Mom always told us to watch out lest our face would freeze that way. She was talking about that pouty little scowl, but what if there are actually more positive faces we can make that would remain more permanent?
Enter facial exercises. Intended to counteract the inevitable sagging and drooping that comes with age, these movements are meant to strengthen muscles in the face and fill in the gaps. Fuller, more toned faces radiate youth, as the theory goes.
Exercises include hard-core smiling with added resistance, as well as eyebrow and cheek lifting.
But does it work? One preliminary study, published in JAMA Dermatology in 2018, reported some improvement for a group of women who participated in a facial exercise program for 20 weeks. That included significant improvement in upper and lower cheek fullness and in 18 of 20 facial features.
Peer dermatologists, given no information about the women and the exercises, rated the women at 50.8 years old at the start of the study and 48.1 years after 20 weeks. Much more study is needed, as the group only included 16 women who went the distance with the exercises (11 dropped out) and were all self-selected.
But one conclusion remains: facial yoga is having a moment, and that moment may be here for awhile.