphatic system and help your body remove that waste, leading to less facial puffiness.
The Best Face Yoga Exercises
Ready to try face yoga for yourself? Try these four top facial exercises.
Happy Cheeks Sculpting
Give your cheeks a more sculpted look with the happy cheeks sculpting move. Start by making a closed-mouthed smile, focusing on the corners of your mouth so you can feel the muscles in the corners of your mouth engage.
Next, put your index fingers at the corners of your mouth. Apply moderate pressure as you move your index fingers up your cheeks toward the outer corners of your eyes.
When you reach the corners of your eyes, hold your fingers there for 20 seconds. Repeat this three times.
Neck Tension Releaser
You can relieve tension in your neck and lower face with a quick face yoga move. Start by tilting your head backward slightly. Hold your head in that position and tap your fingers across the front of your neck lightly from one side to the other.
Next, move your head back slightly further. Tap your fingers across your skin from one side to the other again, slightly above where you tapped last time. Continue doing this until you’ve reached tapping your temples.
Forehead Smoother
To release muscle tension from your forehead, start by putting your index finger and middle finger of each hand along your hairline lengthwise. Press your fingers gently at your hairline and move them down toward your eyebrows while lifting your eyebrows up.
When your fingers reach your eyebrows, hold this position for 10 seconds. Do three reps of this exercise, holding the last one for 20 seconds instead of 10 seconds. Do this set of three reps again.
Jaw and Neck Firmer
For a face yoga exercise that firms your jaw and neck, start by opening your mouth as if you were going to make an “ahh” sound.
Curl your bottom lip over your teeth toward your mouth and hold it this way throughout the exercise. Next, move your jaw forward slightly and tilt your jaw and head backward about an inch while closing your mouth.
Reopen your mouth, then tilt your head back another inch and close your mouth again. Repeat this 10 times, moving your head an inch farther each time.
Adding Face Yoga to Your Wellness Plan
Face yoga can help you look and feel your best as part of your overall wellness plan. As an integrated health system, SRx is all about creating a holistic approach to enhancing every aspect of your health. Learn more about SRx’s services today.
