By now, we’ve all got our sun salutations and downward dog perfected. But while you’ve been focusing on your spine lengthening and hip stretches, you might have forgotten an important part of your body: your face.
Or at least that is what the face yogis are saying.
Face … Yogis?
Yep, you read that right. Face yoga is a hot trend right now, no doubt fueled by the Zoom Boom face obsession. According to the devotees, it is a cheaper, less invasive alternative to fillers and surgery.
You know, things that have actually been proven to work.
The claim is that by working specific muscle groups, you encourage better circulation in the face and improve tone, which makes the face plumper and the skin firmer. And, listen, exercising your face muscles can absolutely change them, just like any other muscle in your body. But will it take years off your face?
Face yoga is trendy, and does have benefits, but does it really help with aging? Not if you want big results.
The Results Are In, and They Say …
Well, they don’t say much. And in truth, there haven’t been many studies, so what we do have is inconclusive.
In one study, people aged 40 to 65 spent 8 weeks exercising their facial muscles for 30 minutes every day. When the two months were up, before and after photos were evaluated using the Merz-Carruthers Facial Aging Photoscales. According to this, study participants did look younger after their two-month exercise regime.
How much younger? That wasn’t clear. Nor how they felt about spending 3.5 hours a week making funny faces in front of the mirror.
In another study, participants used a facial exercise tool twice a day for 30 seconds at a time over 8 weeks. In the end, the results were similar to the first study — the participants did seem to look a bit younger.
And 30 seconds twice a day sounds a lot better than 30 minutes of face yoga.
So, does face yoga, or any face exercise, work? Two studies are hardly enough to base solid conclusions on, so let’s go with, maybe, but only to a small degree. Hopefully, more studies are in progress so we can get a better idea.
Should You Give Face Yoga a Try?
Listen, so long as you aren’t unhinging your jaw or breaking your neck, doing face yoga can’t really hurt anything but your pride. And even if it doesn’t turn back the hands of time, it could offer other benefits, such as:
- Neck pain
- Jaw pain
- Snoring
- Headaches
- Speech struggles
So maybe it won’t make a big difference in your appearance, but reducing headaches and snoring are decent benefits and possibly worth 30 minutes of pulling goofy faces every day.
However, if you are trying to decide between face yoga vs. facial plastic surgery, you might as well go big or go home — or at least seek the middle ground of med spa treatments. At the very least, consider the real deal your backup plan.
Related Posts
- Differences in Facial Aging for Men and Women
- The Importance of Customized Rhinoplasty
- How the Eyes Affect Others’ Perception of You
