How Effective is Facial Exercise in Removing Wrinkles?
Ever wondered what those pesky bags under
the eyes are, and how they are formed? Essentially, what they are is a
fatty tissue that droops as the muscles holding it in place become
weaker (think of your belly, and what happens if your abdominal muscles
are underdeveloped).
Well, much like getting a flat belly, some
people purport to have found a way to exercise the facial muscles and
remove the marks of aging from the face. This rather funny-looking
training regimen is known as facial yoga, and is often advertised as
“nonsurgical face-lift”.
The underlying premise throughout different
facial exercise programs is that by isolating the different muscles in
the face and working on them, you build facial strength, thus decreasing
wrinkles, bags under eyes and loose skin.
This goes somewhat against common folklore that tells us that “making
faces” causes wrinkles, rather than making them disappear. Practitioners
of facial yoga do not dispute that, but claim that grimacing, frowning
and grinning is like lifting heavy weights without proper care or
training- you’re sure to cause yourself harm, rather than build up
muscle definition.
The trick in facial yoga is to move the muscles in the face
independently of each other, thus not overworking the stronger muscles
at the expense of those we barely use.
Intrigued by the method and its promises, a
group of dermatologists from Northwestern University decided to put it
to the test. They approached Gary Sikorski, inventor of Happy Face Yoga,
who suggested a training routine of 32 exercises aimed at working most
of the facial muscles as well as the neck.
The team recruited 27 women between the
ages of 40-65 who were interested in anti-aging exercise. The women met
Sikorski for two 90-minute sessions, where they were taught the
exercises, and were then asked to practice them regularly.
The participants photographed themselves
before starting to train, 8 weeks after beginning the routine, and at
the end, after 20 weeks of facial exercise. These photographs were then
presented to dermatologists who did not know the women, and they were
asked to assess the women’s age in each picture.
The dermatologists noted an improvement in the fullness of the cheeks,
though little or no change in other facial features, but on average,
they estimated the women to be three years younger in the final picture
compared to the beginning of the training routine.
So, while the results may not be a dramatic change, the exercise (or at
least some of it) appears to work.