We know that movement in any form is good for our lymphatic system, in turn helping us boost our immune systems, and whilst we usually associate this with exercising our bodies have you ever thought about exercising your facial muscles....
Why you should consider facial exercises?
Our faces are composed of 43 muscles. These muscles are very small and are attached to either another muscle or to your skin.
Muscles are made up of a bundle of elastic fibres bound together by fascia. As a facial specialist I always look for muscle tone, muscles are never completely relaxed they will consist of a few contracted (shortened) fibres, creating muscular tension, this creates your muscle tone.
Muscles are responsive to nerve stimulation causing muscles to contract. This is what creates our many facial expressions.
Overtime and as we mature, the facial expressions we continue to make will start to become more prominent in the appearance of fine and deeper lines. Muscle tone will inevitably decrease with age.
There are also muscles in the face that are responsible for movement of the lower jawbone and help us chew our food, these are known as muscles of mastication. These are used everyday so will always hold a lot of tension.
So between our facial muscles constantly making expressions and chewing our food it only seems right that they need a bit of continued TLC to help relax and diffuse any unwanted tension!
What can I do to improve muscle tone?
At - Home Facial Massage
Take time to use your skincare products as a massage medium.... whether you choose to use your dreamy balm cleansers or your evening facial treatment oil, allow yourself a few additional moments of calm and relaxation and really work that product into your facial muscles.
Look in the mirror and pull lots of different facial expressions - you may start to feel areas that feel tighter or resist a certain movement - zone in to these areas.
You may even want to use a variety of facial tools to help you apply a deeper or more controlled pressure.
Key Areas (muscles) to target
Frontalis Muscle
Located - the forehead
Action - Raises the eyebrows,
Responsible for causing wrinkling across the forehead
Focus on applying vertical and horizontal stroking movements with the palms of your hands then target specifically lined areas by performing zig zag or criss cross motions using 1-2 fingers over the entire forehead area
Corrugator Muscle
Located - between the eyebrows
Action - draws the eyebrows down and together
Responsible for our frown lines
Focus on massaging this area in firm upward stroking motions
Masseter Muscle
Located - from the cheek bone down to the lower jaw
Action - closes jaw, clenches teeth, assists in side to side movement of mandible of mastication (chewing food)
This muscle can be easily felt by clenching your jaw, focus on kneading and manipulating this muscle by using deep circular movements to release extra tension on this area
Facial Yoga
Think about how yoga for the body stretches and strengthen your inner core the benefits are very similar for facial yoga. It will overall, promote a better blood and oxygen flow throughout the facial muscles, making it easier for nutrients to access the upper layers of the skin. This will provide you with a radiant from within glow.
Breathing is also an important role in the practice of facial yoga. As breathing is an autonomic function, we don’t require conscious effort to perform our breathing. However, as we are not fully aware of the rate of our breath sometimes we do not take in as much oxygen as we require.
By focusing on taking slow, deep breaths you are communicating with your parasympathetic nervous system and allowing your body that time to recover and calm down - by paying attention to your breath you become more mindful of how certain muscle in your face and body feel. You can then continue your facial yoga practice with intention. Deep breathing will also increase blood circulation adding to that youthful glow.
Facial Yoga may make you feel a bit uncertain at first as some of the exercises make you look
silly, humour yourself through the experience.
By understanding what these movements are actually doing to your muscles will ground you into the realisation that they can help encourage muscular relaxation and increase muscle tone. The Yoga Face Expert
The Professional Salon Treatment - Face Gym
It’s on my wish list of treatments to experience this year and one I have researched extensively.
It reads like the ultimate facial workout!
What is it? FaceGym is a non-invasive facial workout, that uses high energy kneading movements and cutting edge technology to tone and tighten the muscles of the face.
By studying their website it looks as if you would receive a full on stimulation and manipulation of your facial muscles using a hands on approach combined with advanced technology devices to really give your muscles the workout it so rightly deserves.
The Benefits
Stimulates blood circulation
Stimulates collagen production
Tones and lifts the face
Enhances cell renewal
FaceGym’s Trainers will customise workouts to skin and lifestyle needs, ensuring you receive the best results for your key muscular concerns.
I am ready to book where do I sign up!! Face Gym Website
