Could facial
exercise be the answer to the age old question
–“Can I maintain a youthful appearance?”
Must I spend my children’s inheritance
to stave off Mother Nature’s footprints
across my face? Do you have a problem area
on your face that you would like to change?
Double chin, droopy eyes, jowls, pouches,
crows feet or marionette lines? Aging is as
sneaky as sun damage and it seems that in
a twinkling of an eye, your face can look
so different that you might wonder just who
is that person staring back at you in the
mirror? Facial exercises can help drastically
with the appearance of your face and the way
you will feel afterwards.
Sometimes, plastic surgery techniques will
not stop the aging process; muscles in the
face
continue to make their downward slide dragging
the skin unnaturally, creating the need for
more and more surgical procedures. With exercise,
the muscles become stronger, the skin looks
revitalized and lifted. Most importantly,
facial exercises can be performed inexpensively
at home.
One of the things you can do before you start
a facial exercise
regimen is taking pictures of your face. This
way, you can track your progress and you will
want to update your photos at the end of every
third week. In about three weeks friends and
colleagues will begin noticing that something
is definitely different about you. They may
think you have changed your hair in some way
or that you are sleeping better but you will
know what they’re seeing is your pretty
face returning.
Facial exercise will also make you look younger
because it employs resistance and isometric
contractions of the muscles using the thumbs
and fingers. This doesn’t mean that
you will look sixteen or even twenty again
but shaving off ten or fifteen years from
your appearance with exercise rivals the results
of most plastic surgery procedures.
Even though we talk, sing or laugh, the muscles
continue to soften and become lax; it’s
only when the facial muscles are specifically
exercised do they begin to plump up and support
your skin
better. The muscles of the face elongate just
like the muscles in your arms, thighs and
buttocks; in fact, the muscles in the face
will have elongated about one-half inch by
the time most people have reached the age
of 55. The elongation is the result of atrophy
of the muscles and gravity. The elongation
of facial muscles affects every area of your
face. For instance, the “apples”
in your upper cheeks may not be positioned
prominently, in fact, when a smile is made,
rather than seeing fullness high on the cheeks,
the muscles may appear flat and midway between
the nose and mouth.
What happens if you add one-half inch or more
to the area under the chin? The dreaded wattle
is developing. One-half inch added to the
jaw line means jowls are forming. Beginning
a facial exercise program to sculpt and contour
the face may seem daunting at first because
the movements and positioning feel somewhat
awkward. However, it is well worth the trial
to save your face years of wrinkles and personality
adding lines. Facial exercises are a great
way to keep your skin in shape.
