Let’s face the facts: as you age, you’ve probably noticed that, as women, we seem to have deeper wrinkles than men. There are several contributing factors. First, since estrogen contributes to skin health and stimulates blood flow, older women tend to get deeper wrinkles than men. Secondly, sebaceous glands do not release as much sebum following menopause, which causes the skin to feel dry and less supple. Men’s skin is generally firmer and around 20 to 30 percent thicker than women’s skin.
Women’s Unique Skin Has Unique Needs
Along with a facial exercise routine, you will want to make sure that you’re doing these three important things:
Moisturize
A good skincare routine promotes and restores moisture to the skin. Moisturizer creates a barrier between your skin and the climate, including cold, dry air that can further dry out the skin. Moisturizing also helps to rehydrate and enhance the capacity of the skin to hold water.
Healthy Nutrition
A well-balanced diet that includes hydration and a full spectrum of nutrients helps protect the skin. Fruit and vegetables contain powerful antioxidants that help to protect the skin from the cellular damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals, smoking, pollution, and sunlight can cause wrinkling and age spots.
Take a Collagen Supplement
Some studies show that taking collagen supplements for several months can improve skin elasticity, reducing wrinkles and roughness, as well as signs of aging.
Face Exercises To Strengthen, Define, and Firm Face Muscles
Face yoga involves massage and exercises that stimulate the muscles, skin, and lymphatic system. Your face has almost 20 flat skeletal muscles that attach to different places on your skull. All these face muscles provide ample opportunity for working to build up these muscles and, as a result, firming and lifting specific areas on your face. Face exercises will also soften and relax your face muscles to help alleviate tension, stress, and worry.
1. Eye Lifting Face Exercise
Achieve the look of an upper eyelift with this facial exercise. This exercise targets the frontalis muscle of the forehead, which connects to the levator muscles of the eyelid.
How to do the Upper Eye Lift face exercise:
- Take the three middle fingers of each hand and place them underneath your eyebrows
- Push your eyebrows straight up.
- Look straight ahead and use your forehead muscles to push down against your fingertips.
- Hold for 10 seconds. On the 7th second, close your eyes, keeping your eyebrows high and anchored.
- Relax and then repeat the move 2 more times.
2. Neck Tightening Face Exercise
It is 100% possible to work out your neck muscles to create a younger-looking, tighter neck. Consistent exercise of the neck muscles can help build them back up. It also improves blood circulation in your heck, which can give it a tighter, smoother appearance.
2a. How to do a Chin Up face exercise:
- Lie on your back.
- Push your chin up toward the ceiling to make an in-and-out motion with your jaw.
- Release and relax your jaw.
- Repeat for 30 seconds.
2b. How to do a Tongue Out face exercise:
- Sit in a comfortable chair.
- Gently look up toward the ceiling.
- Pucker your lips out and stick your tongue out as far as possible.
- Hold this position for 3-5 seconds.
- Release and relax your mouth.
- Repeat 10-15 times (you may have to work up to this).
3. Cheek Toning Face Exercise
The lip pull exercise, also known as the Smiling Fish Face, is one of the easiest and best facial exercises you can do anywhere. This exercise helps tone and stretch cheek muscles and may help reduce flabbiness.
How to do the Smiling Fish Face exercise:
- Suck in your cheeks like a fish, with your lips pursed.
- With your lips still pursed, smile as hard as you can.
- Hold for 10 seconds.
- Release and relax.
- Repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 reps.
4. Jaw Defining Face Exercises
It may seem like having a defined jawline is more for men than women. However, a defined jaw is also a sign of youth in women. As our skin begins to lose elasticity, it seems to first droop just below the corners of our mouths at the jawline. Routine exercises to help those muscles respond and firm will lift that jawline area. Here are 2 excellent jawline exercises:
4a. Resisted Chin Drops
The resisted chin drop will work the muscles surrounding your jaw and chin.
How to do a Resisted Chin drop:
- Make a fist with your dominant hand and place your elbow on a table with your fist up.
- Set your chin on your fist and press down.
- Try to open your mouth against the resistance you provide from your fist.
- Hold this resisted position for 5 seconds.
- Release and relax.
- Repeat 9 more times for a total of 10 reps.
4b. Jawbone presses
This exercise targets those muscles connected to your jawline and can help give that lift under the skin. Using a facial oil is always recommended when sliding across your skin.
How to do Jawbone Presses:
- Cradle your face in your hands by placing your thumbs next to each other under your chin with the fingers of each hand holding the sides of your face up towards your ears.
- While applying moderate pressure (and using face oil to help glide), slide your thumbs apart along your jawline to each side while simultaneously trying to open your mouth. This creates the necessary resistance to work those muscles.
- Go back and forth under your jawline 8-10 times.
The Takeaway
Face exercises or facial yoga not only strengthen and tighten muscles, giving the face a lifted and plump appearance, but they also have many other health benefits. This type of exercise and massage helps boost circulation, improve lymphatic drainage, and release tension.
Face exercises can be done anywhere, don’t require any equipment, and can help reduce stress at any time during the day that you find you need it!
Read Next:
8 Face-Flattering Hairstyles for Mature Women
These Are The Most Effective Ways To Lose Fat In Your Face
