Have you ever done facial exercises?
I remember first reading about facial exercise in a teen magazine when I was about sixteen. The article mentioned that it would help maintain facial muscle tone and so, I sat in front of the mirror, read the instructions and started exercising. I was feeling really silly and, after exercising for a few more days without really seeing any results, I just decided to stop. And I’m really glad I did. Although these days there are lots of websites praising the benefits of facial exercises, the truth is, they just don’t work. Worse, they can actually damage skin. How? Before answering that, we need to know what makes skin age..
Why skin ages and sags
Supporters of facial exercise believe that it prevents, stops and reverses sagging skin by toning up the muscles of the face. However, this theory has a major flaw: lack of muscle tone is NOT what causes skin to sag and wrinkle and so, even if it were possible to tone these facial muscles, it will provide no benefit for your skin. So, what causes aging instead? Lots of factors: sun exposure, genetics, gravity, bone and hormone loss, repetition of facial movements, depletion of collagen, elastin and fat in the skin and the loosening of the ligaments that hold the muscles in place which occurs as we age.
Why facial exercise is bad for skin
Now, exercising facial muscles cannot stop or reverse all those processes that cause aging, but it can make things worse because, as I stated above, repetition of facial movements is one of the causes of aging. Paula Begoun, in one of her articles about facial exercise, quotes Dr Wilma Bergfeld, Head of Clinical Research, Department of Dermatology at The Cleveland Clinic: “Though I don’t recommend them I do believe they could work in some controlled situations. However, you would never want to do anything that moves the facial skin, especially as it ages, or overmanipulate the skin, because it would create more wrinkling, increasing the loss of elasticity in the skin.”
Dr Oz and Dr Michael F. Roizen in their You: Being Beautiful book, agree: “Exercising the facial muscles is a sure way to increase wrinkles. The facial muscles pull on the skin to give you facial expressions. And the repetitive movements of the skin, over the years, combined with the normal thinning of the collagen and elastin of the dermis, will eventually crack the skin, causing wrinkles. Botox is the reverse of exercise; it paralyzes muscles and lessens wrinkles.”
This makes a lot of sense. Think about it: what are the areas of your face that have more fine lines and wrinkles? The forehead, and the areas around the eyes and mouth. Why? Because we move them a lot, when we smile, when we frown, when we squint our eyes and when we purse our lips (something that smokers especially do very often and another good reason why they should quit). Over the years, all these movements contribute to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, so we should limit, not increase them!
The Bottom Line
There are no studies that show that facial exercise is good for skin, but there’s plenty of evidence that shows that increasing facial movements increases wrinkles too. Of course that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t laugh, smile or frown. It’s important to be able to express our emotions and we shouldn’t be paranoid about it causing wrinkles. We should just be careful to avoid unnecessary muscle movement and that means no facial exercise and no smoking for instance.
Do you do facial exercises?
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Somehow knew that my poker-face would come in handy! Lol! Just kidding. I think there’s some beauty of getting older as well. Hopefully I could get old with some dignity!
Phlox
EyeGraffiti´s last [type] ..Painted Falsies!
EyeGraffiti, I agree with you. Aging is a natural process and we should learn to age with grace and dignity. And I don’t think that’s difficult to do if we take proper care of our skin and use sunscreen daily.
I always thought it was a bit ridiculous to do so and I am so glad you’ve warned me because while I’ve considered it dumb, I wasn’t against it. Hooray. Another day smarter thanks to giorgiawithbrains.
Janessa, it is a bit ridiculous indeed, isn’t it? I wouldn’t care much if it helped, but it only makes skin worse so it’s best not to try that at all. And aww, thanks. You’re making me blush.
:] You are literally one of the best bloggers (even YouTuber) who avidly responds to her readers! I have been watching YouTube for nearly 4 years and reading blogs for over 2 years haha. I guess videos may get a lot of non-reply-able responses like: “cool” “wow”… but you are one of the best! Some who reply to all their comments still don’t take as much time as you do to reply, in my honest opinion.
Janessa, aww thank you! It’s a pleasure for me to talk to you all. It’s you all that have made the blog become the wonderful little community it is and I’m really grateful for that. Besides, I think that if you all take the time to comment, then it’s only polite and fair that I respond. I know that some bloggers are busy and may not have the time to answer to every comment, but imo they should at least make an effort to answer a few. I’m really put off by bloggers who never answer comments, not even when their readers ask them questions.
Yup, I agree with your last sentence, and the one before that and before that one too. (the whole thing basically) :] That’s the spirit! I hope that all your effort will one day pay you back with a wonderful surprise.
Janessa´s last [type] ..My Spring 2012 Makeup Looks
Thank you. You are very kind, Janessa.
Great post! What about facial massage we usually get during facial session? Will this contribute to wrinkles as well?
CF, a facial massage is fine as long as it doesn’t include any pulling and tugging of the skin as that is what contributes to wrinkles.
I’ve thought myself that facial excercises may worsen wrinkles, but I still like to do them. It’s more of a mental thing for me, it keeps my personality loose and my humor up to date, last thing I want to be is a tight-lipped, monotone person who never has any fun!
Kimber, I don’t think they are any good skin, but if they make you feel good, and you are aware of the potential side effects, then that’s ok.
Wow I got a little scared after reading this lol. I’m 18 and have been doing facial exercises since last year. All I know is that I now have a well defined and toned face, much like Johnny Depp during his younger years. I don’t know if this works for everyone though. Haha I even got my hair styled to his to make sure I really do look like him in this picture : http://images.sodahead.com/profiles/0/0/1/4/6/5/8/2/1/Younger-Johnny-Depp-cute-39038250409.jpeg
John, sorry for scaring you! Facial muscles are different from those on the rest of the body, and I don’t really think you can tone them by exercising. You are still very young, and at your age, you should have a defined face anyway. If there was a change, it could also have been due to diet or skincare products. In any case, experts agree that facial movements, such as smiling and frowning, can increase wrinkles, so the least we move our facial muscles unnecessarily the better. But I’m glad you are pleased with the way you now look.
Wow that was a fast reply :O
Anyhow, I think the greatest change was going from a sort of chubby normal face to a toned face. I didn’t do any diet change but I guess the stress of my first college year made me lose some fats ;D
I also gained dimples on my left side; before when I smile only my right dimple appears. I do think it can cause wrinkles as when I smile and laugh, I notice this deep lines around my mouth. Think of mick jagger smiling on his 20s (1960 mick):
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b366/HurricaneJeanne/The%20Boys/Mick1.jpg
Yes, I think the stress would probably be the real cause rather than facial exercises.
Dimples are really cute. Any facial movement, such as smiling and frowning, can cause wrinkles in the long run, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do them. We should, but only when necessary.