How to Exercise the Face

Most people are aware of the importance of muscle tone to a body’s general health and appearance. The facial muscles can be trained just as easily as other muscles in the body. The shape of the face is fundamentally determined by your bone structure. You can do little to change the shape of your nose or reduce the size of your ears but you can make your chin stronger, your eyes more prominent, your lips fuller and your cheeks more defined.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Skin conditioning lotion with vitamin E
• Mirror

1. Make time. Facial exercising requires no gym equipment or special venue but it can look a bit odd. You will likely want to get somewhere private, with a mirror and no chance of being disturbed.

2. Clean your face and relax. Wash you face with water and allow yourself to relax. Apply lotion with vitamin E to prevent the stretching of skin.

3. Study your face. Place a mirror at head height to allow yourself to comfortably watch your face as you exercise. Finding the dominant muscles of your face will not be difficult but you will need practice to find the smaller muscles.

4. Exercise your neck. Tilt your head back and jut out your bottom jaw. Push your chin forward so that your lower teeth overlap your upper teeth. You should feel your neck muscles extend. Breathe out. Turn your head slowly left then right as if trying to look over your shoulder. Gently let you head drop forward and then nod back gently. Repeat the right to left and nod motion several times.

5. Exercise brow lines. Raise your eyebrows, open your eyes wide and stare at a fixed point in front of you. Place the very tips of your fingers (index and middle ring) just above your eyebrows and raise the eyebrows against the resistance. Press three fingers above the eye and shake the head gently.

6. Get rid of crows’ feet. Wrinkle your eyes so that you can clearly see the crows’ feet on the corners of your eyes. Place three middle fingers horizontally facing inwards over skin where the crows’ feet emerge. Try and create the crows’ feet against the pressure of the finger tips.

7. Relax. Breathe and relax the muscles of your face. You will have to consciously relax your face after tensing the muscles. This is crucial because sustained tension can interfere with proper blood flow.

Tips & Warnings

• Take time between each exercise to relax your face.
• Keep focus on breathing. Do not hold your breath.
• Never force an exercise that hurts; if the exercise hurts you are not doing it properly. Relax and try again later.