Muscle wastage goes hand in hand with ageing bodies unused to regular exercise. And often, those parts that lose considerable muscle tone are accompanied by saggy skin.
So it should come as no surprise that loose skin on your face, which lead to wrinkles, is also associated with the decline of our 43 facial muscles.
Our outer skin sits on a layer of fat that connects it to our muscles and bones.
The founder of Face Yoga Method, US-based Fumiko Takatsu, has built her empire on the philosophy that if you exercise your facial muscles, you will improve the tone of your skin.
Tightly toned skin reduces the appearance of wrinkles and helps you look younger, so the theory goes.
Flexing these muscles through a series of exaggerated expressions also improves blood circulation to the skin, which can only be beneficial.
Ms Takatsu stumbled upon this solution following a nasty car accident in her late 30s.
“I remember experiencing the shock of a lifetime when I got my driver’s licence photo taken after the crash and observed my asymmetrical face,” she recalls.
“It was difficult to look at myself. I panicked. I started to buy expensive facial creams, lotions and treatments, but none were helping me look young again.
“Then one day, I was standing in front of the mirror and realised that if I exercise my body muscles, I should be able to do the same for my face. That’s when Face Yoga Method was born.
“After practising facial exercises for several weeks, people started commenting on my results. They said I looked younger and more aligned, and wanted to learn how to tone their faces too.”
She went on to establish a business that sells facial exercise guides and videos, as well as a range of beauty products.
But there are many YouTube videos that can also teach you how to tone up your facial muscles for free.
Facerobics shows you how to get rid of a ‘turkey’ neck; Danielle Collins provides a 20-minute tutorial for your whole face; while on the Uma Show you can learn how to perform a non-surgical facelift on yourself. All in all, there are dozens of short videos promising youthful beauty in a matter of weeks.
So, in line with this information, you might want to throw out your face creams because all you need to improve your looks is the time to stick to a facial yoga regimen.
Do you exercise your facial muscles? Can you be bothered? How much do you spend on wrinkle creams and do they work?
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